Glacier Gardens Juneau

 While I was on my way back home from Skagway I needed to take a long layover in Juneau. Being without a car Activities in Juneau were limited to just what was semi walkable between the Juneau Super 8 Hotel, and the Airport. 

Arrival at the Juneau Ferry Terminal Note the daylight at 10:00 PM! 

This Bald Eagle remained perched on the Dock the entire time we were mooring up. 

The two hotels in Juneau: During this trip I had two separate hotel stays in Juneau. The Juneau Travel Lodge which I would not recommend to anyone looking for something "Decent" in town. The layout of the Hotel doesn't make much sense, the hallways are almost too narrow for the luggage carts and Cleanliness was, deficient to say the least. 

The Juneau Super 8 was moderately better, Much cleaner and easier to navigate than the Travel Lodge. Neither are particularly worth the premium price one has to pay to spend a night in Juneau, and neither offer a Hot Breakfast. However the staff is friendly at both, that was a big plus. 

While in the hotel lobby waiting on my flight to SeaTac I was looking for activities near the hotel. I found the "Glacier Gardens" to be on the list of nearby Attractions. Being someone who enjoys large Botanical Gardens I figured this would be worth the visit. 

In true Alaska fashion this quirky little roadside attraction was located in the backyard of it's owner. Tucked away in what Appalachian folks would call a "Hollar" Just along the only highway in Juneau (Note: the Highway begins and ends in Juneau) 

The Entry Building for the attraction is located inside of this massive greenhouse at the front of the property. The Greenhouse houses a small snack shop, restrooms, and a gift shop. According to the employees this is where most of the plants in the gardens are kept during the winter. This is also where you purchase tickets for the tour.

Several varieties of Rhododendron are on display in the gardens, while Rhododendron are not native to Alaska they do thrive in cooler wet climates which makes Juneau a decent summer home for these flowering Appalachian natives. 

Also on display were these Yuka plants in the rock garden. 

The Icon for the Glacier Gardens are their famous "Upside down trees" 

As the story goes when the property owner acquired the land to build his home, he was concerned about the risk of mud slides thanks to water running off the Mendenhall Glacier just above his land. His solution was to plant a large garden and build small ponds to collect water, and control the flow as it made it's way down the mountain side. To build his ponds he rented a backhoe from a local equipment rental service, that he did not know how to operate. Despite his wife's protest he also chose NOT to buy the rental insurance as well. One afternoon while he was working away at digging his pond, he backed his uninsured backhoe into a large log completely gutting the undercarriage. The now totaled backhoe was rendered practically useless, except for the fact that the bucket still operated. So in a fit of unbridled rage, he picked up the offending long and rammed it as hard as he possibly could into the mud hoping to see it shatter into a million pieces. Instead the log sank straight into the mud upright and unharmed. 

The owner noticed that the root ball when inverted resembled a hanging flower basket. He then decided to run down to his nursery greenhouse, and replanted some of his hanging baskets into the root ball of the now upside down tree. He liked the idea so much that he covered his property in his new creation. 

The Tour begins just behind the Greenhouse/Gift shop where you board these little miniature buses to take you up the homebuilt log lattice roads to the summit of the mountain. 

At the Summit you are greeted with fantastic views of Juneau, the Linn Fjord and the Mendenhall Glacier. 

One of my last views in Alaska, a creek lined in flowering Rhododendron, which made me excited for the trip back home. 

The Juneau Airport Polar Bear that welcomed me to Alaska bid me farewell as I bordered the plane and began the journey back to Charleston.