The Shrine

Nestled on a small island in Juneau, Alaska is the Shrine of St. Therese. This is easily one of my favorite sunset locations in Juneau. Especially if I’m being lazy and don’t want to climb to the top of a mountain. The short walk from the car park over the causeway is quite meditative as you listen to the sounds of nature envelope you. The causeway was built in 1934 and allows access even at high tide.

Devil’s club is quite painful to touch, but oh, how beautiful it can be. The far side of the shrine is nestled in a mini-forest. You feel like you’re coming across the most amazing house on earth when seen from this angle. Using the green foliage in the foreground really helped the chapel pop. In photography, timing seems to be one of the most important skills to learn (or be lucky). The lights inside the chapel really help show the warmth of the area. As soon as I finished taking this picture, they happened to be turned off for the night. Almost missed it.

On a rare sunny day the golden hues of sunset light up the forest that encompasses this Catholic Shrine. It’s a beautiful sight and location to listen to nature and meditate on the beauty of creation.

Sometimes I like to visit an area and take similar images. I headed out for sunset on another clear day and the shrine was the same…however the foliage was quite different. This changing of the leaves allowed a very different look to this beautiful scene.