A Tourist's Eye View of Ketchikan

Friday, June 3rd was a light work day for me. I started at 7:30am and finished at 10:30am. Dan was scheduled with a full day of Misty Fjord Tours. So I decided to grab my camera and walk all around town, being a tourist.

Ketchikan is the southern most sizable city in Alaska, located on Revillagigedo Island, which is 90  miles north of Prince Rupert, British Columbia and 235 miles south of Juneau, AK. The 1/2 mile wide channel, called the Tongass Narrows, separates Ketchikan from Gravina Island, where Ketchikan International Airport is located. It has a population of 8 thousand within the city limits and 14 thousand when you take in the surrounding area. Ketchikan was established in 1900 due to commercial fishing in the salmon rich waters. Not only is the city known as Alaska's First City, it is also called the Salmon Capital of the World. Ketchikan has the largest collection of Totem Poles that are located at the City of Saxman, Totem Bight State Park and the Totem Heritage Center. The natives are known as Tlinkit Indians.

South of Town is the Saxman Native Village. Here are many of the Tlinkit Totem poles. Some are original, some are reproductions made by the natives. There is also a man who is in the process of making one right on the property.

One of the famous tourist attractions is Creek Street with its wooden boardwalk. Beginning in the prohibition era, the buildings housed bordellos. However, now they hold gift shops, jewelry shops and restaurants.

In very late June and early July the salmon swim up the creek to spawn. They are easy to see and there are so many of them that you could walk across the creek on the backs of the salmon. Right now it is too early for them, so I will have to wait 3 or 4 weeks to see them.

By the way, anytime you want to get a closer look at the pictures I am posting, just put your mouse on the picture and double click.

This is what the docks look like when there are no ships in at port. There are 4 Berths that can accommodate any size ship. Plus a 5th ship can anchor in the narrows and their tenders can bring their passengers to shore for shopping and touring.

There are many gift shops and a lot of jewelry shops. You can find just about anything you may want here. The shops know the ships' schedules and they make sure they are open when the ships come in. When the last ship calls the "all aboard," all the shops close up until the next day when more ships are in port. On days when there are no ships (usually every other Wednesday and Saturday) the shops never open. Ketchikan is a sleepy little town on those days.

Berth I and II (note the ship in the back)

Berth III and IV

 

 

Because the mountainous rock in Ketchikan goes right to the water, some of the businesses are built on pilings over the water. Even the docks are on pilings over the water.

Here are a couple of pictures I took from the municipal docks when the tide was out. You can see the pilings. Oh, and this is a favorite hang-out called the Arctic Bar.

Front Street is divided with northbound traffic going through the tunnel in the mountainside and the southbound traffic goes around the mountain (again, driving on the road held up by the pilings).

City Municipal Docks

Whale Park a block from our apt.

The above picture is of the First Lutheran Church. It was the first church built in Ketchikan. You can see it plainly when you sail into Ketchikan.

A couple of miles north of city center is Taquan Air. I have showed you a picture of the outside of their new building, so this time I thought I'd show you some pictures of the inside. Here are Shelly and Chevy at the front desk.

In the lobby is a totem pole with an eagle on top and a whale part way down. That's Jamie.

Across the Tongass Narrows is the Ketchikan International Airport on Gravina Island. Here is a picture looking across to the airport. Some of you may have heard of the "Bridge to Nowhere." The Alaskan government decided to connect Revilla Island to Pennock Island and then to Gravina Island so the people could drive to the airport. It would have cost a half a billion dollars. I don't think they thought it all through. How were the ships supposed to navigate up and down the narrows? That bridge would've had to be very, very tall. They abandoned the idea and instead they continue to use the little car ferry to go back and forth. I think it works quite well.

Some of the touristy things to do are the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show. This is such a fun time watching the lumberjacks and lumberjills compete against each other in events like log rolling and tree climbing as well as chainsaw skills.

On the south end of the island, just past the George Inlet Lodge is the George Inlet Cannery. There is a tour offered that gives an historical perspective of the fishing industry. Experience Alaska Tours (the company I work for) features pulling Dungeness Crab Pots by boat from a wilderness estuary. The tour ends at the George Inlet Lodge where they have an all you can eat crab feed at the historic cannery building that has been converted to an ocean side lodge.

Half way between the Lodge and town is the Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary where they combine a walk through the rainforest and shoreline area with an overview of early timber operations. There is also a zip line operation there that is the largest in the state of Alaska. It has the longest dual cable zip line, sky bridges and a 4x4 mountain ascent.

There is also Ketchikan General Hospital that has 400+ employees that serves a regional population of 35,000. We even have a McDonald's, which is the only national fast food chain here. And you all know from my previous posts that there is a Walmart here as well.

Well, the ships are starting to get underway, and it is time to go pick up Dan from work. My tourist adventure is over. By the time Dan gets back from his last Misty, it will be about 630pm and after he ramps his airplane it will definitely be 7pm. I think we'll get a pizza for dinner.

Another tourist attraction