KETCHIKAN

June 16, 2014

We set the alarm for 5:00 am since the captain had said we'd be going through the narrowest part of the passage and there may be a lot of whales and other sea animals.  Conrad woke up about 4:00 and decided to go ahead and get up.  He said we went through the area about 4:30 and he did see quite a few whales, sea otters, seals and maybe some dolphins.  I don't know why he didn't wake me up.  I woke up at 4:50 when I turned over in bed, facing the balcony, and the sun blasting me in the face!  We've left our drapes open every night just so we can look out.

Ketchikan is Alaska's 4th largest and southernmost city.  It was the first city in the state.  It sits on an island so you can only get there by boat or plane.  It claims to be the Salmon Capital of the World.  The annual average rainfall is 160" makes it the wettest community in North America.  They say it rains in excess of 350 days a year.  I guess we were lucky that it was sunny and clear all day.

The town is populated with native culture and contains the largest concentration of Tlingit (KLINK-it), Haida (HY-dah) and Tsimshian (SIMP-shee-ane) people in Alaska.  This heritage can be seen in the many totem poles that populate the area.  Totem poles depict stories or designate clans or lineage, and Ketchikan is reputed to contain the most in the world.  

This was taken first thing when Conrad woke up.

We never could catch the whale in a picture, just 

the whale blowing!

We passed this tiny island with a lighthouse in the middle 

of nowhere.

A boat loaded with crab traps headed out from Ketchikan.

Coming in to Ketchikan

Ketchikan float planes

It was fun getting to watch the ship parallel park at this pier. There were a couple guys out there to do the ropes. The rope was tied to a forklift and then the forklift moved the rope to where it needed to be.  (It doesn't take much to entertain us!)

The pier at Ketchikan

The buses advertise on top too so as you look down

from the ship, you can read it!

We got off the ship and headed over to the Visitor's Center to get a walking tour map so we didn't just wander around. 

Welcome to Ketchikan

One thing I wanted to be sure to see was the Salmon Fish Ladder. We saw another couple from our group on the land tour and they wanted to go with us so off we went.  We were told it was the second day of spawning season but we didn't see any salmon.  They say the first ones up the river or ladder are easy to see because they weigh 30 to 50 pounds!  Also, they usually don't run on sunny days.  It was fun to see the ladder though.  We saw some salmon using a ladder a couple years ago when we were in Washington and Oregon.  We decided we needed to get some lunch before our excursion.  We found a place called Chico's Mexican Restaurant. They claimed to have the best pizza in town!  We didn't try it though - just plain Mexican food.

The Salmon Ladder on Ketchikan Creek

Ketchikan has all kinds of beautiful flowers all over the town.

The poppies and daisies were especially pretty.

Conrad standing at the Chief Kyan Totem Pole - it

represents (from top) crane, thunderbird & brown bear

Our ship from a couple blocks away

We had one more excursion scheduled and that was the City Highlights, Saxman Totem Park and Creek Street.  We loaded on to a trolley car then headed through town.  We weren't real thrilled with this tour at all but we did want to see Saxman Totem Park and it was too far to walk. We spent about 30 minutes at the park and our guide explained about the totem poles. Ketchikan is home to the world's largest collection of totem poles.  

Waiting inside the trolley car for our excursion

Our trolley driver and Conrad, standing beside a piece of

wood that will be used for a totem pole at Saxman Totem Park.

One of the totem poles at Saxman Totem Park

Conrad looks so small against this totem pole!

The bottom of one of the totem poles

We got back on the trolley and headed in to town and to Creek Street.  Creek Street is not so much a street as a boardwalk built on pilings. (Many streets in Ketchikan are boardwalks or sidewalks and not streets at all!) It was the famed red-light district for half a century until 1954 when the profession became illegal.  The first house, with bright red doors and windows, was Dolly's House, the parlor of the city's most infamous madam.  Dolly's was the most famous house in town.  She was in the business the longest and was never arrested.

Creek Street

The sign on the side of Dolly's House

A display of gold nugget necklaces at one of the stores

This boardwalk, partly hidden behind the trees, is the path

called Married Man's Trail that led from part of town to

Creek Street.  The men tried to be discreet to visit their

favorite "girl"!

Creek Street on the Ketchikan Creek

Conrad leaving Creek Street

After the tour we walked back towards the pier to shop some of the stores.  We went to Fish Pirate's Saloon for a beer (Denali Single Engine Red) and a Diet Coke.  We got a free shot glass for buying a beer.  The high temperature today was 57 and it was perfect!  The sun is a little more intense here and it did feel hotter than that.  

Our ship - our room was on the right side, the second

one under that overhang.  That overhang made for nice shade

on the balcony on the sunny days.

Ketchikan from our balcony

This is where you could always find Conrad!

Miller TIme!

Leaving Ketchikan

Salmon canning factory

Saxman Totem Park from the ship

Beautiful water and mountains

The ship left Ketchikan at 5:30 and we stood on the balcony for a long time, watching the sights just outside of town.  Since we wanted to see the 8:00 show with comedian Derrick Cameron, we decided to just go to the buffet to eat dinner instead of the LONG dinner time in the dining room.  The show was really good and we laughed so much at this guy.  

Getting ready for the show

Then it was back to the room.  We'll lose an hour tonight since we are leaving Alaska and entering Canada (again)!

Turn down service with 2 chocolates always on the bed!

Good night!!!