2011-36 Ketchikan, Alaska
Hello All,
After departing Glacier Bay National Park our ship started its trek towards Ketchikan, Alaska. It took a southerly heading in Icy Straits. This is a good area to see whales so we stayed out on deck to see if we could spot any. With the weather deteriorating and the ship now moving at a higher speed the wind was some kind of cold! We did see a number of whales blowing in the distance and managed a couple of closer shots until we could no longer stand the cold temperatures of Icy Straits. This is a humpback whale in the following photos.
After departing Glacier Bay National Park our ship started its trek towards Ketchikan, Alaska. It took a southerly heading in Icy Straits. This is a good area to see whales so we stayed out on deck to see if we could spot any. With the weather deteriorating and the ship now moving at a higher speed the wind was some kind of cold! We did see a number of whales blowing in the distance and managed a couple of closer shots until we could no longer stand the cold temperatures of Icy Straits. This is a humpback whale in the following photos.
Our journey continued through
the night. One nice thing about cruising in Southeast Alaska’s protected waters
you don’t encounter the big swells that rock and roll ships on the oceans.
Early the next morning we were tied up at the docks in Ketchikan.
Ketchikan has a population of about 7,500 and is dubbed “Alaska’s First City” because it is the first city travelers reach when traveling north by ship along the inside passage. The city is also known as the “Salmon Capital of the World,” as their economy is based on tourism and fishing. Probably the area’s most popular tourist attraction is Misty Fjords National Monument located 40 miles east. While Southeast Alaska is known for its mild rainy climate, Ketchikan is by far the wettest city with an annual rainfall of 153 inches--that‘s almost ½ inch of rain a day! And it rains an average of 229 days a year. With that said, when it is not raining it is some of the most beautiful scenic country in the world.
Since we had been to Ketchikan before and the fact that we only had 5½ hours at this port of call we thought we would walk around town a bit and then check out Saxman Native Village on the edge of town.
From the deck of the ship we could see that the sky was ominous but that didn’t slow us down. Note the gray building with red roof and awnings in the following photo. By the time we got off the ship and made it to this building the sky opened up and it started raining buckets. We, along with about 500 other folks, held up under the awnings for about 10 minutes until the rain tapered off.
Ketchikan has a population of about 7,500 and is dubbed “Alaska’s First City” because it is the first city travelers reach when traveling north by ship along the inside passage. The city is also known as the “Salmon Capital of the World,” as their economy is based on tourism and fishing. Probably the area’s most popular tourist attraction is Misty Fjords National Monument located 40 miles east. While Southeast Alaska is known for its mild rainy climate, Ketchikan is by far the wettest city with an annual rainfall of 153 inches--that‘s almost ½ inch of rain a day! And it rains an average of 229 days a year. With that said, when it is not raining it is some of the most beautiful scenic country in the world.
Since we had been to Ketchikan before and the fact that we only had 5½ hours at this port of call we thought we would walk around town a bit and then check out Saxman Native Village on the edge of town.
From the deck of the ship we could see that the sky was ominous but that didn’t slow us down. Note the gray building with red roof and awnings in the following photo. By the time we got off the ship and made it to this building the sky opened up and it started raining buckets. We, along with about 500 other folks, held up under the awnings for about 10 minutes until the rain tapered off.
Once the rain settled down we
took off walking. One of the first things we came across was a tiny little park
with a totem pole and some amazing flowers. The long days of sunlight combined
with moderate temperatures and lots of rain are perfect for plant life.
Our target walking destination
in town was the infamous Creek Street. It is Ketchikan’s old red-light
district. In the mid 1920’s there were over 20 bawdy houses of ill repute on
the street. In fact, Creek Street was once home to Ketchikan’s number one
industry--prostitution. The “ladies of the night” were frequented by men
looking for a little company and some liquor. During prohibition, Creek Street
was the place to go for a drink, as bootleggers would smuggle in Canadian
whiskey to supply the houses and backroom saloons. The houses were built over
Ketchikan Creek and bootleggers simply waited for high tide and then rowed
their boats upstream to deliver their goods under the cloak of darkness. Most
of the houses had hidden trap doors underneath where they received deliveries.
Today the old boardwalk on wooden pilings is home to colorful restaurants,
unique curio shops, the Dolly House Museum, and private dwellings. It is also
one of the best salmon viewing areas in Ketchikan, as they come up the creek to
spawn.
This little shop on Creek
Street had the most amazing selection of Alaska gold and Australian opal jewelry
for sale. Wow, was Dave ever glad we only had a limited amount of time to spend
in Ketchikan--it could have gotten expensive! Pretty sure Miss Barb would
have found something she couldn’t live without!
They also had the world’s
third largest matrix opal on display behind really thick glass. It was found in
1978 in the Andamooka opal fields in South Australia. It weighs 10,900 carats
and has a value of $20 per carat. We were surprised to learn that it is
estimated to be 135 million years old.
The place with the American
Flag hanging over the water served some amazing halibut and chips.
Once we made it to the upper
end of Ketchikan Creek we were blown away by the brilliance of the green moss
on the rocks. As many of you know, we love the many bright colors in nature!
Our next stop was the Tlingit
Indian village of Saxman. It was established in 1894 and named for school
teacher Samuel Saxman, one of three men killed while searching for a location
for a new village. The village has the largest collection of totem poles in the
world.
Good ole Mother Nature was letting go with more precipitation by the time we arrived at the village. We snapped a few photos of totem poles and then quickly moved to the carving shed where native craftsmen were working on new poles. They are carved from large trees, mostly Western Red Cedar. Commemorative totem poles are usually the largest in size; memorial poles celebrate important tribe members; and family lineage poles celebrate one family’s unique history. Poles used for public ridicule are called “shame poles,” and were used to shame individuals or groups for unpaid debts.
Good ole Mother Nature was letting go with more precipitation by the time we arrived at the village. We snapped a few photos of totem poles and then quickly moved to the carving shed where native craftsmen were working on new poles. They are carved from large trees, mostly Western Red Cedar. Commemorative totem poles are usually the largest in size; memorial poles celebrate important tribe members; and family lineage poles celebrate one family’s unique history. Poles used for public ridicule are called “shame poles,” and were used to shame individuals or groups for unpaid debts.
We then proceeded to the tribal clan house in
the village where we watched village people consisting of elders all the way down
to small children perform native dances and songs.
To allow us to get better
photos we chose to sit on a raised portion of the clan house that went around
the outside perimeter rather than in the center with most folks. The following
photos are of an elder explaining how village clan houses are built and used,
followed by the performances.
But the highlight for us came
about half way through the dance performances when the little guy sitting on
the stage in the photo above decided he had had enough. He left the stage and
came strolling around the outside perimeter of the clan house. His mother tried
to corral him but he would have no part of it. And then to our surprise he
stopped in front of us and danced. For some reason he was as fascinated with us
as we were with him--it may have been the cameras. Wow, talk about a cutie with
big brown eyes!
We thoroughly enjoyed our
short time in Ketchikan in spite of the weather. Our cruise will proceed on
south via the inside passage to our next port of call, Victoria, the beautiful
capitol city of British Columbia, Canada.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns