Ketchikan!


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North America » United States » Alaska » Ketchikan
July 16th 2013
Published: July 27th 2013
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The next day, our last small town on the cruise was Ketchikan, home to Totem Pole park where replicas of many the lands Totem Poles reside. This struck us a more of tourist gimmick, so we elected to take a nature walk out at one of the hundreds of small islands in the area. We had hoped to see more Bald Eagles and we were not disappointed. The shuttle took a group of about 25 out to a small harbor north of town. We jumped out and into life jackets. As we walked down the gangway, I noticed our boat resembled a large 25 foot, rubber life raft with a center console, and twin 200HP outboard motors. “Strange”, I thought, but this is probably a good way to get around up here from island to island. I forgot the town of Ketchikan is on a large island. We clambered aboard the strange vessel and the captain gave us the usual safety brief. Then as we start to motor slowly out of the harbor & spot the first of two eagles high in the trees staring at us. The captain mentions I may want to hold on to my cap as he puts the “pedal to the metal”. The twin, 200 horsepower motors come to life and we all strained to keep from flying backwards from the acceleration. The cold air blast and the speed of flying over the waves gave us an unforgettable thrill. “Don’t forget to hang on”!



As we approached the beach, the captain increased the rpms of the motors and simply drove up the incline. We disembarked using a ladder. Once we inspected many of the local seaweed and starfish, up into the rain forest we went.



The island had been used for logging the Hemlock, Cedar, and Sitka Spruce, but since under the jurisdiction of a National Forest, now is used by the tourist adventure company to provide a rainforest experience. We enjoyed seeing and learning about the many aspects of the ecology of these northern islands. This particular area has several thousand feet difference between the small island and the nearby underwater canyons, indicating volcanic activity.



After the scenic hikes through the rain forest, the group boarded the overgrown life raft for a speedy return trip back to the harbor. On our way, we stopped by the local Bald Eagle nest. It was enormous by most standards, and the guide said they were typically 5 feet wide! My tree forts were smaller than that.



Back from the hiking outing, it was off to the sky!



We booked a float plane ride to see the nearby Fjords at the last minute which saved us over $100 from the cost of booking on line or through the cruise ship. It was Pirate Aviation! Arrrrgh! Baton down the hatches, mate we best be going for a ride! We arrived just in time for the shuttle with everyone giving us the stink eye. We must have held them up at least 5 minutes.



As we start to board the 6 seat, single engine, 1967 De Havilland Beaver floatplane, the owner of the airplane company offers us the co-pilot seat. The young men we were with, looked at each other then looked at us. I looked at Debbie and said “you want the front seat” (knowing she may get motion sickness otherwise). “No”, she said, “you can take it if you want”. Ohhhhh yeaaaaaa! I climbed in and sat up front with awesome view, although for someone with a camera, it’s not the best seat. The prop is in the way most of the time, and although you may not notice it, the camera freezes it just fine.



We got to zoom in under the mountain tops flying down low into the fjords on a nearly cloudless day. As we got up close to some of the water falls, banking so everyone could see, the pilot commented that he’ll hold it as long as he can but has a small obstacle in the way “Oh yea, it’s a mountain”. I look back up and see nothing but rock, as he reverse the plane bank, and we clear it with ease. It’s amazing how close things look but could still be 1000 yards away. The pilot then zig-zagged his way around some more artic lakes and glaciers before we lowered altitude and landed on a pristine, secluded lake un available by anything other than a float plane. They had built a dock just for landing the plane and we were all impressed how he single-handedly pulled up to the dock, killed the engine, jumped out, and tied us up. Wow, no wonder there are so many books written about bush pilots of Alaska. One such pilots, such as Frank Barr, was responsible for saving dozens of lives back in the 1930s and 40s.



So, after a few photos, we re-boarded our plane for a few more mountain peaks, quick turns, nose dives into steep canyon lakes, and back to the ship we went. But not before a green Debbie suffered a round of motion sickness. L “I hope you’re OK” the pilot asked her. “I’m fine now” Debbie responded, “and it was soooooo worth it”!


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