Juneau is Alaska’s capital city and for us, an improvement over the overly touristy Ketchikan. The featured attraction was the Mendenhall Glacier. Later we visited a sled-dog training camp, where we enjoyed a brief ride pulled by these very intelligent canines. We also got to play with some five-week-old puppies. Not a bad way to spend a day, especially when we enjoyed another day of glorious weather, with clear skies and moderate temperatures.

Mendenhall is reachable via a short bus ride that takes you to a visitor center operated by the National Park Service. There are several trails you can hike that depart from the visitor center. We opted to hike a portion of the East Glacier Trail. We couldn’t complete the entire circuit because we didn’t have enough time before our bus returned to Juneau, but what we were able to complete was fairly challenging. That is one of the constraints of visiting places via cruise ships, your time in ports of call is limited.

After the hike we returned to Juneau. This time our boat docked at the town center, and we were able to go back onboard for lunch before disembarking again for our second excursion. The docking area is touristy, but not as over the top as in Ketchikan.

Guides like to point out the capitol building, which they say is rated as the worst in the nation. It is utilitarian looking for sure, lacking a dome and the usual embellishments that one finds on such structures, so that is probably why it’s not highly regarded. The guides also like to dump on Sarah Palin, noting, accurately, that you can’t see Russia from the Alaskan capital. We have noticed a lot of joke recycling among the guides, as if they are all reading from the same script.

Another oddity is there is a statue of pelicans near the building. It was pointed out that there are no pelicans in Alaska. The state is reported to have ordered a statue of eagles, which are plentiful, but the statue makers messed up and sent that statue to Tallahassee. The Floridians opted to keep it over their pelican piece. Why the Alaskans didn’t demand its return or a replacement is unclear. Who knows if the story is true, but it’s a good yarn.

Next up was the visit to a “mushers’” camp for a quick ride on a sled used for tourist treks and also possibly for training, as seen in the brief video above. These dogs are highly trained, very intelligent, and very well cared for. They are working animals that are not being abused. They love to run and each has their own personality. It was fascinating to listen to our musher describe how the dogs interact. Some get along better with other dogs, some are clear leaders, some are more shy, but all work as a team.

The dogs are Alaskan Huskies, which are basically mutts that are happiest when temps drop below zero. The more widely known Siberian Huskies aren’t highly regarded by the mushing community. Some of the dogs have raced in the Iditarod and other races, and it was interesting to see the gear used by dogs and mushers during these long-distance races. In addition to booties, the dogs wear jackets and shoulder warmers.

We were fortunate that two of the dogs had recently borne litters, one set of which were just five weeks old, and the other about 12 weeks. Suffice it to say cuddling the pups was a highlight of the day.