Juneau

Today we visited the capital of the 50th state, Juneau is the only US capital that you cannot drive to. You have to get here by ship or plane. All cars have been transported here, as there are no roads to this part of panhandle Alaska. 

We were here about 5 years ago and we were surprised at the progress (i.e.: change) that has been made in that short time. The town is quite modern now with lots of "stuff" to keep the average tourist occupied. The gold might be gone, and the tourist has taken it's place. 

We tried to avoid the usual tourist traps and took the Mt, Roberts Tram to the top of the mountain. The view was wonderful. 

The Star Princess was one of 5 big ships in town today. The others were the Statendam, Amsterdam, Crown Princess and Grand Princess. Thus, there were about 10,000 extra folks in town today. There were only 3 big ships in Ketchikan yesterday. 

We saw a captive bald eagle, named Lady Baltimore, on Mt, Roberts. Someone shot the bird in the wing and eye. She was brought back to health, but sadly she cannot fly anymore. She's still a beautiful bird. 

And very proud. 

The forest supports over 1100 pairs of these magnificent birds. We also saw a few flying high amid the clouds. Bald eagles are always a treat to see. 

This is the Star Primcess in Juneau harbor.