Come out, come out where ever you are... that would be Bear!

 I've been totally out of my element this past two weeks.

I'm in Alaska and everything is so different than I'm used to.  

No sun, no beaches, no heat in the air, no stores, no chain restaurants  and mostly no flat land.  

The Mountains are amazing!  

There are days when the cloud's sit right on the mountains and they seem to disappear.  The amazing thing only one airline fly's into Juneau.  Alaska Air.  Their pilots are trained to navagate these mountains on radar and instinct when their totally hidden from view. 

The photo that I've posted is a sculpture that sits in someones front yard here in Juneau, (please excuse it's blurynes but I was in a moving car) it was  once a large rock and a native artisan  chipped and smoothed it into this wonderful Walrus.  If I could have one of a suitcase stashing size I'd bring it home.  

I'll have to admit there are many things that please me here in the local shops and I'd have to get a few more suit cases to bring them back home with me but then it would cost a pretty penny to pay for extra baggage.... so I'll just have to do with my few small souvenirs and Tee's.  But then the memories will last a lifetime.  This place has to much to look at and places to hike and wander.  Am in the process of trying to figure out how to get some rocks in my suitcase.   I remember flying out of the UP of Michigan and the baggage handlers had to put "Heavy" stickers on my cases due to rocks.... (that is another story).

 

Yesterday in the early morning hours my son took me on a sunrise drive looking for bear... but to our dismay none were to be seen.  I had a thought, why not bring a chicken and lay it on the side of the road and sit in the car and wait, after all in the past two weeks this was the third time we went on the bear hunting expedition,  but then Tom told me it would be frowned upon so that did not happen...  

  But we did come upon this wonderful glacier.   

The Mendenhall Glacier  

 It sits in an area designated "The Tongauss Natural Forest"

My photo does not do the area justice and the ice is so cold it has a blue hue to it.  From what I've been told the entire area was totally enraped in the glacier but in the past 100 years it's melting back and now so much of the area has turned in to forest.

I have this wonderous facination with "What is in this ice", really.... animals, humans who died there.. imagine what could be entrapped in the ice?  Guess we will never know.

It's Sunday and another day to explore.  I have 5 more days in this amazing area.  Being with my Son and his family is the best part but I'll tell you I hate living so far from them.

Will be back with more info and photos.

"Have a great week everyone"  

Life is good!