We are docked, it is 6:00-ish and I’m done sleeping because of the extra hour we gained so a nice shower seemed in order. Our excursion was set for 10:00 so no real rush. Devon and Lia opted for room service breakfast. Nora and I went to the Lido Market where we’ve been taking all our meals – it’s the buffet, smorgasbord, endless options restaurant – and very casual. We left the ship about 8:00 to wander a bit in the town before our scheduled excursion.
Upon leaving the ship, you immediately see three symbols of Ketchikan – a rain gauge measuring the insane amount of rain Ketchikan receives every year – an average of 150 inches falling on around 230 days; a statue called The Rock which represents the hardy settlers that founded the town – a Tlingit chief, a fisherman, a miner, a logger, a bush pilot, a frontier woman and a native drummer; and the sign!
As you may expect, Ketchikan by the docks is a 100% tourist shopping bonanza of a town. There are art studios with native artist creations – jewelry, paintings, wood carving etc., there are typical “souvenirs from Alaska” shops and then, most interesting, a plethora of salmon-oriented stores. Smoked salmon, salmon jerky, canned salmon, salmon dog treats – almost anything you could make from beef or fish – Ketchikan has the salmon version. We made it to the famous Creek Street – a very iconic boardwalk where the colorful houses that historically make up the “red light” district of the town.
Upon completion of our little walking tour, we boarded a bus headed for the Totem Bight State Park. Our bus driver/guide was Preston and he was a delight – dramatic, enthusiastic, a born comedian and full of great stories about Ketchikan and the totem poles we were going to see. We learned that permanent residents of Alaska are called “sourdoughers” while the temporary residents are “chichacos” (this includes the tourists). This area has a “cold” rain forest called the Tongass Rain Forest and it encompasses hundreds of square miles. We followed the Tongass River out of Ketchikan to the Park. We saw Tree House Island which, indeed, has a tree house on it and at low tide can be accessed by driving over several islands that are revealed as the water recedes. A Bight is a kind of inlet that completely empties at low tide and was a favored location for the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian indigenous tribes.
Preston offered so many stories behind the totem poles in the Park. He explained about the rivalry between the Eagle and Raven clans; the symbolism on the totems; the restoration that was begun by FDR and continues to this day; the totem pole cemetary where poles that are most likely over 120 years old go to rest and hopefully be re-carved by a newer generation of artists. The Clan House is a structure on sight where 30 to 50 Indians lived. The building could literally be taken apart, board by board, moved to another site and reconstructed without nails, dowels or any other kind of construction material. Listening to his re-enactment of the stories of these poles was fascinating – some involved love stories, some fighting, some quests or challenges – but every one an incredible record of these peoples lives.
Preston continued to regale us with stories as we drove back to Ketchikan for the next piece of our day – The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show!! Now I will admit that my memory of this show from 2004 when Robert and I and my Mom were here is pretty glorious – it was really fun and impressive so I will admit to being a tad disappointed in the show 22 years later. Don’t get me wrong, the various tasks the four lumberjacks performed were pretty impressive especially when they went up two VERY tall poles with ropes and cleats. “Our” guy was up the pole like a monkey! Yes, and to make it more fun, they divide the audience into the American loggers fans and the Canadian loggers fans – we were the Canadians and although we did discuss afterward whether we thought it was rigged – the Americans ultimately won!
Back to the ship to set sail by 2:30 and enjoy some lunch. I went down to a quick presentation on what happens when we leave the boat for the land part of the trip – rather confusing how they want you to divide up your luggage – three different ways and in one suitcase you need to pack anything you won’t need until you’re at the final hotel. I know they’re trying to be helpful and efficient but not everyone brought three different options to pack!
Went to dinner at 6:00 – Nora is forever hungry but we wanted to go to a show at 7:00 so we had to get our sustenance. The show was based on Movie Music Trivia and our cruise director, Jose, turns out to be hysterical and very athletic for a stocky, Filipino man. A theme would start playing and he was almost a one man show re-enacting the most famous scene from movies like Ghost, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, The Lion King, Magic Mike, Aladdin – very easy ones to guess but the scene creations were an absolute riot! He asked for a man or a woman from the audience to help in almost every scene and Lia volunteered to be part of Jaws!! She did amazing as the swimmer being attacked by the shark!!
There were additional festivities long into the night for the “Orange” party of Holland America tradition but I returned to the room and started writing. Dev, Lia and Nora returned shortly thereafter and we retired for the night. Amazing day in Ketchikan – on to Juneau!!
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