Capital Cities Tour: Discover Juneau, Alaska

“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.

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.