PART II // JUNEAU, SKAGWAY, & GLACIER BAY

Juneau, Skagway, and Glacier Bay: the three loveliest days of our trip! I’m so glad I took pictures, but I’m also glad that I had the strength to put down the iPhone and just look around every once in awhile, and believe me – I drank in every detail. The strongest memory I have from the trip is how many times I felt so incredibly small, staring up at the towering mountains and trees around us and losing all my words. I’ve never been anywhere so beautiful in my life. It’s hard to believe that the locals actually get used to such breathtaking views and forget how wonderful their ‘backyard’ really is! I could ramble on for way too long about how gorgeous everything was – but I think I’ll just show you instead. ;)

JUNEAU:
–took anniversary pictures at a glacial lake
–went on an ice caves excursion
–ate the best seafood I’ve ever had

So many words, and yet so few at the same time. AMAZING day. Shout-out to Catie Bartlett for taking what I know will be the most incredible pictures (separate post to come later!), to our glacier adventure crew for taking us on the most baller excursion EVER, and to Tracy’s King Crab Shack for the most ridonkulous crab bisque – possibly the best soup, period, that I’ve ever had in my life. During our excursion, we paddled across the lake, explored the ice caves, and hiked up on top of the Mendenhall Glacier. Not for the faint of heart, but wayyyy worth the tired arms and legs!

---

SKAGWAY:
–rode the White Pass Scenic Railway
–EXPLORED the idyllic downtown area
–LUNCH at skagway brewing company

Another amazing day! We booked the train ride because it was the #1-rated excursion for Skagway, and it did not disappoint – the views were unreal. We went all the way up into Canada and turned around on the track, so we got to see both sides of the track during the trip. I loved the guide’s narration about the railroad and the route hundreds of people traveled during the gold rush. Afterward, we walked around town (very picturesque!), got some fudge and truffles from a candy shop, and ate lunch at Skagway Brewing Company.

---

GLACIER BAY:
–perfect sightseeing spot on the boat
–Margerie Glacier and Lamplugh Glacier
–roughly one billion sea otters

Honestly? I don’t even know where to start with how pretty this place was. The glaciers were enormous. The Margerie Glacier is 250 feet high and over a mile long! We had a completely unobstructed view of the bay for the entire day, aside from an obnoxious 20 minutes when a huge group of very rude people stood directly in front of our chairs to take about 700 pictures together. Literally, they were maybe a foot in front of us. *eye roll* But besides that, we had a great day on the ship! We spent a lot of time watching the mountains and the water for signs of wildlife, and I’m not kidding – we probably saw at least 200 otters float by the ship within a 30-minute period. They were so cute!

One of my favorite things we did all week was watch the sunset from the back of the ship as we sailed back out of Glacier Bay. Funny enough, it was 10:00 pm when I took this picture! We were the only people on deck, and it was such a sweet, peaceful moment.

---

The third and final piece of the Alaska trip series is coming soon – stay tuned for photos from Ketchikan, Victoria, and our one-day tour of Seattle with the Hightowers!