In May 2010, Debra and I went on a 13-day cruise to Alaska and British Columbia. We sailed round trip from Los Angeles on the Celebrity Mercury, with port stops in Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, and Victoria. Click HERE to read a short summary about this cruise.
This story, which is part of a series, is about our day in Ketchikan.
This story, which is part of a series, is about our day in Ketchikan.
Ketchikan, Alaska (May 12, 2010) Debra and I had a leisurely start to our day – we slept in, had breakfast at a decent hour, and relaxed on board the ship – as our excursion was not until early afternoon. It was a good thing, too, as the morning weather was wet, cool, and gloomy, with clouds so low that we could almost touch them. Certainly not the kind of weather we had hoped for given the excursion we booked. (By the way, do not be fooled by the dry pavement in this photo – I took it later in the day!)
Ketchikan (pop. 10,000) was established in 1885. Located near the southernmost point of the Alaska Panhandle, it is the first port in Alaska that cruise ships stop at as they travel north from Seattle and Vancouver. For this reason, Ketchikan is known as the “First City” of Alaska. For Debra and me, though, it was the last city of Alaska, as the Celebrity Mercury traveled from north to south along the Inside Passage. “Ketchikan” came from the Tlingit (indigenous peoples) name for the creek that flows through the town – “Kitschk-hin.”
The rain stopped by midmorning, which gave Debra and me the opportunity to explore the town before lunch. Ketchikan had all the trappings of a tourist town, including LOTS of shops along Front Street and Main Street. Motivated by the weather, we bought rain repellent jackets with “Alaska” stitched on the front – yellow for Debra and cream for me. They were perfect for our excursion and served us well on many trips over the years.
Ketchikan (pop. 10,000) was established in 1885. Located near the southernmost point of the Alaska Panhandle, it is the first port in Alaska that cruise ships stop at as they travel north from Seattle and Vancouver. For this reason, Ketchikan is known as the “First City” of Alaska. For Debra and me, though, it was the last city of Alaska, as the Celebrity Mercury traveled from north to south along the Inside Passage. “Ketchikan” came from the Tlingit (indigenous peoples) name for the creek that flows through the town – “Kitschk-hin.”
The rain stopped by midmorning, which gave Debra and me the opportunity to explore the town before lunch. Ketchikan had all the trappings of a tourist town, including LOTS of shops along Front Street and Main Street. Motivated by the weather, we bought rain repellent jackets with “Alaska” stitched on the front – yellow for Debra and cream for me. They were perfect for our excursion and served us well on many trips over the years.
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When I researched “things to do in Ketchikan” before our trip, I found a once-in-a-lifetime adventure: a flightseeing tour of Misty Fjords National Monument on a single-prop floatplane, with a water landing in the fjords! I booked the tour with Taquan Air. After lunch we boarded a minibus at the pier for a short ride to their “airport” on Ketchikan Harbor.
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“Ceiling” is a measurement of the lowest overcast cloud layer, and the ceiling was low when we arrived at the harbor. The low ceiling – the clouds seemed to hang just over the water – delayed the start of our flight by 30 minutes. When we boarded the plane, I snagged the seat next to the pilot and Debra took a seat in the back. There were three other passengers on this flight. The pilot started the engine and began to taxi down the "runway" – that is, the harbor. I was surprised by how quickly we were airborne.
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The Misty Fjords, located about 22 miles east of Ketchikan, was created during the last ice age. As the glaciers retreated, they carved fjords in the coastline – long, deep, and narrow inlets between high cliffs that were filled by the sea. The cliffs rose for thousands of feet – in a way, they were the skyscrapers of the wilderness. In 1978 President Carter proclaimed over 2 million acres as Misty Fjords National Monument – the largest wilderness area of the Tongass National Forest.
It typically takes an hour or so to fly to the fjords, but our pilot took a circuitous route to buy time for the clouds to lift so that he could land in the water. I welcomed the extra time in the air!
It typically takes an hour or so to fly to the fjords, but our pilot took a circuitous route to buy time for the clouds to lift so that he could land in the water. I welcomed the extra time in the air!
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The scenery was spectacular (an adjective I used often on this trip) – forested mountains, sea-filled glacial valleys, sheer cliffs, snow-capped peaks, and plunging waterfalls. We had an eagle eye view as we flew to and over the fjords.
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Soon we descended. I expected a “jolt” when we landed on the water – the typical experience on commercial flights – but this landing was so smooth that I hardly felt the touch down. When the plane came to a stop, our pilot (the fellow wearing sunglasses and a cap in the photo below) invited us to step outside and stand on a pontoon to experience the beauty of the fjords with a much different perspective – up close and personal, as they say. Well, he did not have to ask me twice! First I noticed how quiet it was…and then how calm it seemed…and then how lush the cliffs were…and then how beautiful the nearby waterfall was. There was a lot to take in, and I loved every minute of it!!
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Fifteen minutes later, we were back on board the plane for our return flight to Ketchikan.
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We caught sight of the Mercury as we neared the harbor (the ship to the left), and then landed and taxied to the pier.
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Our flightseeing tour of Misty Fjords WAS a once-in-a-lifetime adventure for Debra and me – a wonderful experience filled with great memories!