Alaska-The Final Frontier

Okay, so we made it and I have two days for you to catch up on.

On Saturday we caught an early flight to Juneau. The flight in was beautiful and landing on a runway surrounded by mountains was amazing. The scenery here in Alaska is absolutely breathtaking. If you haven't been here yet, you should definitely make it a priority.

After settling in at the hotel and grabbing some lunch, at a Subway that I think we overwhelmed, we headed out to Mendenhall Glacier. I never thought I would see an actual glacier in my life but the opportunity presented itself and I am so glad I got to see it. The pictures I took of it and the surrounding area don't do it justice.

The Mendenhall Glacier

The whole team (minus Roger) at the glacier.

Once we had finished taking in all the sights at the glacier we went back to the hotel and got some rest. We drove into the town of Juneau that night for dinner and ate at a restaurant that was known for its seafood, but me being me ordered the ribs instead of the local catch. The ribs were kind of tough and now I'm wishing I had gotten the salmon or halibut (oh well, you live you learn). After dinner we had reflection and went to bed.

The view from the ferry before we left.

The next morning we had to get up early again to catch the ferry to Hoonah, our final destination in Alaska. We all scattered around the boat taking pictures of the scenery and at some point a number of us ended on a part of the deck that was supposed to be off limits and we got yelled at. Funnily enough, the getting yelled out lead to us being invited into to meet the captain and go to the front of the boat. While there, we got to meet the first engineer who decided to give us the "whole-meal-deal" tour of the boat. We saw the engine room, the septic room, and the very back part of the boat. It ended up being the highlight of most everyone's day.

Some of the group on the tour of the boat, here we were on the back of the boat and first engineer, Matt, was discussing propellers and what not.

Coming into Hoonah on the ferry.

When the tour ended we pretty much prepared for our arrival into Hoonah. We took lots more pictures and took it all in. Coming into Hoonah we were met by Roger's brother-in-law and he took our luggage back to the bunk house, where we will be staying for the week. It was about a mile long walk to the bunk house and soon after we got there a local, Owen James, met with us and talked to us about hunting and trapping in the area. I felt a sea otter pelt for the first time in my life and it was one of the softest things I have ever felt. Then we went on a hike with Owen at the old cannery and to Icy Strait Point. Along the hike we got to see a sea lion poke his head out of the water and growl/make those sea lion noises at us, so that was pretty exciting/terrifying especially after we found out that that particular sea lion was around 1200 lbs.

The part of the forest we saw on our hike to Icy Strait Point.

The beach on our hike at Icy Strait Point.

We ended the hike by throwing snowballs at each other and just enjoying each other's company. Back at the bunk house we made dinner, played a competitive round of Battle of the Sexes, and had reflection. Our schedules for today were set out for us and we finally got a decent night of sleep.

I'll try and update tomorrow on today and all the activities we've done because I have to wrap this up. The school day is over and I need a nap, horsing around with pre-k kids will wear you out. :)