And then the rain set in... What do you expect when you're in a rainforest, right? Oh well, we went to the State Museum and had fun wandering through the rooms. I loved this painting of fireweed. Driving around Juneau, you see fireweed everywhere - such a vibrant color amidst all the green.
I also enjoyed this painting of Treadwell Mine - the same building Henry stood in front of earlier in the week.
My parents arrived the night before and it was fun to experience parts of Juneau with them.
A miscellaneous shot of Evan and Alice on the way back home. It was around this time that Alice decided Evan was the best thing since sliced bread. It was so cute seeing them together.
Following our museum excursion, most of the family went home to rest while Henry, Alice, my cousin Sherri, and I went to see Mendenhall Glacier, from the other side. Along the way, more mushrooms. They grow 'em bigger in Alaska!
And... the glacier! We were fondly reminiscing about the one hour of sunshine we had earlier in the week.
My cousin, Sherri, with Henry and Alice. And here's the story... Sherri is my Dad's sister's daughter and she lives in Iowa, where I was born. We moved from Iowa to Wyoming when I was 12 years old and I only made one other trip back there when I was 13... meaning, I hadn't seen Sherri for 26 years! We've stayed in touch via email but yet I had no idea that she would be in Alaska this week. Everyone else did, but it was a big surprise for me. My family is sneaky that way.
From this side, it was easy to see the blue on the glacier. I discovered that glacial ice appears blue because it absorbs all colors of the visible light spectrum except blue, which it transmits.
Blue, and a little bit of what we call "snirt." Snow and dirt. Or maybe it's "dice." Dirt and ice. Either way, it wasn't the pure white I was envisioning it would be.
Sherri was thrilled to be in Alaska with all of us.
A new word for my vocabulary... deglaciated. The area around the Visitor's Center is referred to as "recently deglaciated" (as the glacier has receded) and it has left behind numerous ponds and various typical deglaciated aspects such as lichen and certain trees and shrubs.
Ahhh... I'll treasure this photo.
I took this photo for my friends back home who go kayaking with me in Washington each year. Wonder if I could get some of them to kayak through the calved ice with me next year?
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