In 1917 miners in the Treadwell gold mine began undercutting the shaft supports in order to get the last little bits of gold out. This, in combination with an unusually high tide, caused the mine to flood and collapse, leading to the close of the mine. It's believed no one died, though one person went missing - possibly fleeing town to avoid his debts.
This is one of the three or so facts you will hear right after someone in Juneau says hello to you. [They really don't want anyone to have died in this, but I ask you if you have a mine collapse and one guy is "missing" do you assume he died in the mine or that he got out out and simply skipped town to avoid bills? I'm betting on the first. Sorry Juneau, he's dead.]
Dan, again, in brackets.
Getting off the boat at around four in the morning was not one of my highlights for the trip. As a bonus, neither Dan nor I could get a consistent cell signal, meaning we were a bit in the dark as to what to do while we waited for the hostel to open. [It also made it very hard to say call a cab, thankfully the ferry terminal had a local phone with which to call cab companies.]
A note about the hostel - for $12 cash and a chore, one can stay at the only hostel in town. The price opened up some possibilities (else you paid $100/night and had to forego any large expense), but the catch was the hours - the "office" was only open 8-9am and 5-11pm. This meant there was some waiting in Dan and my future. [Juneau has many good aspects but it is not a town that's hopping at 4 a.m.]
We waited a few hours for Donna's, a recommended diner, to open (6am). We took a taxi over there, then I had too much coffee while we waited and waited. After some false starts (oh, bonus, it was Labor Day, so even things that would normally be open were closed), we got another taxi to the hostel. Finally checked in, we were kicked out until they reopened at five. What's open on Labor Day? A mountain was open.
