This past weekend I had the pleasure of giving a quilt judging presentation to Capital City Quilters in Juneau. They had their first quilt show in 2017. In 2019 they will have their first judged quilt show and wanted to learn more about the process. Twenty five of the fifty members attended my three hour lecture.
Even though I was only in Juneau over the weekend, a couple members were quite wonderful, taking me around to see nearby sites, out for meals, and being great conversationalists. Prior to my afternoon presentation, Christine Moleski, who is the quilt show chair, took me to Mendenhall Glacier.
Mendenhall Glacier
Mendenhall Glacier
This is Steep Creek where bears come to fish, but we didn’t see any. In fact, in the Mendenhall Glacier parking area, a woman just the previous week was eating a sub sandwich and had it taken away by a bear. It is now prohibited to consume food in this parking lot!
Steep Creek
After the presentation, member Suzanne and her husband Peter drove me to see The Shrine of St. Therese, notable as one of the few shrines in the United States. The location is gorgeous.
The Shrine of St. Therese grounds
The Shrine of St. Therese grounds
Again, we didn’t see any bears but instead quite a few chubby marmots among the rocks. The Shrine Lodge is open for retreats, with Capital City Quilters holding theirs here.
Shrine Lodge
There is a chapel built in 1938, a labyrinth, and other buildings on the grounds.
On Sunday, the day was even prettier than the one before with not a cloud in the sky and 65 degrees. Christine and I toured downtown and had a good lunch at The Rookery, which I recommend. Lots of tourists as it’s still cruise ship season. I have been to Juneau myself four years ago when Mike and I took an Alaskan cruise. It was crummy weather almost every day. I thought these people don’t know how lucky they are. I felt lucky myself to finally experience a part of Alaska in such glorious weather.
Downtown Juneau
Capital City Quilters’ quilt show will be next June, taking advantage of the tourist and cruise ship season, which brings many viewers to their show. I will be there to judge and am looking forward to it.
