Day 35 Third day at sea, the Tongass narrows and Ketchikan

Dear Diary

Chuck is up early while Pat gets some needed rest. While having coffee on the back deck, the boat goes through a small narrow (Snow Passage), and several whales surface near the ship. Chuck is able to take a short movie of the one, as the ship passes by.  We have breakfast in the cafeteria, omelet, pancake, fruit, toast and yogurt.  The food is good and reasonably priced.  The restroom has very nice showers with plenty of hot water, lots of commode stalls and double sinks.  It’s never very busy so very accessible.  We sit out on the rear deck and watch as we turn into Clarence Strait and becomes the Tongass Narrows.  Houses and buildings are becoming evident.  The waterway narrows significantly.  As we near Ketchikan the water is about 100 yards wide.  There are many float planes landing and taking off.  Some right beside our ferry as they land.  The Ketchikan International Airport is just across from us. A small ferry takes people across this narrow strip.  We see an Alaska Airlines jet land.  It’s a very narrow and small airstrip.  The planes must travel up a grade to the runway after they turn around at the end of the runway.  We pass the Ketchikan Shipyard.  There is a multiple berth dry dock.  We disembark from the ship as we have only 2 hours and quickly catch the town bus into downtown. The round trip fare for the bus is only $2 per person, downtown is 2 miles away.  The bus takes us through the neighborhoods of very modest homes and we have locals on the bus.  This town is built on the sides of very steep slopes so flat building land is at a premium.  The town now flows up and down tightly hugging the coast off the city center.  This is so different from 25 years ago when Creek St was still the main drag.  We arrive downtown to the amazement of 4 cruise ships in town, 2 Princess, 2 Holland American. Two of the ships are getting ready to leave so it is a of mass people movement back to the ships as each ship holds well over 2,000 passengers.  They dwarf the little town. Cruise ships alter everything about a place in terms of stores, types of stores etc.  We hear that as soon as the cruise ships are done for the season everything boards up.  So it does get quiet again.  The state ferries do not bring in the money as cruises so all of our docks are away from the town.  We quickly move away from the docks and head to Creek Street.  An historical grouping of original houses built on wooden stilts over a creek.  The brothel is still there with a madam out front beckoning tourist to enter.  It’s a very cool but small area.  Salmon and seals run this creek and can be viewed when they are in.  Ketchikan is noted for its totem poles so we stop and take pictures of the different ones, we start to walk towards the Totem center but the neighborhood starts to turn and we don’t have much time. We chance upon the Native Co-op store but can only admire the articles from the window as it is closed. In the window is a beautiful native dress made of caribou and beads.  The prices on the items are very reasonable.  So sorry it’s closed.  Brenna texts telling us that she has arrived in San Fran safely. She will be on west coast for 2 weeks for meetings and vacation.  Our other choice for sailing date would have been late June.  Besides having to stay for 2 more weeks we now know she would not have been in town.  So the timing for this trip back was perfect.  We head back into downtown and stop off at the Alaska Geographic visitors center and finally find a detailed map of the inside passage.  Taku ferry is in port, half our size.  And the new Susitna ice breaker/catamaran is in dock.  We hear there is some dispute over the Matsu borough commissioning it for valley commuters into Anchorage.  Anchorage port is not allowing it to dock so it sits here.  Overcast but warm. Lots of flowers bloomed and rhododendrons are in bloom in a variety of colors.  The ship heads out at 4:00 pm and we sit on the back deck and watch the ship traverse the Revilagigedo Channel. We are joined by some coast guard couples, and while talking to the one young couple, find out that the wife Erika is doing the same distant graduate degree at UAF with Susie who is engaged to our friends’ son Sherman. The weather is nice as we than enter the Chatham Sound and pass into Canadian waters.  We pass another rare and beautiful remote lighthouse on its island.  As we pass Prince Rupert and Port Edwards there is a beautiful sunset as we enter the narrowing Grenville Channel.  We have not seen the sun so it is impressive that as it dips below the horizon in the north that we see its sunset.  Hot pink/red low clouds and horizon rays and rays into the sky.  They reflect on the water and we can see the zig zag of our wake in pink.  We know our pictures won’t do it justice.  Also while passing through this area there is a large amount of trees and logs in the water which have come down the Skeena River.  Prince Rupert is the end of the Yellowhead Highway, Rt. 16 bordered by the mighty Skeena River.  We traveled this highway on our way up but went north out of Smithers.  It is the furthest north deep harbor ice free port for Canada.  It’s also the end of the Trans Canada RR.  There is a lot of activity with loading freighters.  PR is tucked in behind a small island, we only get a glimpse.  Port Edward is where all the loading activity is going on.  We have a small gather of new friends on the back deck.  Alaska Ferry does dock here.  There is a young German man who has motorbiked his way around all of Alaska, did not do Dalton.  But there is a biker on board who did do it.  Re coast guard:  it is serendipity that we are on the ferry at a time when the coast guard is changing out their ranks.  There are many CG families on board from all around Alaska being commissioned all over the US.  Kodiak is the largest CG base in the world.  The ferry allows for causal visiting with all ages and types of people.  Much less formal than a cruise.  The entertainments are limited and the ship is small.  So visiting and uninterrupted viewing near the water is the norm.  It is now dark and time for bed.  Nighty night.