From Whittier to Juneau

Waiting for the ferry - gorgeous colors in the sky!

Sunrise on January 19, 2012

Sunrise a little later - the fingers of God!

Icefield along the Gulf of Alaska - note the ice on the Kennicott, too!

This is Sophia's Point, named for my beautiful granddaughter, no doubt!

Some of the ice on our boat!

These waves were wild!!   Great job bringing us in safely, though - what a crew!!!!

Spray on our boat from the high winds!!!   One ferry turned back rather than travel in this - good decision, but too late for us!

This was quite a trip - the first day the water was calm, the sky was blue, and the views were spectacular.  I took many pictures.  There were lots of cars on board, but not too many people.  Legislators fly into Juneau, apparently, and have someone send or bring their cars when the ferry travels.  Met some nice folks.  Three of us ladies slept on the Solarium deck.  The second night, winds were up to 95 knots.  Several crew members offered to help us move down to a more stable deck, but we were able to get some rest where we were.  The waves were high, spray covered the ship often, and there was a lot of rocking.  Those who get seasick likely were!!!   I have to hand it to the crew - they did a wonderful job  getting us safely to Juneau.  There, we had 90 mph winds predicted downtown and on Douglas Island, especially.  The hostel where I'd planned to stay is on a very steep hill downtown, on an icy road, with only street parking available when it can be found.  The wind made simply walking a challenge.  I didn't feel comfortable leaving my car where I would have had to with all my possessions in it, so ended up in "the valley" in a motel.  The next morning began the next adventure....more to come!!!