Juneau, Capitol of Alaska

Alaska's capitol, Juneau, is the second of the three cities we visited on our cruise and is the most picturesque city we visited in Alaska. The first photo is taken from the Mt. Roberts' tram, high above the city. As you can see, the city sits on a narrow slice of land between the mountains and the bay and stretches along both sides of the bay for quite a distance. You can see several cruise ships in port in the lower left hand corner of the picture. There were four cruise ships in port that day; our ship was just to the left of those pictured.

We walked through the city, past the state legislative building and on to the governor's mansion. Juneau is sometimes compared to San Francisco because of its hills. The walk from the ship to the governor's mansion was uphill most of the way.

The last two pictures are of the governor's mansion, the 12th oldest continuously occupied executive residence in the country. Governor Sarah Palin has chosen not to reside there all the time. Alaska's legislature meets only 90 days every other year. 

Of special note, Alaska celebrates its 50th anniversary as a state this year. Juneau is the only state capitol that shares a boundary with a foreign country, Canada.  The city is accessible only by sea or air. A long-running debate about building a road to Juneau continues!

Throughout Alaska there are many totem poles, such as the one in the third picture beside the mansion.