We had a full day of sailing all the way to Juneau, Alaska, but the views on the way there did not disappoint! Once we arrived in Juneau, we had our first excursion of whale watching. It was cold and rainy that day, but it made for some pretty ominous and epic pictures! We boarded a smaller boat and made our way to a lodge for a salmon bake prior to whale watching. After a delicious lunch, we hopped back on the boat and set out to find some whales. We saw about 5 humpback whales and it was so neat to be as close as we were to them! I think the whale watching excursion is great, but you will definitely see a ton of whales while on the cruise ship so keep that in mind if you are looking to do something else!
Following whale watching in Juneau, we boarded the ship and made our way to Skagway, Alaska (my favorite part of the trip!). Our day in Skagway consisted of taking a coach bus to the top of a mountain and boarding a train to take back down the mountain. This was by far the best day for visibility, as you can see in the pictures! We stopped several times during the bus ride up the mountain for some breathtaking views and then boarded the train to head back down.
Over the next two hours, we cruised rode down the mountain and saw such breathtaking, amazing imagery. I wish we could've stayed in Skagway for a few more days, it was the cutest town and area! *Fun Fact* Skagway was rushed upon by miners in the late 1890s on the hunt for gold. With thousands of miners traveling to the area, it quickly became the hub for gold miners looking to strike it rich. However, this was because Skagway was the closest town to the gold fields, a difficult 600 miles away. Thousands of men and horses died on the passage from avalanches, illness, murder and hunger. This difficult journey was mostly unsuccessful for the majority of the travelers because the mines had been dug by so many that by the time they reached to field, the gold was gone.
