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Published: June 11th 2010
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We’re in Ketchikan today and I was especially eager to do something with the day. As of next week, when we settle into our regular itinerary, we will only be in Ketchikan for a few hours and early in the day. Today we had all day.
I went out with a couple girls but without a plan. I’d wanted to rent a car and go exploring on our own, but it’s a Sunday and rental places aren’t open. So we decided to just wing it. Out on the pier were tons of tour operators offering different things. We gathered information for future weeks, but didn’t feel like doing any big expensive trips today. We settled on a basic 2 hour tour that would take us out of town to see some sites just outside. At first it seemed like it was just going to be the three of us, but then last minute half a dozen other people joined us.
We were just in a large passenger van. Our guide was a local woman, a Native and her knowledge of the area and particularly of Native culture was really interesting.
We drove out of town and made a
brief stop at Mountain Point because our guide had spotted an eagle. The eagle was perched on a pole over the water, very close to where we stood. We snapped photos then headed back on our way.
Next we went for a short nature walk. We stopped at the water’s edge where it was lined with Rainforest trees. Our guide pointed out evidence that a bear had been through, likely the night before. The trees were beautiful. I love rainforests, everywhere I get to see one! Then we went out on the rocks along the coastline. It was so pretty. I took tons of photos, far more than I can post here! Our guide showed us these little shells on the rocks; she said they were called “gumboots” and that they were really tasty. We pried them off the rocks with our nails and gave them a try. Yup, just like that, raw right out of the shells. They just tasted salty from the water. It was the texture that threw me - I was expecting it to be chewy like escargot or clams but it was oddly crunchy!
Our next stop was near a salmon hatchery. It’s
a popular spot to sight bears because they come to feed off the salmon in the stream. It’s too early in the season for the salmon to be swimming upstream, so it’s also rare to see bears and we didn’t see one. But we saw a couple more eagles sitting in their nest at the top of a tall evergreen tree. Across the street is a small stand run by a woman who sells homemade fudge, jams, jellies and vinegars.
Then we went to Saxman Totem Park, the largest outdoor display of totem poles in the world, according to our guide. Near the entrance is an artist’s workshop and inside a young man was working on some carvings. That was interesting to see. We walked amongst the poles and our guide told us the stories behind most of them. Then we had time to explore on our own and take pictures. Emina and I had fun taking silly photos with some of the poles.
Time to head back into town. Our guide dropped us at the town’s famous Creek Street. Creek Street is really cute - historic buildings on a boardwalk over the creek. There’s lots of history
there - including a famous brothel, Dolly’s House. We paid the five dollars for the tour of her house and establishment. It was pretty interesting to see some of the artifacts around the house, like an application form to work in the brothel. Fascinating questions on that application! Another funny thing was some of the decorations in her bathroom - silk flowers made from silk condoms! Of course silk condoms wouldn’t be any good, and apparently Dolly knew this so she used the material to make decorations!
Back out on Creek Street we explored some of the shops along the way. I didn’t buy anything, more just eyed what sorts of purchases I’d like to make before I go home.
We still had a bit of time before we had to be back onboard and headed to work, so we decided to have dinner. We went to a restaurant right near the pier for fish and chips and other freshly caught local seafood. While I am not a beer drinker normally, I decided to try the local Alaska Brewery Amber Ale that I’d heard was really good. And it was! It might just turn me into a beer
fan!
It was a nice day out in Ketchikan. I’m excited for more things to discover here in the weeks ahead.
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