Auke Lake

Today was a beautiful warm day and we decided to go to Auke Lake

It is an amazing place to be. The lake is big enough that people regularly jet-ski, fish, swim and even land float planes on it. It has VERY deep waters that look black. On a very calm day you can stand next to the water and the reflection is nearly as perfect as looking into a mirror. Lots of people enjoy the beauty of this amazing lake. It is right next to the ocean and it has an amazing view of Mendenhall Glacier. Today the sky was nearly the same color as the ice, so it isn't too obvious in the distance but if you look, you can see it there.

We were able to see the beautiful lily pads that are blooming...
There were Salmonberries beginning to ripen - YUM We also visited the glacier. This is a view of the parking for the tour-busses. I don't know if you can see it in the background, but there is a little wedge-shaped hill behind the busses. It has dirt covering it, but folks, that is a pile of snow! Yes, that is right - SNOW. This is snow that was removed from streets in this area during our long winter. The mountain was about 3 times this size a couple of months ago. We have been experiencing HIGH temps (in the 80°s) and this pile of snow remains... Yep, it is July in Juneau.

While visiting the glacier, we got to see this swan-shaped iceberg floating around in the lake.

Aly posed for a picture in-front of a hill covered in fireweed blooms

Locals here chat about how when the 'top of the fireweed blooms' summer is over and we are back on our way to winter. Well, I know that it is coming, but I also know we have other things to look forward to first - like salmon arriving in the nearby streams and the bears, wolves & bald eagles arriving soon after for a yummy snack...I will keep an eye out for all of those critters for future blog updates.

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