Juneau

Juneau was known as a gold town. However, eventually the mines closed and now its known for beautiful glaciers and stunning views of both water and mountains. It is the capital of Alaska with about 30,000 people. Below are some of the views I took. We had to check out the Red Dog Saloon. Its a rather famous "watering place". On the rock next to the cruise ship is a sort of catelog of all the ships that have docked there. It goes back to before 1900. Please click on the thumbnail to see the larger picture.

Skagway is a charming town which was the shortest route to the Klondike, but it was far from being the easiest. The gold rush was a boon to Skagway. At one time it was Alaska's largest town with a population of 20,000. There were hotels, saloons, dance halls and gambling houses. Today Skagway has less than 1,000 residents. We also the local cemetery with the burial spot of "Soapy" Smith. He was a local who was killed in Juneau, but was rather a rather spectacular con artist.