The weather on this day was cool and gray again with temperatures between 48 and 53 degrees. Mostly cloudy but not much liquid sunshine so that was good.
Juneau is the capital city of Alaska, the second largest city in the United States by area and a population of approximately 32,000. No roads connect the city to the state or North America so all goods and services need to be brought in by ship or by air. Juneau has experienced tremendous cruise ship tourism with nearly 1,700,000 visitors in 2025.
The Gastineau Channel, where Juneau is located, was a fishing place for the Auke and Taku tribes who had inhabited the area for thousands of years. The Auke had a village and a burying ground in the area. To this day they gather clams, gumboot chitons, grass and sea urchins, as well as tree bark, for medicinal purposes. The native cultures have rich traditions expressed through their carvings, weavings, singing, dancing and oral lore.
In 1911, the United States Congress authorized funds for the construction of a capitol building for the District of Alaska. Delayed by World War I and difficulty in securing necessary land, it was not completed until February 14, 1931.
The Alaska Governor’s Mansion was commissioned under a Public Building Act in 1910. The mansion built in the colonial revival style was completed in 1912. The 14,400 square foot home has six bedrooms, ten bathrooms, and eight fireplaces. When Sarah Palin was governor, she didn’t like the mansion so she found her own home to live in and this has been the case ever since. The mansion is used only for public events but the governor no longer lives here. Alaska achieved statehood in 1959, increasing the population of Juneau as the state government grew.
On our shore excursion we visited the Glacier Gardens Rainforest Adventure where we took a covered shuttle through the botanical garden to explore a surprising variety of flora given the harsh climate. They have upside-down flower towers, or inverted fallen tree stumps adorned with moss and crowned with dozens of indigenous flowers. The ride up the hillside was quite bumpy but the flora were very beautiful. When we reached the top of the hillside there were beautiful views out over Juneau. They also have a large greenhouse style building, elaborately decorated with hanging baskets of flowers and greenery where they can hold private events.
Our next stop was at the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area, comprising 5,815 acres of land is located about 12 miles from Juneau. We visited the visitor center where you have a great view of the glacier as it reaches the water. We also took a short walking trail to another lookout where there were both the glacier and an enormous waterfall created from the snow melt in the mountains. This past winter had a tremendous amount of snow, particularly the week of Christmas when they had record breaking snow fall.
Our next stop was the Alaska State Museum which presents Alaska’s history through a collection of rare artifacts, including ones from the gold rush era and from the land’s first inhabitants. Military history, Russian history, basketry, carvings and so much more were on display. They also have an interesting whaling exhibit on the so-called Golden Age of Whaling in the early 19th century. The museum is fairly new and is beautifully arranged and displayed telling the history of Alaska from ancient time to present day.
A special fashion exhibit by a local Alaskan named Dorothy Grant who had a forty-year career in high fashion was on display. Many of her past clients loaned her fashions to create this large collection of her work.
When we arrived at the museum, Kent missed a step getting off the bus and ended up on the concrete sidewalk. He didn’t appear to break anything but will be black and blue.
We dined in the fourth specialty dining room onboard the Riviera called The Polo Grill for dinner. It is their steak house featuring all sorts of steaks, lobster, lamb chops, salads and other items. We enjoyed a beet and goat cheese layered starter, Waldorf salad, onion soup, filet mignon, lamb chops, potatoes au gratin, onion rings and key lime pie.
Tonight’s entertainment was a show by the Riviera singers and dancers titled Our World. It was a trip around the world in song and dance. The costumes were beautifully elaborate, the dancers danced all sorts of international dances, while the singers sang in multiple languages. Excellent.