Photography Index>Juneau and Katmai National Park, Alaska

Late last year, friends of mine moved to Alaska's capital city, Juneau. They were the inspiration for this trip. Well, them and the whales.

Although I met a few people who were born and raised in the 49th state, most of the people I encountered were either visiting via cruise ships or, had fallen in love with Alaska on prior visits and decided to move. In my opinion, it definitely takes a special temperament to adjust to this remote land. After all, Juneau is what they call "landlocked" though it would be more appropriately called "sealocked." You can only get there via plane or boat. As a result, it is surprisingly expensive--the average price for a house in Juneau is somewhere in the $350,000 range; gas costs $3.50/gallon; groceries are a bit pricey too.

With that said, Alaska obviously has a lot to offer for those who enjoy the outdoors and excellent seafood. Fishing, hiking, kayaking, boating, skiing; eagles, bears, marine mammals, caribou, moose, and more. The itty bit I saw was beautiful and the air felt clean. I can see how one could fall for the opposite of Weehawken, NJ as did the flight attendant on PenAir I met on the flight from Anchorage to King Salmon.

My friends seem to be adjusting well up north.

Juneau: Whales
Juneau: Cruise Ship Tourism
Juneau: Glaciers and Assorted Scenery
Tracy Arm: Ice
Katmai: Bears and Eagles (I don't have much commentary for these pics, so straight to the pop-up slide show)

A few maps for reference. Juneau in the southeast. Katmai National Park where I photographed the bears and eagles is in the southwest.