Adventures on Blue Redd

  This is actually the exit from the Alaska State Museum in Juneau, the entrance is off to the right and not nearly as interesting looking. Here are a few photos of some interesting displays. In this photo, I am looking at carved stone handles (the gray/green things) in the lower right corner of the photo.  The display had various ones showing the working evolution from solid to something handle shaped.  Unfortunately, the display did not say what these handles were attached to. Lots of totems, boxes, baskets, and tools on display. In the kid section they had a model sailing ship on a kraken. Big kid on the play sailing ship.   Ahoy, Captain Karen! There was a retrospective of Dorothy Grant's  40 -year career in haute couture, from traditional regalia to contemporary fashion and her critical role in bringing Indigenous fashion to a world stage. 𝘙𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘍𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘊𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘭𝘦 will be on exhibit at the Alaska State Museum through October 17, 2026...

  The famous humpback whale sculpture in downtown Juneau.   This was designed and sculpted by R. T. Wallen out of bronze.   Erected in 2016.   It is a life-sized sculpture of a mid-sized female humpback named Tahku.   The real Tahku was shot and killed.   Why on earth would anyone shoot a whale? Here is a link to a short video on it, if you are interested:  July 2018 Drone Footage of The Whale Project (Whale Fountain) in Juneau, Alaska Downtown Juneau.   In case you don't remember your state capitols, Juneau is the capitol of Alaska.  It is a relatively thriving city whose primary income is generated from government and tourism (cruise ships). There were 5 behemoth cruise ships in port today.   Sometimes there are more. We saw this display in a tourist trap shop.  It's not a real bear, and it is stuffed.   No one was eaten. The Red Dog Saloon is Alaska's oldest man-made tourist attraction...

  The Mendenhall Glacier, just north of Juneau.  Within our own Alaska experience over the last 15 years, we have seen this glacier recede about 1/2 mile to its current state.   Amazing.   To be clear, I'm not saying that glaciers receding is necessarily bad.  280 years ago, the Tlingit lived in Glacier Bay enjoying warm summers and temperate winters.  Only 250 years ago, Glacier Bay was covered by a glacier over a mile thick.   That's only a 30-year span.   This is how quickly glaciers can grow and recede.   My comment is aimed at appreciating the change, not the state. We got underway at 0447 (4:47am) this morning.   This is John hauling the anchor. I took this photo from inside (I like inside, nice invention) so the yellow spots are reflections from the interior lights. As we exited Fingers Cove and rounded the point heading down towards the exit of Glacier Bay. This was our last day (and only a partial o...