|
“Extreme" best
describes Alaska, America's outermost northern state,
one-third of which lies in the Arctic Circle. Although
Alaska is the largest state in the Union, (two and a half
times bigger than Texas), its rough terrain prohibits
intercity travel. As a result, each Alaskan city and town
preserves its unique charm and village-like quality,
marked with ancient totem poles. Towering snow-covered
mountains with menacing jagged peaks preside over charming
little towns of humble, one- and two-story wood buildings.
American Bald Eagles soar over the onion domes of Russian
Orthodox churches, reminiscent of the time when Alaska
belonged to Russia.
Alaska’s landscape is
primitive, pristine and perilous. Its exotic “blue
ice” for example, (referring to Alaska’s turquoise ice
floes that sail passively over a midnight sea), seems as
gentle as deer, yet as deadly on waterways as deer are on
highways. This stunning blue ice floats silently beneath
towering glacier walls called “white thunder,” so
called because they look like white, foamy tidal waves
frozen in midair.
Although the modern
world’s cruise ships and airlines frequently penetrate
this massive snow-fortified land, much of the state
remains a vast wilderness that defies man's taming or
domestication. Alaska is full of awe-inspiring beauty and
deadly danger—two extremes of Mother Nature's
personality. As the state's unofficial nickname claims, it
is "The Last Frontier."
STATE TOURIST INFORMATION
(907) 929-2200, JUNEAU
Juneau is the only
landlocked capital in the United States. No major roads
travel in or out of the city. However, frequent air and
boat service make this hard-to-reach capital a manageable
trek that’s worth the effort and expense to get to.
Where else can you find state business being conducted at
the base of a snow-covered mountain, down the street from
a moving glacier, close to a lush rain forest, in a
wilderness where bears roam freely, Bald Eagles soar; a
city where Tlingit totem poles stand, onion dome Russian
Orthodox churches rise, and the remnants of 19th century
gold miners mark their distinctive claim—all in one
city?
Things to See in Juneau:
• Alaska Statehouse
Built in 1931, the
Territorial and Federal Building became the State Capitol
in 1959, and has housed the state legislature, governor's
office and Lt. governor's office ever since. Four columns
of Tokeen marble from Prince of Wales Island south of
Juneau, embellish the exterior brick-faced concrete
structure. The Alaska State Seal in the lobby, made of
gold nuggets from Alaska’s Gold Rush era greets
visitors. The doors to the Senate Chambers have handles of
hand cast brass etched in totemic symbols representing an
eagle, a whale and a bear—still commonly found in Juneau
to this day.
Check it out . . . The
portrait of former state senator Bettye Fahrenkamp shows
her wearing earrings of native symbols that mean "in
one ear, out the other.” She wore them during all Senate
sessions.
Check it out . . . The map
of Alaska on the third floor is made from a piece of the
Trans-Alaska pipeline.
• Alaska State Museum
Founded as a territorial
museum in 1900 the Alaska State Museum today displays
Alaska’s natural history, native history, state history,
art and culture with exhibits containing more than 23,000
artifacts and works of art.
Check it out . . . The
Alaska Native Gallery includes a Northwest Coast clan
house complete with totems, a 38 ft. umiak, a whaling boat
made from driftwood covered with walrus skins and the
state’s unique bentwood hunting hat.
Check it out . . . The
Natural History Gallery exhibits Alaska's bald eagles in a
full-sized nesting tree that includes seven eagles at
various stages of life, from egg to adult.
• St. Nicholas
Church
St. Nicholas Church,
situated above downtown Juneau is the oldest original
Russian Orthodox church in Alaska. A gilded gold onion
dome crowns a humble, thatched roof cottage of white
clapboard trimmed in Nantucket blue. The bell hanging from
a small steepled doorway beckons visitors inside where
solemn, 19th century Russian icons and liturgical items
transport one to Russia’s past.
Tip: Weekend services sung
in English, Tlingit, and Old Slavonic are held Saturday
evenings and Sunday mornings.
• Mendenhall Glacier
One of Alaska's most
popular attractions, Mendenhall Glacier, is just few miles
from downtown. So close to town, yet so far from
civilization, this primordial mass of ancient ice
stretches 12 miles, spans a width of 1-1/2 miles, and is
400-800 feet deep, depending on where you stand.
Naturalist John Muir considered it "one of the most
beautiful of the coastal glaciers." An easy trail
along Mendenhall Lake leads to close-up views of this
massive chunk of ice and rock, which is merely one arm of
the colossal Juneau Ice Field, a 1500-square-mile block of
ice larger than the state of Rhode Island.
• Tracy Arm Fjord
A natural fence of jagged
white mountains surrounds this narrow, deep waterway. The
base of the mountains descend almost in equidistance to
the depths of the greenish blue water below. Triangular
ice floes that look like huge wedges of aquamarine pie
topped with whipped meringue on a crust of snow sail past
boats half their size. Waterfalls spew out between a
fringe of evergreens, cascading into an awaiting green
sea, synchronized like the well-rehearsed leap of a
ballerina into the arms of her anticipating partner. The
wide-winged Bald Eagle commands the skies overhead as
whales, seals, porpoise, and other wildlife splash and
splatter below in their private swimming hole, protected
by glacial stone palisades. The waterway is like a
gigantic moat shimmering past a glorious ice palace.
Glaciers, waterfalls, feathery green pines, and
flirtatious ice floes of translucent blue and opaque white
make this a wintry fairyland to dazzle the eye and make
one’s heart soar with the eagles.
|
About
The Author
Priscilla
Faith Rhodes is the author of DISCOVER
AMERICA DIARIES: 50 STATES, 50 STATES OF
MIND, and co-publisher of the
award-winning website, Postcards from
America, http://www.postcardsfrom.com,
a edu-travel site that helps students and
families learn about America through
postcards. |
|
|
