May 5, 2023. Ketchikan, Alaska

Again today the Discovery Princess is in port as well as Celebrity Solstice (3,420 passenger capacity) and Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam (2,527 passenger capacity). The Westerdam is the smallest cruise ship here today. There were between 10,000 and 12,000 cruise passengers exploring the area.

Westerdam was scheduled to dock in Ketchikan at 10 a.m. The day was drizzly as Westerdam was docking. The temperature was 8° C and no wind. Clouds were hanging around the surrounding mountains. After a later breakfast we walked for about 45 minutes on the Promenade Deck 3 watching the gangway being secured and the approach of the Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam arriving late. We accumulated over 7,100 steps since we did not expect to add too many steps during today’s excursion. As Nieuw Amsterdam got closer to the docking area, we watched a float plane take off within sight of the ship.

Our excursion was scheduled to leave at 11 a.m. We met the guide at 10:45 a.m. All of the 15 Westerdam people were there, but Nieuw Amsterdam was not yet even docked and over half of the people on our tour were on the Nieuw Amsterdam. We had time to browse some of the waterfront front stores. There were mens fleece lined water repellant jackets on sale, just right for a jacket for our July/August cruise to North Atlantic countries. I bought a collapsible umbrella to replace the old one that was blown inside out and broke on a windy day in Japan.

By noon we were on our way to Clover Pass resort to board a boat to take us to Silver King Lodge. The bus driver gave us some information about Ketchikan on the half hour drive.

Interesting facts about Ketchikan: Ketchikan is Revillagigedo Island’s chief city, with a population around 8,000 and another 5,000 in the surrounding area. Ketchikan receives on average 13 feet of rain a year and has about 280 days with some rain. It is the most southern Alaskan city of the Inside Passage, located within the Tongass National Forest. Ketchikan is an important hub for the salmon-fishing and salmon-packing industries. It is home to the Native Alaskan nations - Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian. The airport parking lot is on Revillagigedo island, but passengers have to pay $6 to take a ferry across 400 meters of Tongass Narrows to get to the air terminal on a difference island. The is a marine highway system of ferries beginning in Bellingham, Washington, going north to Kodiak. It takes 36 hours from Bellingham to Ketchikan. The road along the docks is built on infill and the dock to which the ship moors is built on wooden pier. When a piece of heavy equipment passes you can feel a slight bend to the concrete. A tunnel was blasted through the rock for a road to the sawmill for better access in 1954. There were houses on the rock about 23 meters above. During the process only one house window was broken. The sawmill has closed but the road is part of the 32 miles that connect Revillagigedo Island from north to south. The tunnel funnels traffic north and a road on the water side takes traffic going south. There are wooden staircases leading down from the higher houses. The staircases have street names since at one time they ended at the water. There is no vehicle access to these houses. If there are 100 or more stairs then the city takes care of the maintenance, but less than that the houses that the staircase services are responsible for maintenance. We saw plum and sherry trees almost in full bloom. Ketchikan is surrounded by the 19.9 million acres Tongass National Forest, 750,000 acres are on Revillagigedo Island and over 1,000 islands are included in the territory. The rainforest is made up of Hemlock, Sitka Spruce and Western Red Cedar trees. Ketchikan has America’s second smallest Walmart. The one in Kodiak is smaller. Totem poles from the area are made from Western Red Cedar trees due to their height (mature trees from 70 to 100 feet), straightness and their resistance to rot.

At Clover Pass resort, there was a restroom break before boarding the Adventure Ketchikan Tours boat, Miss McKenzie to take us to Silver King Lodge about a 20 minute boat ride away. There were round orange buoys bobbing in the water. These were attached to underwater oyster racks or clam racks. Oyster “seeds” are purchased from Hawaii since the Pacific waters here are too cold for reproduction. It takes three to four years for the oysters to mature and be harvested to supply local restaurants and seafood stores.

When we arrived at Silver King Lodge, there was a sea loin poking its head above water about a 100 meters offshore. Near the lodge there were two adult Sitka deer and two young Sitka deer munching on the lawn grass and ignoring the people. The lodge in not open for vacationers until mid-June when salmon season opens. It is halibut season in May. There are a number of chain saw created wood sculptures. Our guide, Reinie, took the group on a 25 minute hike on a boardwalk, called the Frank Hendershot Memorial Trail, into the rainforest directly behind the lodge to experience walking in a rainforest. The forest was mainly Sitka Spruce and Western Red Cedar trees. The was another chainsaw sculpture of an octopus about two meters high. The area had been select logged over 100 years ago. She showed a Western Red Cedar tree stump that showed the indent of the lumberjack’s boards used in sawing through the eight meter diameter trunk. Further along she pointed out a 500 year old Western Red Cedar tree, then one estimated to be over 1,200 years old. It had a circumference of 14 meters and was over 56 meters tall.

Back at Silver King Lodge we were directed to a covered patio with ceiling heaters where five tables for seven were covered with layers of newspaper, red plastic seafood crackers, black plastic tongs and white plastic forks and condiments for the Seafood Feast. People were directed to the beverage center where water, juices, tea, coffee and hot chocolate were available. Once everyone had found a seat on the benches, a huge pot of steaming seafood and vegetables was poured into the center of each table. There were Dungass crab legs, soft shell shrimp, clams, mussels, sausage pieces, small red and Yukon Gold new potatoes, pearl onions, garlic cloves, and cobs of corn in a pile for everyone to dig in. Within 30 minutes there were individual piles of shells at every place. It was marvellous. The view of the water has a light mist hovering over the cove.

Well fed, we all returned to the Miss McKenzie for a nature cruise on the water where we spotted a single humpback whale feeding and surfacing, which held our attention for 20 minutes, then it was over to an island where a pair of bald eagles have nested in the trees for about 15 years. The boat hovered for ten minutes while Reinie threw a frozen herring, which floats, into the water every minute for the bald eagle to swoop from the sky and grab the herring in its claws. This gave everyone an opportunity to get great photos. We were within sight of Clover Pass resort. It was time for another bus to pick us up and go back to Ketchikan and the ship. The bus driver gave us more interesting facts about Ketchikan on the journey.

We checked with the Visitor Information Center for where to find somewhere with good internet. We found Local Grounds about a five minute walk away which charged $5 for an hour of Internet access. We bought an Americano and Breve (a latte made with cream) that were very good and posted the Kodiak and Sitka blogs.

It was dressy evening on the ship. We changed and went up to the Ocean Bar for Happy Hour since we returned too late to meet Pat and Pete to finish the Five Crowns game from yesterday. We met Doug and Judy also enjoying drinks and went to dinner with them in the main dining room. After dinner we joined Pat and Pete in the Rolling Stone Lounge for ballroom dancing. The show tonight was a return performance by guitarist, Matt Wolfe and vocalist, Lainie Munro.

Total steps. 13, 811. Flights of stairs 15