Ketchikan, Alaska

We had some time before our excursion left port so we headed to Creek Street, where Ketchikan started.  This was the first time in Alaska for Nolan.  It was just over 33 years since I was last in Alaska.

There were a couple of three-sided information signs by the entrance to Creek Street. 

We crossed over Ketchikan Creek to get to Creek Street.  It's not really a street but a walkway in front of the businesses.   We took a left and headed north following the walkway as it followed the creek upstream.  If you look really close (double click on photo to enlarge), you can see some of the walkway on the upper right of the photo.  This is Married Man's Trail, a discreet way for men to get to the brothels.

Here the creek gets a bit rocky so a fish ladder had been constructed to help the fish get to the upstream gravel beds where they will spawn. 

We could see the fish in the creek.

Chief Johnson Totem Pole.  Located near the entrance to Creek Street, the Chief Johnson totem pole stands 55' tall and is carved from a single western red cedar log.
This Story pole depicts the legend of Fog Woman and the creation of Salmon.  It is a replica of a pole that honored the Kadjuk House of the Raven Clan, the fabled Kadjuk bird towering at the top of the Totem Pole. The original Totem pole was raised in 1901 where it stood until 1982. It can be found inside the Totem Heritage Center.
This replica was carved by Israel Shotridge and raised in 1989, a mere feet from it's original spot. When the Chief Johnson pole was raised, it was the first authentic totem pole to be carved & raised in downtown Ketchikan in over 50 years. The Chief Johnson replica was Israel Shotridge's first solo large scale totem. Many tribal elders & members came from throughout the Northwest for the raising and potlach feast and were treated to a traditional salmon dinner with dancing, speeches, & native adoptions.
The totem pole featured on page 25 of the U.S. passport is the Chief Johnson Totem Pole.

Walking back through the park, we went through tiny Whale park.  Notice the clock in the background. 

Clock in Whale park.

For our excursion, we headed north out of town to Potlatch Totem Park.  Along the way the driver/tour guide told us about the area.  He mentioned that a friend of his had purchased this old Alaska State Ferry, currently parked in Ward Cove. The driver was staying on it for the summer.  As we ended up learning during this trip, most of the bus drivers were summer hires from other states. 

Potlatch Park, a private business and Totem Bight State Historical Park are right next to each other. Totem Bight's park brochure on their website has a lot of good information on totems and how to interpret them.   https://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/brochures/totembighttotems.pdf

Potlatch Park's totems are not from native settlements while Totem Bight's (TB) are.  TB's website says the following, "With the growth of non-Native settlements in Southeast Alaska in the early 1900's, and the decline of a barter economy, Natives moved to communities where work was available. The villages and totem poles they left behind were soon overgrown by forests and eroded by weather. In 1938 the U.S. Forest Service began a program aimed at salvaging and reconstructing these large cedar monuments. By using Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) funds to hire skilled carvers from among the older Natives, two things took place: young artisans learned the art of carving totem poles, and totems which had been left to rot in the woods were either repaired or duplicated."

"By the time World War II slowed down the CCC project, the community house and 15 poles were in place. The name of the site was then changed to Totem Bight. At statehood in 1959, title to the land passed from the federal government to the State of Alaska, and the site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970."  But we were not at Totem Bight, we were at Potlatch Park.  

Another website good for information on totem poles -https://www.akwildlife.org/news/the-history-and-significance-of-totem-poles 

A clan house had a small, short door so those entering would have to stoop.  They were made this way so that any enemy entering would be at a physical disadvantage.

Thunderbird

These two totem stood at the entrance to the village.  Their fierce expressions were to tell others passing by that they were a clan not to be trifled with.  

At Potlatch, these two totems are covered in scales/feathers painted by children from Disney cruises.

Look out over the Tongass Narrows, part of the Inside Passage.

Our guide talked about the significance of many of the images and totems.

Clan house

Thunderbird on wall in clan house

This hole cut into the totem would be the actual entrance into a clan house.

Next photo shows back of this totem.

Totems decay from the inside out so many of the totems have steel posts up their middle 

Alaska has over 8,700 registered aircraft, that is 3 percent of all U.S. registered aircraft.  These aircraft are essential due to Alaska's size and dearth of roads.

Ketchikan's airport is on the other side of Tongass Narrows so you have to take a ferry to get to it. 

We went through this tunnel as we headed north out of Ketchikan.  You would think we would have to go through it to get back.

But no, we went around it. Ketchikan's tunnel is said to be the only one in the world that can be driven through, around and over (on upper Front Street). It was completed in 1954.  Before it was created, a narrow plank street on pilings skirted the rock.

There is a very tiny park by the docks with this eagle sculpture.  Thundering Wings eagle was carved by world-renowned Tlingit master carver Nathan Jackson of Ketchikan.

By the dock-side Visitor Center is the Liquid Sunshine Gauge. Ketchikan is the 4th wettest place on earth. Ketchikan lies in the largest temperate rain forest in the world and receives over 200 inches of rain each year.  

Ketchikan, Alaska, is known for its unique and charming stair streets, which are essentially long sets of stairs that serve as streets due to the city’s steep terrain

Creek Street from Stedman Street

 

Located in front of the Ketchikan Public Library, the Raven Stealing the Sun Totem Pole is a Native legend/Story pole.
According to legend, the story is about an old chief & his daughter. It is said that the chief kept the sun hidden away in a box. Raven wanted to have this sun and had tried to get it many times without success. He noticed that the daughter went to the well every day for water, so he transformed himself into a pine needle, dropped into her water and was swallowed. She became pregnant and in due time Raven was reborn as the chief's grandson.
Raven became the old chief's favorite and let him have anything he asked for. One day he asked to play with the sun box, but he refused. Raven cried & cried and finally his grandfather let him play with it. Raven quickly took the box and rolled it outside. Then dashing the box to pieces, he took the sun in his beak and placed it in the sky, where it has been giving light to the world ever since.

 “The Rock” sculpture, designed by Dave Rubin, depicts six figures that helped shape Ketchikan’s history. Fishermen are first, they’ve contributed to the economy specifically through salmon fishing. Next is the miner as miners used the port as a starting point on the journey to the Goldrush fields. A logger symbolizes logging, an aviator (bush pilot) represents rural life, and frontierswomen embody pioneer spirit. The Native drummer symbolizes the Tlingit leader Chief Johnson.

Once back on board the ship, we watched dock and sea activities from our verandah.  View of the dock as it heads southeast.  Inside the breakwater was a small boat harbor.

The Aleutian Ballad was featured in season 2 of "The Deadliest Catch" but now it is used to take tourists on crab fishing expeditions.

Just one of the many excursions offered in Ketchikan. 

Float plane coming in for a landing. 

There were lots of buses dropping people back off at the ship. 

The Meadow Marie is a typical Alaskan salmon seiner, which is a type of fishing vessel specifically designed for salmon seining. 

Probably an excursion boat.

Casting off the lines

Pulling away from the dock.

Looking up Mill Street.

Even a hovercraft!

Also in port was the Silver Nova, a luxury cruise ship operated by Silversea Cruises.

The Majestic Princess that we will see again during this voyage. 

Harbor police keeping us in line. 

The 50 meter/ 164'1" motor yacht 'Jackpot' was built by Christensen in the United States at their Vancouver, WA shipyard. 

Another small boat harbor.

Alaska State Ferry

This smaller Alaska State Ferry was making a run across the narrows.

Ferry in dry dock.

You can see the boat dock at the airport.

We saw these small breakwaters in several places. 

The servers at our table in the dining room made sure to recognize our friend's birthday even though we had eaten at a different restaurant the night of his birthday.