Today we said goodbye to National Geographic Quest; as we departed all the Lindblad staff and crew came out to bid us farewell.  As we walked to our shuttle there were familiar Lindblad faces everywhere wishing us all the best.  Once we arrived at the shuttle we went to Glacier Gardens, a beautiful botanical property that has been created from an area that was once the remnants of a big landslide.  The story goes that the owner of Glacier Gardens was angry at a tree, so he took it (using machinery of course) and stood it upside down in the ground.  Once he looked at this upside down tree, though, he realized it could actually become something and the famous "upside down trees" or "upside down flower towers" were created.  Glacier Gardens was full of these upside down trees, which now grow all kinds of flowers and foliage at their top (well, really it's the bottom of the tree that's now the top).  In trolleys we went to the overlook of the property, where we could see the mountains and landscape beyond Juneau.  Besides the famous trees, Glacier Gardens is also home to endless plant species and many nursery logs (which are common in Alaska); nursery logs are old tree stumps that become the homes of new trees, and we have seen these throughout our journey.   After this I spent time exploring Juneau.  

Although this city is the capital of Alaska and is on the mainland (unlike the other areas we have been visiting, which are on islands), Juneau is only accessible by plane or boat.  We learned that this is because of the terrain that surrounds the city.  It has been a learning experience to see just how remote some parts of Alaska are, and how difficult travel can be for people who live in this state.  Juneau seemed like a huge city after being in remote Alaska for the last week; I walked by the state capitol, the governor's mansion, very busy cruise ship terminals full of passengers, and all kinds of souvenir stores.  Juneau has just over 30,000 people, which is actually the third largest population of any city in Alaska.  The summer months are busy with tourists here, and it was such a different experience from the remote regions we have been visiting.  I was told to go see the William Spear Design store in Juneau, and it did not disappoint.  Mr. Spear, who was there and visiting with customers, has been operating his company for years, and his store is full of handmade enamel pins, zipper pulls, magnets, keychains . . . it really was like a small art museum.  Mr. Spear let me take a photo of him and gave me a brochure about his store's history.  I enjoy a good souvenir store as much as anyone, but to buy hand-designed small pieces of art from Mr. Spear was so much more enjoyable than just finding a busy shopping center.  I found Juneau to be an interesting city, from its gold rush history to the totem poles found across the town.  The weather was beautiful (sunny and in the low 60s, which we were told was a fabulous weather day in Alaska) and the mountains surrounding the town were still capped with snow.  For anyone exploring Alaska's famous Inside Passage, as I have been doing, Juneau is the major city along the route.