Juneau, aside from being Alaska's capital and inaccessible by road, is mostly known for the Mendenhall Glacier, which can be seen from most of the major roadways. After a visit to the Mendenhall Glacier, we decide we ought to see a glacier up close, so book a room at the Glacier Bay Lodge in Glacier Bay Park, for the next night.
On our way out of the Mendenhall area, we find a stream in which the Sockeye salmon are completing their swim upstream. After laying their eggs, they will die in this stream. We saw a number of dead salmon lying on the bottom, along with a dozen or so still struggling up stream. This picture is looking straight down at a salmon who has just broken the surface.
Back in Juneau, we come across Robert Rogers, who is panning for gold in the stream in which Joe Juneau first found gold many years ago.
Here Robert shows us the six gold flakes at the bottom of his pan. Trust me -- there are flakes in there, but you won't see them in this picture.
We wondered how he would pick up flakes that small. In this picture, Robert demonstrates the suction method. He will suck all his gold flakes into that plastic bottle.
He estimates at the end of the day, he'll have about $3 worth of gold. "I don't do it for the money" he said. "I do it to get out of the house."
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