Juneau, Alaska
Ketchikan is near the southernmost tip of Alaska’s panhandle and is a small town squeezed between mountain and sea. It gets its name from the Tlingit Indian name, Ketchikan, meaning “Thundering Wings of an Eagle.” If you climb the 3,000 foot Deer Mountain that overlooks the town, the town, a Tlingit summer fishing camp, sprawls in the shape of an eagle in flight. It’s only a small town of 8,245, but it has Hoona beat hollow (our first stop at Icy Strait, Alaska) because that town only has 760 residents AND it takes 3 and 1/2 hours to get to civilization by boat AND that boat only runs 2 days a week! So, as our guide said, “Everybody knows everybody and we have zero crime.”
Helicopter to the Mendenhall Glacier.
Ketchikan, which is near Craig, is known as the Salmon Capital of Alaska, but Salmon cities abound up here in the North to Alaska area. All we have for an “activity” in this town is a trolley pass for the day. We plan to wander in and drift around among the many jewelry stores and those that are touting fur or bamboo goods (because they are softer than cotton).
Hubbard Glacier.
We did our flying (both plane and helicopter) on the past 2 stops, and all I can say for those of you thinking of making this trip is to bring plenty of money for the opportunities to fly over the glaciers. They don’t give those trips away and you’ll be shelling out hundreds, per opportunity. Well worth it? For us, yes, because I don’t anticipate strolling over to Sarah Palin’s house to watch Russia from her porch any time in the future, and this will probably be my only chance to visit our 50th state.
Craig on the glacier. There is actually a town named “Craig” near Ketchikan, where we dock today.
Mendenhall Glacier.
Cruising the Mendenhall Glacier.
Passing ship (the SilverSea?)
Craig and Connie Wilson on Mendenhall Glacier on 8/29/2019
This trip ends on Sunday, as we go back to Vancouver, British Columbia to depart for a plane trip back to Chicago, flying through San Francisco, this time.