It was a cool and crisp 43 degrees, as we sailed towards our final port of Ketchikan, Alaska this morning. But the skies were blue as could be, and there was not a trace of rain anywhere. For this part of the state, that was a miracle. Ketchikan is located in the southernmost part of Alaska, and gets up to 162 inches of annual rainfall. It is considered a temperate rain forest.
It is also reportedly the salmon capital of the world, which includes five varieties of salmon. In the past, we learned how to remember those names by comparing them to your fingers. Beginning with the thumb, there is chum. Your next finger is the pointer, which can sock you in the eye. Thus, the name sockeye. The next finger is the longest, so the salmon is king (coho). The ring finger is silver, while the smallest finger or pinkie, is pink salmon. Nifty.
The economy here has relied on fishing, canning, mineral exploration, logging, and cold storage. Tourism has taken the lead, and despite the Covid period, has resumed rather well. By the way, the population is over 8,000, some of which include the native tribes of Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian. Their culture has produced the largest collection of totems in the world. These tall cedar logs are typically carved with wolves, bears, eagles, ravens, and whales, as well as family members. Each one tells a story.
By the time the ship docked before 11am, the temperature had risen to 54 degrees. It was going to be a beautiful day. Sharing the dock were the Majestic Princess and the Grand Princess. She was also in Skagway, so we can assume The Grand P is on her way back to either Seattle or Vancouver like us. There were enough tours to accommodate this amount of people. For instance, there was a coastal cruise with an oyster farm for $170, or an adventure kart ride for $230. Totems and wildlife with appetizers ran $200, while salmon fishing was $220. Another boat ride took folks on the Aleutian Ballad, a fishing vessel seen on the Deadliest Catch. $210 for that one. Zip lining, kayaking, and pub crawl ran from $85 to $200, while Misty Fjords sailing $210 or Neets Bay floatplane for $470 were options. We have taken some of these tours in the past, but sure do not recall the prices being so steep. Sign of the times we guess. Spending a few hours trying to email (it has been slow and most tempermental), we went off of the ship by 1pm.
Wearing sweatshirts, we hiked through town and across the bridge over Ketchikan Creek. Glad we did not wear the arctic jackets, or we would have been way too warm. The Creek Street area was crowded, so we kept the masks on. Noticing that the creek did not have very many dead salmon, we worried that the run had ended. The water was deep, due to the tide coming up, and it was difficult to see the fish. As we climbed the stairs towards the top, we saw many more beaten up salmon bodies fighting the current. Several people lined the railings to see the fish jump the current or use the ladders. There was one small seal creating havock with the fish. At the end of the Married Men's Trail, we crossed the road to discover the shallow creek housed a ton of fish. We walked towards the bridge, and saw hordes of salmon (we assume pink?), especially on the banks, where they seem to rest in order to go on. Up here, there were many casualties, but that is the plan for the spawning salmon. Their only job at this stage of their lives, is to lay eggs, then die. We did see a couple of locals fishing, but at this stage of their life, the fish seldom bite. As they deteriorate, they don't eat, just spawn.
Further up this road, is the Mountain Hatchery, which is a nonprofit aqua-culture facility now. There used to be a tour here, but the doors are locked now. Today, there were many people in the city park, including some young local kids, who should have been in school, now that we think of it. One of the girls asked us where we were from, and what did we want to see and buy. She recommended the museum near the Federal Building, and two restaurants in town…. one of which was managed by her aunt. We in turn asked them about living here, and they added lots of info about the weather. The young boy said today was exceptional, because it is normally raining. That could have been a reason why they ducked out of school early. We enjoyed our conversation with them, then they continued on to the next group of tourists.
Across a wooden walking bridge, we found the Totem Heritage Center, a place we have toured in the past. There are a few totems there, and some tree descriptions. They have mature Sitka spruce trees and hemlocks. Both get extremely tall and live a long time. A few years ago, we sent for some Sitka spruces, and they are growing in large pots. We had better keep them there to control the size. Don't need one of them falling.
Time to head back, we went back down the creek trail, and located the museum the kids talked about. Not enough time to explore, we did pick up some excellent brochures and walking maps. Now we can put names to most everything in town. Lunch was next, so we checked out the place that had been closed last year….the Alaska Crab Company. They were open again, and we went up the elevator to the third floor. The majority of lunch people had left, so we had no trouble getting a table. The menu was primarily fish, but we are more prone to ordering burgers or pizza. No pizza, but their burger and fries were perfect. So were the Alaskan Amber beers, and finally, the one slice of caramel and nut cheesecake. Good thing we shared. By the time we left, it was after 4pm. There was still time to check out the shops, but most everything was a repeat from the last two ports. We did consider buying some kettle corn, but the time we went back outside, the vendor had closed his doors. The ship was literally steps away, so we went back onboard. Maybe next time, we will have more time to shop.
One of us made a beverage run to collect more drinks for our room, as we seldom go to a bar for cocktails these days. We still are quite shy of our Have-It-All allotment of 15 drinks per person per day. Almost impossible to do, at least for us. The Grand Princess left quietly around 6pm, and we followed them out shortly after the all aboard time of 6:30pm. The sun had slipped behind the island across the harbor, so there was no sunset that we could see.
Dinner was in the dining room this evening where we decided to ask for our pre-assigned table at the railing for the remainder of the back-to-back trips. Our excellent waiters will be leaving for home anyway, so this was the perfect time to re-locate. We had requested the table on the railing a year ago, but somehow, it disappeared from our invoice. The maitre'd had no problem putting us back there for the next 6 weeks.
We had mail tonight, which included instructions for Vancouver and immigrations. We may have to go with the group that is sailing onward like us, because the last time we left the ship, we had a bear of a time re-boarding. At that time, we had to line up with hundreds of folks for the customs checkpoint, and it took precious time. Not worth the stress. There was also a message to put our clocks forward, losing that hour we gained a few days ago. Tonight was Musicology in the Mainstage, a show we did see (really good), and also the Orange Party in the Rolling Stones Lounge at 10pm. It's more about the drinking than anything else, so we skipped it. One more day at sea, and we will be back to Vancouver.
Bill & Mary Ann
