Ketchikan, Alaska, Our Cruise Ship's First Stop

We were at sea the first day after leaving Seattle -- see my post about Seattle here. The first stop on our family Princess Discovery Cruise in Alaska was Ketchikan. Ketchikan is an Alaskan city located on the Inside Passage and the state's southeasternmost major settlement. It is known as Alaska's first city and the Salmon Capital of the World

Ketchikan is named after Ketchikan Creek, which flows through the town, emptying into the Tongass Narrows a short distance southeast of its downtown.  The name"Ketchikan" comes from the Native Peoples' Tlingit name for the creek, Kitschk-hin, which translates as "Thundering Wings of an Eagle." 

The city has a diversified economy, with fishing (salmon, trout, cod, halibut, and snapper), fish processing, and timber as its leading industries. Tourism is also important, as the city is served by air transport and by cruise ships along the Inside Passage.

Please click on the photo above to enlarge it

This was my husband's and my second time visiting Ketchikan. It was the last Alaska town we visited in 2019 while on a 12-day Land and Sea cruise. On that visit, we wanted to visit the Tongass National Forest, which covers most of southeast Alaska. Bordered by the Pacific Ocean on the west and the Coast Mountains and Canadian border on the east, the Tongass National Forest spans 500 miles of Southeast Alaska. It is the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world! There, we went on a rowboat and nature walk through the forest adventure.  You can see that post here.

During this visit to Alaska with our family, we all chose to go on different excursions. 

My husband and I chose the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show,  held at the historic site of the Spruce Mill, once the largest Sitka Spruce Mill in the World

Our excursion also included an amazing Crab Fest lunch afterward.

The show was fun to watch! The friendly competition was between the USA and Canada, but we learned that both of the lumberjacks that we watched were from upstate New York and attended a SUNY program to learn their skills.

Twelve events such as chopping, climbing, sawing, axe throwing, and log rolling.

 

Google Photos made a couple of action collages from my photos!

Both men ultimately took a dunk in the water while log rolling

After the lumberjack show, those who had Crab Fest tickets were led to the Harbor Haus where we were served an "all you can eat Dungeness Crab Fest, accompanied by a salad, baby red potatoes, and carrot cake.

Our daughter, son-in-law, and oldest granddaughter chose to go on a

Utility Terrain Vehicle --UTV-- ride through a portion of the Tongass Forest. It was an exciting ride up a mountain with beautiful views! They had to wear face coverings and eye protection during the ride, as the drive was also quite dusty, since Ketchikan did not have its usual summer rainfall in the past few days. They were excited to see many eagles along the scenic drive, and they also enjoyed a Crab Fest dinner afterward.

 

Our son and grandsons went on an exciting excursion called "The Deadliest Catch Fishing Tour" aboard the Aleutian Ballad, a king crab fishing boat featured on the Deadliest Catch TV Show.  The guides on board were well-seasoned fishermen in the Aleutian Islands/Bering Sea. Our grandsons were able to hold live crab, shrimp, and other sea creatures after listening to the crew share their knowledge of the ocean and its inhabitants.  They also saw many eagles as they sailed along the Bering Sea.  They also all attended a Great Alaska Lumberjack Show afterward.

Meanwhile, our daughter-in-law and youngest granddaughter went on a different excursion. They toured the many totem poles in town, and attended a native Tlingit cultural dance and storytime show, followed by making special arts and crafts projects afterward. It was the perfect activity for our granddaughter!

As the cruise ship left Ketchikan, I enjoyed watching the views from our room's balcony.

My husband and I enjoyed a delicious dinner at a specialty restaurant on the ship called Sabatinis Italian Trattoria.

Later, we enjoyed listening to an Irish trio called "Pint of Plain" and our entire family had fun attending a 70s Trivia Contest--our grandchildren had a surprising amount of 70s knowledge! Later that evening we enjoyed the melodic sound of singer Willis White in the Princess Theater. 

One exciting occurrence happened while we were at sea the previous night. At 1 AM, the ship's captain came on the public announcement intercom to wake everyone up and inform us that the Northern Lights were visible! 

What a thrill it was to see them! 

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