In case you missed it, I just started a new guest trip report. Deann recently sailed on the July 9, 2018 9 night Alaska itinerary and was kind enough to share her adventures with us. You can start this trip report from the beginning right here.
Day : 3 – Ketchikan
Wednesday, July 11
This was actually the 5th day of our trip, although it was day 3 of the cruise. This was when I started forgetting to take notes. I now remember what we did by the pictures we took. As we came into Ketchikan it was cloudy and misty. We docked by 7:00 AM, so not much was open when we got off the ship. But, the trails along Creek Street never close, so off we went. We were lucky to be docked at berth #3, right at the main street of Ketchikan. We walked right off the ship into the main plaza. This was the view from deck 10:
On the dock, just to the right, is a building with a green roof. Inside is the Chamber of Commerce booth with free town maps and maps for the free shuttle. The free shuttle is a bus with brightly colored salmon on the side of it. You can hop on and off at many points throughout the town.
We took pictures of The Rock statue, depicting the different types of people who prospered in Ketchikan.
A few blocks straight ahead was the entrance to Creek Street. On the way, we stopped by the town park and totem pole. The incline lift was not working, so we did not go up to the Cape Fox Lodge to get a picture of the ship.
But, we did go down the Married Man Trail along the creek to see the salmon run and ladder. There was a large salmon sculpture at the viewing point.
We then stopped by what we really wanted to see – The Tongass National Park Southeast Discovery Center. Since it was raining, it was a good choice. It was in a lodge-like building with a green metal roof across the street from the Lumberjack show.
With your National Park Pass entry was free, without it was $5.00 for a family group of 4. We watched a couple of good documentary movies and we enjoyed the museum itself. It has wonderful interactive displays easily accessed by ramps.
It had many comfy chairs and benches to sit and enjoy the views out large picture windows while enjoying the exhibits. There was even a telescope at one station to see eagles on the mountain side. We stayed there over three hours talking to the interpreters and experiencing the exhibits. I would rank this in the top ten of the National Park Discovery Centers.
It was still misting off and on, so we stopped by a few shops and went back to the ship for a late lunch. Since we had all been to Ketchikan before, we decided to enjoyed the ship’s hot tub while many were off on port adventures. There’s nothing like practically having the ship to yourselves! Tonight’s dinner was in Triton’s and was good as always. Later that evening, we saw the movie Ant Man and the Wasp. On the way to Icy Strait Point around sunset, (10:00 PM) we saw orcas off the port side of the ship. It all happened so quickly we didn’t get a picture, but shall remember the view for a long time.
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Up next: Day 4 – Icy Strait Point
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