Following our small boat cruise around the Inside Passage of Southeast Alaska, we took a few days to explore the two towns at either end of our route, both popular with cruise ship visitors.
Ketchikan is often the first stop for cruise ships coming from Seattle or Vancouver, and we saw enormous ships during our entire stay in Ketchikan. Our historic hotel, the Gilmore Hotel, was right on the main waterfront street and gave us a great view of the comings and goings there.
Ketchikan Creek runs through the middle of town and was chock full of pink (humpy) salmon, who were swimming upstream to spawn. Every time we walked along the creek, we were enthralled by the struggle of these fish to swim back to where they were hatched, lay or fertilize their eggs, and then die. The life cycle was in full evidence all around us.
We enjoyed a lot of great meals in town, including at Annabelle’s, Timber and Tide, Fat Stan’s, and the Pioneer Cafe.
The Southeast Alaska Discovery Center was a beautiful museum. We also hopped on the Silver Line bus (for $2 each way) to take us 10 miles out of town to Totem Bight State Historical Park, in a beautiful setting on the coast with lots of totem poles from three indigenous cultures: Tglingit, Haida, and Tsimshian. We also took the bus the other direction to the Saxman Village for more totem poles.
After three days in Ketchikan, we took a short ferry to the Ketchikan Airport and headed back to Sitka, where our trip began.
Sitka doesn’t have quite as much cruise ship traffic as Ketchikan, but there are still lots of historic and fascinating places to explore. Once the capital of Russian Alaska, the influence of Russian and Russian Orthodox culture is much more evident here than in the other villages we visited.
Saint Michael’s Orthodox Cathedral was closed, but we could enjoy the exterior, along with the Russian Bishop’s House (and museum, operated by the National Park Service), and beautiful views from the Baranof Castle State Historic Site.
Sitka’s Burger and Crab Shack gave us the best halibut and chips ever (in my humble opinion), while Hank thought it was even better at Mean Queen. Coldwater Bar and Grill had Matanuska Blueberry Ale, which we had been craving ever since we left Anchorage 2 years ago. And Wild Flour Cafe and Bakery was so good we went back a few times.
While in Sitka, we walked to the Alaska Raptor Center, one of three wildlife conservation centers featured on Alaska Animal Rescue, which we had watched a couple of years ago. We visited the Seward SeaLife Center and the Wildlife Conservation Center on our RV trip, so we completed the trifecta here in Sitka by visiting the Raptor Center, which is dedicated to caring for birds of prey that have been injured. Some are too damaged to be released back into the wild, and they become ambassadors to greet all visitors. Others are rehabilitated and then released, especially a number of bald eagles that we got to see in their Main Flight center.
From the raptor center, we walked to the Sitka National Historical Park (for another national park passport stamp), enjoying lots more spawning salmon and totem poles, and learning about the 1804 battle between the Russians and the Tlingit (indigenous) people.
We ended our time in Sitka (and this trip to Alaska) with a glorious walk along Crescent Harbor, watching thousands of salmon make their way upstream to the Indian River, trying to evade the harbor seals who were looking for lunch. Sitka Sound is one of the most beautiful places we saw on our two-week trip through Southeast Alaska.
Oh Cindy your travel logs are outstanding!!
Oh Cindy, your travel logs are outstanding!!
We’re so happy you enjoy our blog posts, Peggy! It’s a fun way to share and help ourselves remember what we did!
What a great trip! Thanks for sharing! You always give us lots of ideas!
We need to do some trips together soon!
Love the photos and your wonderful narrative. Thank you for sharing with us.
Thank you for being such a faithful blog reader, Lynn! We love to share.
Love, love, love reading about your adventures in Alaska, Cindy! Thank you for sharing the beautiful photos of your travels.
We’re so glad you enjoyed the blog and photos, Carlen. It’s fun to remember all the things we did, and it’s wonderful to be able to share with others through this technology.