usbackroads destination-Ketchikan, Alaska
The ship left Glacier Bay in bright sunshine in the late afternoon. We traveled through the night and morning found us in Ketchikan, Alaska under more typical south-east Alaska skies. Foggy and rainy. The ship is heading south at a rapid clip so we have only four hours in Ketchikan.
The view from the ship of Ketchikan shows different sides of Ketchikan. There are the cruise ships parked next to each other just steps from downtown.
And downtown you look down on downtown.
So Alex and I decided to jump ship for the four hours and wander aimlessly throughout Ketchikan. Heidi Muller has a great song about Ketchikan and if you can find the CD it is a great song that will forever color your view of foggy Ketchikan town: Cassiopeia.
So we started walking the streets of Ketchikan in the rain.
We found a totem pole.
We then saw some shops clustered around a rushing stream. And there were signs about salmon spawning areas in the creek.
So we wandered upstream to see if we could find any spawning salmon. Just above the stores we hit a section of stream and carefully looked over the side to see if we could see any spawning salmon. It took a second to notice that the creek bed was covered in spawning salmon. Click on photo to enlarge.
As we kept heading upstream we noticed more and more fish. There were more fish than water it seemed.
We continued to walk through the neighborhood in the vicinity of the stream Yep, this is Alaska from the bumper stickers to the boat parked next to apartment buildings.
On the way back to downtown we found the Forest Service boat and a view of the cruise ship. Now it would be worth it to spend some work time in south-east Alaska just to get a ride on the Forest Service boat. However, I am not sure I could handle the constant rain!!
Soon our four hour stroll through town was over and we watched the harbor activity from the ship.
And then it was time to leave for Victoria for a stop the following evening. This was our last view of foggy, Ketchikan town. A four hour stroll full of adventure and new discoveries. The best part of travel are those unexpected perfect days when you were expecting nothing special.
3 comments:
Love the picture of the cruise ship behind the town. Those cruise ships are huge. I've never been on one. I have considered taking my small RV on the Alaska Ferry and stopping off in several towns along the way.
The one we were on had 2500 passengers and a crew of 1400 or so.
Your idea of taking a small RV and the Alaska Ferry is the way to go. Be sure to take a kayak, bear spray and good rain gear.
We had friends that worked and lived in the small towns up and down the coast of Alaska and for all it was an adventure. An adventure that I always thought would be better as a visitor than a native!!
We are thinking of returning with a camper on the truck and those Alaska ferry boat tickets.
That is a heck of a lot of salmon! Busy making more salmon, nothing wrong with that.
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