I spent a lot of time researching Juneau before I made the decision to move here. Reading about the weather, the environment, and the town... I read that Mendenhall Glacier is the most accessible glacier in Alaska and literally is less than a mile from houses. So of course, that was the very first place I went after sleeping in a hotel right next to the small Juneau airport. There's a visitor center and all kinds of trails in this part of the Tongass National Forest, 17 million acres - the biggest National Forest in the U.S. The visitor center was not open. I'll check it out later. The glacier is beautiful! What views! Juneau is accessible only by ship or plane - there are no roads into Juneau.The main road in Juneau is about 40 miles long and runs along the coastline. It has a bunch of names but everyone seems to call it "the road". "Up the Road" or "Down the Road".

Another photo from the airplane. Leaving Seattle it was cool how much unbroken wilderness there is. Flying cross country in the lower 48, it's hard to see large unbroken tracts of land - between development and agriculture, there are few places left wild. I did see some tracts of what looked like clear-cut logging operations - surprisingly big areas - and probably well hidden from the tourists that take cruises in Southeast Alaska.

A photo from the airplane - the Inside Passage. Where exactly this is, I don't know. I need to get a good map showing all the islands of the area.

The beginning...

April 2009. A number of friends suggested starting a blog describing my move from NY to Juneau. Ok, so I am. Let's see how this works. I've been here 2 weeks now.
Lots to talk about. First I need to figure out how to post some photos since this place is just o so beautiful!!!