Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Day 6 Ketchikan

On day six of the cruise we finally made it to Alaska! Our first Alaska stop was Ketchikan. We thought it was a small town until we got back on the ship and started moving and then you could see that there was so much more to it.



The first store we saw had this moose outside so I had to get pics. We are such tourists!! lol



Some nice snacks, Alaska style.


I loved the soap names!



This really was a store. I couldn't believe it!







This is the most photographed totem pole in Alaska. Of course it is!!!

Isn't that pretty?!



These aren't houses, they are businesses.

Dolly's House...brothel...she was funny.

The former Ketchikan Red Light District.

We stopped at a local bar to use their ATM and the bartender was so funny! She was the first one to tell us this joke...

"Do you know how to make a Texan mad? Cut Alaska in half and make Texas the third largest state"

hahaha Yes, Alaska is 2.5 times bigger than Texas. I wasn't expecting to go to Alaska and hear a bunch of jokes about Texans! lol

Anyways, she recommended we take a walk on the Married Man's Trail instead of taking the tram to the top of the hill. I'm so glad she did too because it was a beautiful walk.

Salmon ladder.

This is the creek that ran right along the street. I would love to live in a place where I could walk down the street and see this.


This is the city park. Nice.

We went to the Totem Heritage Center. It wasn't very big, but it had some beautiful totem poles, pictures and history about totem poles. Did you know that totem poles aren't religious items that were worshipped?

A lot of them were erected to honor the dead, with a hollow spot in the back to hold ashes. Also, unless the story of the totem was passed down the generations, they have no way of knowing exactly why each one was made.

It was really interesting.






Awww Aaron gave it some sugar.


I thought this owl was fake until it moved. It was so tiny! It looks big in the picture but it was maybe 6-7 inches tall.


Everywhere were beautiful Russian dolls. I wish I would have bought some. My next trip to Alaska I will.




























It was a really good day in Ketchikan and I got some really pretty scenery shots. Next stop, the capital, Juneau!