Day 23 (Saturday) -- Misty Fjords National Monument & Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show
Ketchikan is located at the southernmost entrance to Alaska's Inside Passage. It is known for three things: salmon, scenery, and a rich Alaskan Native culture. It is located in the midst of the Tongass National Forest, a 17-million acre rainforest of cedar and Sitka spruce trees. The red cedar logs from the forest are used in totem pole making. Ketchikan is home to the largest collection of totem poles in the world.
Exploring the historic Creek Street is one of the most popular things to do in Ketchikan. The antique boardwalk on wooden pilings over Ketchikan Creek is home to restaurants, unique curio shops, museums, private dwellings and one of the best salmon viewing areas. Creek Street is known as the old red-light district. Prostitution was the number one industry in Ketchikan in the mid 1920's. During prohibition, bootleggers would smuggle in Canadian whiskey to supply the houses of prostitution.
Ketchikan is in a rainforest and averages around 160 inches a year. In August alone, they average around 9 inches. So, we were pleasantly surprised to have a bright, warm, sunny August day.
Originally, our group was scheduled for a Totem Pole tour. While on the cruise, we decided to take a boat tour of the Misty Fjords National Monument instead and exchanged our tickets. After arriving in Ketchikan, we all boarded the boat to Misty Fjords, but unfortunately, the boat had engine problems and had to return to port. What to do? What to do? Most of the tours were already booked. There were three openings for a flight/catamaran combo tour of Misty Fjords. Arlen, Justin and I decided to book that at a much higher cost. After the tour, we were so glad we did. What amazing beauty! Misty Fjords has light colored granite that was sculpted by glaciers and is 50 to 70 million years old. Many of the valleys are called "canals", but they are not man-made. The walls of the valleys are near vertical and rise 2,000 to 3,000 feet above sea level, and drop 1,000 feet below. In 1793, when George Vancouver explored the area, he discovered New Eddystone Rock. It is a 237 foot column of basalt in the middle of Behm Canal. It was formed in the past 5 million years by volcanic activity.
My sister, husband and brother went to the Lumberjack show and walked the famous boardwalk on Creek Street.
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| Ketchikan |
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| Whales were swimming right below our balcony! |
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| The water almost looks like rough ice |
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| Cruise ship staff prepare our deck picnic |
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| We ate our picnic lunch before we arrived in Ketchikan |
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| View of Ketchikan from the water |
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| Arlen, Justin and I toured the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center. |
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| Ketchikan downtown as viewed from the ship. |
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| Totem Poles line the entry way to the Totem Bite Park. |
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| Arlen, Justin and I are in the plane and headed for Misty Fjords National Monument |
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| Is it Mickey Mouse? |
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| Glacial Lakes amidst the fjords |
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| Granite walls |
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| New Eddystone Rock as viewed from the air. |
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| Beautiful waterfalls viewed from above. |
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| The first half of our tour was complete when we landed and waited for the catamaran. |
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| Princess Bay high-speed catamaran took us back to Ketchikan through Misty Fjords |
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| A rainbow appears in the water splashing from the high-speed catamaran |
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| NO BANANAS onboard a boat or bad luck |
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| Eddystone Rock from the water |
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| Justin and I enjoy view from the Princess Bay catamaran |
Pictures below are from the Lumberjack Show that Linda, Wayne and John attended.
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| Creek Street |
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| Good-bye to Ketchikan |
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| Another beautiful sunset and moonlight |
