Five Hours in Ketchikan

We spent five hours in Ketchikan and made the most of it!

Every town has its stories and the story of Ketchikan, Alaska is quaint tied with a bit of scandal. With the natives, totem poles are a thing of beauty. The provided an artistic map of the town only accessable by air or sea. Known as the "salmon capital", Ketchikan is visually stunning even if they only see the sun 60 some days a year. We deported the ship with only five hours to get everything in. We started hiking toward Creek Street. It was one of those days where you needed to have a plan in place if you were going to see everything you wanted to. Salmon and their story have become a big thing for me. How does an animal instinctually just know where and when to swim upstream. We watched as hundreds of salmon fought currents to gain a foot, maybe three. The symbolism to life is so great. "Just keep swimming" no matter the odds or what you have against you. Tayna pointed out a medium sized fish that had a huge gouge out of its back. Injured but not detoured. it made its way up the salmon ladder. Pulled to find calm water, lay its eggs, then die. They are fascinating creatures for sure. Then we were off to take in historic Creek Street. When Ketchikan first became a town, so entered the brothels. Thirty-six to be exact. The men would navigate their way down Married Man Trail with the hopes of not being seen while visiting their preferred women. Dolly, who held the title as "Ketchikan's most famous lady owned her brothel from 1919-1954, Her house still stands today. We stopped by several shops and bought souvenirs along the way. We stopped at Salmon Market and ordered one of their famous Salmon Bagels. It did not disappoint. While shopping, we saw a black bear cub. It scurried up the hill probably to find mom. It was a quick trip in Ketchikan but extremely memorable!