Alaska: Just North of Normal (Day 1)

As you may or may not have heard, my wonders parents brought me to Alaska as a graduation present. Let me be the first to inform you that Alaska really is breath taking. I also want to inform you that this post is going to be one of many. Trying to condense a week's worth of adventures into one post doesn't lend to brevity.

We took Alaskan Airlines up to Seattle, and the flight was gorgeous. One of my favorite views from the flight was the glimpse I got of Mt. Rainier as we were circling to descend to the Seattle airport.

Beautiful full moon over the Seattle clouds

On a fun side note, I've done a lot of research about Mt. Rainier. In my last semester of college I directed a scene called Precipice that takes place on the side of Mt Rainier. If you're interested to see my actors perform the final product for the professor, just click the link here. Anyway, back to the adventure!


Even in the summer, Alaska is often over cast and rainy. This made for an almost theatrical reveal when descending through the clouds to see the mountainous terrain on which Juneau was built. The only flat land in this area was caused by mine trailings from the Alaskan Gold Rush. The mountains sink into the sea like a graceful trailing dress. The small plane flew down to Juneau through the crux of a valley. As it turns out the sun was setting at this time, casting all of the low hanging clouds in a pink glow through the deep green of the enclosing mountains.

The next morning I got to see the full splendor from my aunt and uncles deck. They live on the island directly across from Juneau called Douglas Island. Their cozy condo has a deck with a full view of downtown Juneau and the Juneau harbor. We could watch the cruise ships come in and out all day long. 

Not long after waking up, a group of us decided to go get waffles from a local shop called Gonzos. It makes delicious specialty waffles that rivals anything I have ever eaten. Let's just say, I would happily go to back to Juneau just to taste these waffles again. 

The waffle has lemon custard,
salmon berries, mint, and graham
crackers. It was delicious! 

After we went out for waffles, some of us thought Sandy Beach was the perfect way to start out our adventures in Juneau. My mom, my aunt, my boyfriend, and I put on some rubber shoes and hoodies then made our way to the beach hoping to find sea glass or other treasures. As we were walking down the beach, picking up every rock, sifting through barnacles, and generally having a good time I looked up and saw this cute little building sticking out of the high tide. I took so many pictures because Alaska is like that annoying friend who looks beautiful no matter how off guard they are when you snap the picture. 

 

As it turns out that little building is a pump house for Prosperity Mine. Either Alaska likes how it looks or they just don't care about having mine junk all over the beach. It does make it kind of cool, but it also tints all the water a slightly orange/brown. There was old mine tools all over the beach and tucked in the forest just up the hill. 

Just inside the forest off the beach, we followed a trail back to the car passing by old mine building on the way. The soaring trees and the old buildings tucked under the low lying plans made me feel like I was in an adventure movie. I climbed around an old admin building as well as the mill used for the mine. After going home we all decided napping was the best idea and spent the rest of the day periodically walking onto the balcony, sighing, and then going back to bed to nap. 

It was a fun filled first day, but I was very excited to explore more in Juneau.