This was to be a day of some travel but mostly rest so as to prepare for our ten day boat cruise that commences tomorrow afternoon.
We arrived at the Anchorage airport with plenty of spare time and had coffees and relaxed before boarding our Air Alaska flight to Juneau. This was a ninety minute flight and despite the cloud we were able to see a number of the high and jagged snow-peaks of the Rockies as we approached Juneau airport.
We grabbed a taxi and headed to the Westmark Baranof Hotel which is in central Juneau. The taxi driver was an eccentric character who had a series of conspiracy tales to entertain us for the journey. Amongst his fanciful repertoire was the story that Osama Bin Laden was a CIA spy and that he’d been dead for 10 years at the time when the US government announced his capture and death.
Juneau is often described as a little San Francisco due to its hilly setting situated between Mount Juneau and Mount Roberts along the Gastineau Channel.
Gold was discovered here in 1880 and it also served as a strategic location on the route to the Klondike goldfields. This importance led to it taking over the role of capital from Sitka in 1900.