Sandwiched between the sea and the mountains in the very southeastern tail of the state, Juneau is the only state capital to border a foreign country (Canada...for those of you us who are geographically-challenged...).

It was, what we were told, a typical Juneau July day...drizzly and foggy.  Juneau is not known for sunny summer days.

Kim, Kenny, and I decided to take the tramway up Mount Roberts for the morning...

...a spectacular view!

We were high above the Coral Princess!

There was a nice little Visitor's Center, and we had a couple of fun photographs taken...

Such adventurers!

There were several hiking trails, and we decided to take a short loop trail.

Lots and lots of wild berries...plenty of food for the bears that were supposedly all around us (although we never saw one...).

Beautiful little wildflowers and breath-taking views...such unspoiled wilderness like I've never seen before!

Kim and Kenny had their sights on a cross at the top of the ridge...

They continued on, but my stamina was gone so I went back down the trail...

...enjoying gorgeous vistas along the way, and met them back at the bottom. And yes, it did occur to me a few times that I might meet a bear alone along the way...I made noise and tried not to think about that.

Juneau is Alaska's gateway to the glaciers, and after lunch we had our first view of Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau's biggest glacier at 1.5 miles wide and 12 miles long. A photo just can't begin to capture its immense size.  It is receding (melting) into Mendenhall Lake (foreground) and Mendenhall River...

...which we were going to raft down that afternoon.  The water temperatures are just above freezing, so we donned these fashionable outfits for the adventure.

It was SO QUIET and just awe-inspiring....

Our raft guide was pretty excited about this iceberg that had broken off the glacier several days before.  The boulder was initially enclosed in ice that had since melted.

I wasn't that thrilled to be so close...it looked like it could tumble into the water (and perhaps take us with it!) any time.

We paddled around the lake for awhile, just soaking up the clean, crisp air and the beauty of it all. The fog and occasional drizzle just added to the mystical feeling....

Although the Mendenhall Glacier actually meets the lake, we didn't get super close to it, but instead headed down the adjacent Mendenhall River.

The section of rapids was not wild, but we did get wet!  And 34-degree water splashing on our face and hands got us cold in a hurry!

That's me, Kenny, and Kim in the second row....

After we got through the whitewater, just a peaceful, calm float for a few miles down the river...

A nice day in Alaska's state capital...

See the eagle on top of the fishery?  Waiting for his chance to snag a treat!

Salmon is the fish of Juneau...some of our kids and their families ate at a salmon bake, but it wasn't on our agenda.

Time to move on up the Alaska coast...

...good-bye, Juneau!