June 1 - Ketchikan

From Glacier Bay, our cruise ship headed south along the Inside Passage to Ketchikan.  At times we were quite close to the shore and at other times too distant for me to see the land. The sea was quite calm and although the air was brisk, it was pleasant to stroll around the promenade deck.

It was morning when we pulled into the dock at Ketchikan. It was fascinating to watch this process. There were two other cruise ships ahead of us, so the captain pulled alongside the empty berth between the two other ships. At that point, he started the side thrusters and the ship moved gently sideways towards the dock, squeezing into the small space between. Modern technology is certainly quite amazing.

Ketchikan has grown from a small fishing village inaccessible by road to a popular stop for thousands of tourists who arrive on the summer cruise ships. Fishing still plays a major part in the town economy but Ketchikan is still inaccessible by road. However, the town seems to have its share of motor vehicles and buses. Close to the dock there is also a flotilla of small float planes. These are put to good use in the tourist season.

Ketchikan experiences more than its share of annual rainfall, but on the day of our visit the sun was shining.  It was here that Lyle and I took one of our few on shore excursions. We rode in a duck vehicle around town and then onto the waterway.  I found it quite difficult to see anything through the Plexiglas windows of the duck but I did enjoy the commentary. Later, we took a hop on hop off shuttle bus around the town and also walked to some of the more interesting places that had been pointed out to us.

Ketchikan is basically built on the side of a hill and I was fascinated by the long narrow stairways which the locals call roads. The houses seemed to be built into the side of the hill balancing on tall stilts. I have attached a picture with this post.

We also saw quite a few totem poles around town. There is a second picture with this post of a group of totem poles at the town’s Discovery Centre.

Ketchikan

Totem pole at Ketchikan