Alaska 2024 - Day 9 Ketchikcan
17 August 2024
We continued through the Inside Passage arriving in Ketchikan at 8:00 on the morning.
The weather was outstanding for our Misty Fjords and Wilderness Explorer high speed jet boat tour of some of the natural wonders surrounding Ketchikan! Our boat journey started out early soon after we were pier side with about a 1 1/2 hour boat trip to our destination. As with other legs of our journey, though, the trip was exciting and full of new and interesting sites and an important part of our adventure.
Our jet boat, the Melinda Leigh, operated by Allen Marine Tours, provided very fast, and smooth transport to our destination. I liked heading to different areas of the boat as we cruised and trying to catch scenery and checking out our high speed craft's operation. There were only a few places where I could feel the actual speed of the boat, as all the aft areas provided shelter from the considerable wind. Up on the bow, I could feel the ~30 knot wind in my face.
Our skipper knew the waters well and, while sightings are never guaranteed, knew where we were most likely to see different creatures this time of year. The first stop on our journey took us to an island with an eagle nest.
The next point of interest on our journey was New Eddystome Rock. Beneath the water's surface, a cone shaped mountain from a volcano persists. Above the water, where waves erosion has slowly eaten away the volcanic remains over more than 10,000 years, only the core of the volcano persists. The spire, and surrounding shore providing sanctuary for a colony of sea lions, is a sight to behold, amid the waters of the Behm Canal.
After New Eddystone Rock, we headed to a cliff face with petrographs painted on them. The depiction of the sun was one of the clearest, and is shown below.
As with the petroglyphs in Wrangell, it was moving to peer at a work of art created thousands of years ago. Near the petrographs, there was a sea lion playing and sunning itself.
We returned to the pier then headed out to see Ketchikan.
As in some of the other Alaska ports, we could practically step off our ship and into town.
Ketchikan seemed tourist oriented and tourist friendly, like our other ports, but seemed a bit more modern than some of our other ports, but also had its tributes to town history. The Fire Department looked very modern and well maintained.
We didn't have long to wander around town, but I definitely wanted to see Creek Street and the water fall / fish ladder there. The falls make a natural fish ladder for the salmon to swim up. Galina hit the town for a little shopping and I headed straight for Creek Street.
I made my way to the observation deck overlooking the falls, hoping to be able to quickly zoom in to capture a salmon fighting its way upstream through, but it wasn't to be. I waited about 20 minutes and didn't see any. I could see there were salmon in the stream, they just didn't seem to want to expend the energy to get through the falls when I happened to be watching.
Even though I didn't capture a photo of a salmon making its way up the falls for your enjoyment, it was a pretty cool town to visit.
I met Galina back at the ship so we could prepare for our visit to Icy Strait Point.