Day 3 Aug 23^rd 2013    




After dropping our hire car in Bellingham, we boarded the Alaska Marine Highway ferry Columbia and set sail up the Inside Passage bound for Ketchikan. This was to be our home for the next 36 hours, and although we enjoyed our time in Seattle, in our minds this was the real start of our holiday. The Columbia is one of the largest ferries, taking 500 passengers and 134 vehicles, and is the flagship of the company. It is really well appointed, with a cinema, several restaurants, large observation lounge and a programme of US Parks Service ranger talks at busy periods. We are most often independent travellers (we are caravanners at home) so the ferry was the perfect way for us to enjoy the scenery of South East Alaska at a pace we had chosen – we had planned 2 days on board, 3 days in a B&B in Ketchikan, 2 more days at sea and 2 days in Juneau before touring in an RV.




We settled into our ensuite cabin where sadly I lost the toss for bunks – the top had the narrowest head-space I have ever seen. It was a lovely day so we left port on the deck with the sun shining down on us – a good omen we thought at the time – and explored the ship (getting lost several times) then sailed northwards.                                           We were fascinated by the sights on the rear deck area: there were dome tents pitched cheek by jowl under a roof but on the deck, with silver duct tape holding the poles down, thus saving the price of a cabin but involving running fully laden onto the ship to get the prime spots! The Solarium was one deck lower with people camping out with their sleeping bags on the recliners whilst being constantly warmed by heaters all along the roof. This just does not happen on our ferries!




We liked the option of either self-service or a more formal dining room, and had a meal in each. I am a teaholic and like my own brand of tea bags, so a large packet had accompanied us on our travels. Lots of help from contributors to the Tripadvisor forum had given us a good idea of what to expect on the ferry, so we'd also taken insulated mugs – the facility of having 24hr access to free boiling water in the cafe saw me contentedly sipping my mug of tea perched on deck whilst watching the scenery slide smoothly past.

The Inside Passage is exactly what it says: it is sheltered waters with channels that weave in and out of the many islands off the coast of the NW United States and Canada, with 2 short spells in the Pacific unprotected by land, but the sea only got a bit of a swell in those patches. The ferries are literally a highway, as many of the islands can only be accessed by sea and so are a lifeline to those communities. Ferry schedules are often altered slightly to accommodate locals, eg. It might not sail until a high school basketball team have boarded, or might change route to deliver people to big events on various islands. The ferries and the cruise ships take more or less the same route (but with the ferries calling at more places) and we also passed cargo ships and barges hauling logs.




  Our evening meal was taken in the dining room, where I discovered my new favourite drink: Alaskan Amber ale, the Summer variety, served in a glass so cold it was almost frosted. It seemed surreal to be sipping cold beer with the sun setting behind us over the distant mountains of Canada. The food was good too, and reasonably priced for such a captive audience: ham hock & lima bean soup followed by lemon chicken (hubby) and a pot roast with mashed potato (me) plus drinks all for $41. And no tipping allowed, as the staff are all employed by the State of Alaska and the law does not allow tipping of state employees. After watching the colourful lights of Vancouver in the distance, we returned to our cabin for a very peaceful night – the engines were just a distant hum and the passage very smooth.



Day 4    On the MV Columbia 24^th Aug

We woke to a nice sunny morning about 7am and had breakfast of bacon, eggs, tomatoes & toast in the self-service cafe then took our drinks on deck for the morning’s viewing. I do prefer to be out on deck whenever possible, & it was great to see orcas swimming off to port, with the dorsal fins of humpbacks in the distance. However, the good omens of yesterday deserted us when the rain started mid-morning, and that was it for the rest of the day. However the forward lounge had lots of seating as the boat was not anything like full, plus huge windows – all the better to see the grey, misty surroundings...We talked to lots of interesting people, including a seaweed artist from Ketchikan returning from a collecting trip on Vancouver Island and who was so generous with her tips about our next destination.


Land was close to the ship quite a lot of the time and as there were some breaks in the murky grey skies we could admire lighthouses & the totem poles next to a house near Bella Bella in British Columbia. The rest of the day was spent reading, doing puzzles and chatting to the other passengers – it’s so nice to exchange views & conversation with others from around the world. We had 2 short stretches of open water which were much rougher than anything previously, but they only lasted for about an hour and the captain kept us updated all the way.


Dinner was in the self-service cafe as I wanted to read the tables while we ate – they were covered in information about birds or marine life and made good talking points. We ate fish & chips/cheeseburger & chips ($18.50) and I had a change from tea with hot apple cider, a powdered drink which may sound awful but which was delicious. Some people had taken their own food and heated it up in the microwave which was free to use – a great idea. There was no scenery visible and we had an early start next morning so we repaired to our beds – the bunk may have little headroom, but the mattresses were very comfortable & we slept well both nights.


Day 5   Ketchikan 25^th Aug

The ferry arrived in Ketchikan at 7 am with the rain still coming down so we got misty views of the city plus the huge cruise ships which were already docked there. The Columbia seemed large, but it was absolutely dwarfed as we sailed past these floating palaces – it reinforced our feeling that we had made the right choice of transport. We had booked a B&B for our 3 days there, so after a nice breakfast of hot oatmeal, eggs, bacon & breakfast potatoes at the Best Western 'The Landing’ opposite the ferry terminal (I cannot face breakfast before 7) we sat over a drink then boarded the bus outsidevto get to our B&B.


Ketchikan has a road that runs the length of the city for nearly 30 miles, which the bus route more or less follows, and the fare for any number of stops is $1 – an absolute bargain. If you are getting the bus more than once in a day, or making several stops, the All Day Pass is even more of a bargain at $2. Bus companies in the UK, please take note – here in Blackpool we pay the equivalent of $3.70 to go 5 miles!


 
 
 


 


 We had booked an apartment at Thomas St B&B and our landlady very kindly let us leave our luggage there at 9.30 while she was still cleaning – and the bus stop was literally at the door so we didn’t even get wet. It was right on the harbour and the rain had let up a little, so we walked downtown (literally 4 mins) to have a look round and get some provisions. There were 4 cruise ships in now and the city was FULL of cruise passengers, many of whom looked a bit underdressed for the weather. My trusty Berghaus waterproof had its first outing & was an absolute godsend throughout our trip – more of that later.


Our B&B was right next to the Creek St bridge, and we were fascinated with Ketchikan Creek – THOUSANDS of salmon were swimming up. Some imagined they were relatives of Jaws and swam round with their dorsal fins sticking out of the water, some were practising for leaping the falls and fell back in with a splash, some swam up the creek towards those falls and some were just plucked out of the water by the fishermen. The rain finally let up so we could admire Ketchikan: the historic buildings of Creek St, including Dolly’s House, a former whorehouse whose trade was only made illegal in 1954, then went up the extremely steep funicular tram to Cape Fox Lodge. I don’t think I have ever been in a funicular where you actually press the button yourself to make it go, but we did, and as there was no-one at all to take our money at either bottom or top, we had a free ride.  



After looking over the city from the lobby, we walked down the trail towards the river, and there an even more amazing sight met our eyes: all those salmon and tens of thousands of their relatives who had made it up the falls were either lying resting or spawning, 3 or 4 deep and so close together they looked like a raft you could walk on. Over the road was the falls and salmon ladder with a viewing platform where we just gaped in awe at the desperate attempts the fish made to get up – all that effort to get beaten back by the current, to be bashed on the rocks, time after time after time. We have an awful lot of pictures of white water and rocks - between us we took 113 photos supposedly of leaping salmon; only 9 actually had any part of a fish in the picture...


We carried on down the creek on the Married Man’s Trail, spotting rafts of salmon all the way and watched 2 harbour seals picking them off at will. We emerged from the boardwalk by the Tongass Historical Museum and spent a very interesting hour looking at all the exhibits and learning about the history of the city and its surroundings. Tiredness had now set in, so it was back to the B&B for a meal & bed


Day 6   Ketchikan again 26^th Aug

We decided to hire a car today so we could explore the full extent of the city and go to Herring Cove and possibly see black bears catching salmon – one of the 3 things on my wish list for this holiday, and the bus didn’t go that far. On talking to Alaska Car Rental we made it 2 days because our ferry the following day didn’t leave until 11.45pm and we would have to be out of our B&B by lunchtime with all our luggage. Leaving it so late to rent meant we couldn’t get the cheapest deal, but they would let us drop it off as late as we liked at the ferry terminal so it was worth it for the convenience – we do like our independence.


One of the benefits of your own wheels is the choice of places off the bus route, and we drove to Ward Lake to have a walk. What a beautiful spot – so peaceful. We parked near the entrance to the camp where the Aleuts had been interred in WW2 during the expected invasion of the Aleutian Islands by the Japanese, and learned from the information boards about such a sad chapter in their lives – transferred from self sufficient coastal villages to an inland area where no farming was possible, and many died. We had a lakeside walk, revelling in the peace and quiet– I recommend anyone who is feeling stressed to go there (after the end of the summer season though) and just chill in those tranquil surroundings.



Our next stop was at Totem Bight State Park, a lovely place celebrating the art of totem carving and free to enter. We spent a happy hour wandering round the totems and the Clan House with the explanatory leaflet and I really enjoyed learning all about the history behind them – you see them in pictures & on TV, but to see them in their "natural" state is so much better. They were much taller than I expected, and I’d never thought about the relatively short-lived nature of wooden objects: leaving them lying where they eventually fell and carving a new one based on oral history and memory seemed so right.


Off we went N up the road and found Knudson Bay, where we had a great lunch at the Dockside fish shack near the marina. The walls were covered in signs, my favourites being the picture of a glass of wine with the words “Its 5 o’clock somewhere – life is good” and “Facebook is the only place where its acceptable to talk to a wall”. Oh yes, and my scampi in the basket was really good – not had that since my student days in the 70s!


On the way to Settlers Cove at the very end of the road, we had our first encounter this trip with road works and travelling in convoy behind a pilot car; it always pleases me to see so many women employed on the roads - we rarely see this in the UK. Only a small hold-up thank goodness, and we arrived at Lunch Falls Trail. We had a lovely walk on the refurbished walkway (Alaska seems particularly good at making the wilderness as accessible as possible), my head swivelling constantly as we’d been warned that a bear had been seen about 20 mins before. There were lots of salmon in the creek with seagulls fighting over the bits; we kept our eyes peeled for the bear but he’d obviously decided we weren’t tasty enough, so we picked our way down to the beach. I love beachcombing and cannot resist picking up shells/stones/whatever attracts me so I went back with full pockets.




After a rest, our host Jane came round to say she was taking the other guests to Herring Cove at dusk to look for bears – we of course accepted her invitation! She drove us the nine or so miles to HC, telling us about all the things we were passing and life from an Alaskan perspective – MOST interesting and informative. We parked on a dirt path, looked up – and there were black bears fishing in the stream near the outfall pipes from the hatchery. Some were in the river, some on the bank and although they were at some distance, we watched them through binoculars for ages. The highlight for me was when a mother and cub appeared near the road bridge and I was the first person to spot them. I was quite emotional at actually seeing them all – its nice to watch on TV, but to actually witness such magnificent creatures in the wild was wonderful, and the first tick on my wish list.  







 
 
The others eventually persuaded me to leave (the light was fading quickly so I really couldn’t complain) and Jane took us home via the cemetery where she often saw Sitka black tailed deer, but not tonight. Nature, hiking, history, good food, totems and bears - what a great variety all in one day.



Day 7   Still in Ketchikan 27^th Aug


Today’s weather was typical Ketchikan – absolutely teeming down with rain! We shouldn’t really have been surprised, in a city where the average rainfall is 13 FEET, or as the sign on the dock says, “liquid sunshine”. We’d heard that bears are sometimes seen at Herring Cove an hour either side of low tide, so we set off southwards so I could see them again. The weather was kind and ceased raining, and by the time we got there, several cruise ship tour groups were at the bridge & boardwalk, obviously with the same idea, but although we watched for a good while, the bears were conspicuously absent. We did see some bald eagles though, several in trees and one on the fence post where he/she was joined by 2 sandhill cranes and a grey heron  


















I always like to go to the highest/lowest/furthest point of places, so hubby indulged me by driving to the furthest point S of the road, where all we found was a power plant.....still, I can say I’ve been! There was a very attractive waterfall halfway back where we took photos of a family from Illinois and they of us, then we stopped again at Herring Cove; still no bears, but plenty of salmon and gulls. The rain was once again with us, so we drove back to Ketchikan for our sandwich lunch then had a wander round the shops and visited the SE Alaska Discovery Centre to dry off. This was a really good place to learn all about the Tongass Forest and the native cultures of the area, a great mix of natural things and historical artefacts – and to dry off.




 


We emerged to a nice bright afternoon, so we drove S again (I was still intent on seeing bears) and stopped at Rotary Beach for a walk. I couldn’t get over the size of logs & driftwood that had been washed up on the beach, huge pieces of wood which just would not fit in my pocket. There were great views of Gravina Island across the glass-like sound, plus ships and float planes coming and going, so we chilled with our books for a while.





 At 6pm we arrived back again at Herring Cove (4^th visit in 2 days – I was DETERMINED to maximise my chances of seeing bears), got out of the car – and there right in front of us, about 10 feet away, was a young bear in a tree!! I couldn’t believe my eyes, but it was true, there really was a black bear pretending to be a koala hugging the trunk, and I have the picture to prove it. He looked straight at me as I clicked, then climbed quickly down and vanished into the undergrowth, whereupon I shot backwards towards the protection of the car just in case Mom was around. (She wasn’t). We stayed for about an hour and a half, chatting with others and watching the bears emerge from the forest to catch fish. Our youngster got one, then took it into the bushes just below us to eat it – we could hear him occasionally, but had better views of several adults near the outfall pipe, including a mother and 2 cubs and another with 1. I was delighted when one lone adult crossed the river, climbed the rocks by the pipe and caught a salmon; he carried it back in his mouth and proceeded to enjoy his meal on the grass opposite us, not even pausing when he was harassed by gulls. Needless to say, I was in seventh heaven.















I was so pleased we’d gone back – it topped off our stay in Ketchikan in magnificent style. We’d had such a good time everywhere we’d visited, and now we were heading for the next chapter of our adventure: the MV Matanuska ferry to Juneau.