Sunday morning and Juneau is in Day 5 of sunshine. Temperature today was right around freezing, but the sun was shining in that watery greyish kind of way that you find frequently in the north in the winter, and with no wind it was another beautiful day to be outside.
I headed out alone today, desperately needing to just wander again solo without the pressure of having to make needless conversation with someone. Just needing to be alone.
I walked down Glacier Highway, past the Alaska Marine Ferry Terminal, past Auke Nu trail (which was my intended destination), and down to the gas station (slash grocery store slash snack bar slash video rental store) in Auke Bay to get a strong coffee and strawberry danish - hardly a nutritious breakfast but enough to sustain me through a morning.
Right outside the gas station were some snow covered benches overloooking Auke Bay Harbor (where I was yesterday during the last half of my wanderlust exploration) and I stood beside them and looked out over the harbor while drinking and eating, trying to figure out what my next move should be.
I still had intentions of doing the Auke Nu trail, but decided to head down to another harbor about 1/4 mile away first to photograph some of the boats. Some of the pictures of the harbor are below.
It was a beautiful quiet morning by the lake and I took many pictures. I saw an eagle perched on a post, and sea lions and seals that played in the water - but could not capture them in pictures well enough to post them on this blog.
As I was walking back up the pier towards the parking lot and then the road, I noticed an older lady with a professional quality camera, complete with huge telephoto lens. I had noticed her taking pictures on the shore during the long time that I spent walking the pier. We smiled at each other, and I broke the ice by complimenting her on her camera. She showed me some of the pictures she had taken through the morning, and they were so detailed you could see every feather on the birds she had photographed, every whisker on the seals. I was envious of her pictures and camera, and told her so. She has aspirations to publish her pictures one day.
Again I had planned on heading to Auke Nu trail (which I knew nothing about aside from what someone had told me, which was that it was a short trail).
The photographer talked me into taking a walk along the beach first, and while the tide was out. I'm glad I did.
The beach was full of seaweed, shells, slate and barnacle covered rocks. One of those rocks is sitting in my pack right now - a souvenir of my walk
Some pictures of some of the older large boats I have come across in my walks over the past couple of days - these boats can be found in commercial and residential parking lots throughout the area, perched on everything from boat trailers to wood pallets to oil drums - all in hibernation for the winter.
I did finally make it to the Auke Nu trail after my adventures by the water. It's not a short trail. In fact it is a beautiful wide-open pine-tree-filled and long trail. Another story for another day.........
To the lover of wilderness, Alaska is one of the most wonderful countries in the world......John Muir
PS: Thank you to everyone who has visited this site. I appreciate you visiting and taking the time to view my pictures and share in my Juneau journey. I have no idea who is reading this site, and if you would take a minute to sign up as a "Follower" (link is at the top right of the page) I would appreciate it. THANKS!
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