July 3, 2012 Juneau, Alaska

Gold Panning

Kristy at the top of Mendenhall Glacier

Kristy was the expert at gold panning.

Humpback whale during whale watching.

Devil's Club

Porcupine in a tree on the hike.

At the glacier with an ice berg chunk.

Marshmallow Roast

Whale tail

     Today I went whale watching and took a hike to the Mendenhall Glacier. Kristy took a hike to the same glacier but she was above it and I was below it at the water. I did see several whales blowing and got pictures of their backs.  I just missed getting a picture of the tail. We also got an opportunity to photograph some stellar sea lions.  Our hike to the glacier was informative about the plants of the area.  One such plant is the Devil's Club which is used by the natives for medicine.  The glacier was an amazing blue color which we learned was due to the density of the ice and the fact it can only reflect the color blue.  Later in the day Kristy and I reunited and took a trip gold panning and to a salmon bake for dinner. We even found a few flakes of gold. The salmon bake was delicious and we finished off the meal with a marshmallow roast over an open campfire. Great way to end a wet day.