Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Alaska–Day 98

We had a long stop at Ketchikan today, from noon to 5 pm.  But first there was a morning at sea.  We saw whales and eagles.

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It has not been sunny, but the weather has been good and the water unbelievably smooth much of the time.  I had no idea the water of the Inside Passage could be so smooth, with great reflections.  However, if I was in a sailboat with no motor, this might not be as favorable conditions.

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We are again thankful we have a cabin on the ferry.  This is the Solarium on the Bridge Deck.  A number of 20- and 30-somethings are camped here.  And even whole families and some grandparents.  There are heat lamps in the ceiling, so the temperature is fairly comfortable.  And there are coin-operated lockers to store valuable possessions when the owners leave the area.  But, it is not the way we would like to travel, especially at our age.

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Ketchikan is a fairly large town—12,000 residents-- with a big boat service area.  The working part of the town is old and pretty run down. 

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After lunch at The Landing across the road from the ferry terminal, we walked east to the Cruise Dock and Creek Street, once the town’s red light district and now the tourist area.  Today two cruise ships, one Princess Line and one Celebrity, were there.  Tomorrow, four cruise ships are supposed to be in town.  It will be crowded. 

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We didn’t buy anything and skipped the Logging Show and Totem Pole exhibits.  When we were here before, we took a charter boat to Misty Fjords National Monument.  What a beautiful trip. Today, we walked nearly eight miles, total.  And, with lots of others, rode the city bus back to the ferry terminal.

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1 comment:

  1. I bet the rest of those people didn't walk 8 miles. That's more that my maximum hike length.

    ReplyDelete