Ketchikan

This was our first port of call and we had already been provided a whole bunch of new experiences such as boarding a cruise ship, eating fancy dinner without screaming kids, debarking via a gangway, looking out your bedroom window and seeing seagulls and ocean. Ketchikan was a quaint little town. The part of town next to the dock was obviously geared towards tourists, as there were countless trinket shops, jewelry shops, etc.

Celebrity canceled our first short excursion, so through the help of our waiter Luis, we were able to schedule our own shore excursion. Turns out I scheduled the exact same trip as Celebrity has booked us for, except that we didn’t get the boat trip back. I went down to the "little green house" as Luis called it and booked a sea plane trip for 4, Margot, her parents and myself.

Our seaplane trip was on Taquan Air. They were very friendly folks and the pilot was very pleasant fellow. We flew in a Dehaviland Beaver – a six passenger plus pilot, single radial engine float plane. It was a vintage aircraft (mid to late 1950's), save the recent exterior paint job. The interior was obviously original and well used. A cozy plane for 6 passengers – two in the rear, three in the middle, and one in the front next to the pilot. I felt lucky to sit in the front, as I am fascinated with flying. The plane had original avionics, save the radio gear and a Blaupunkt cassette deck. Each passenger was given a headset w/ microphone. These were necessary, as the aircraft was quite loud.

The flight was absolutely fabulous, and the scenery was to die for, especially with the aerial vantage. The flight we signed up for was an aerial tour of the Misty Fiords National Park. We were flown out into the middle of nowhere through the valleys and over the waterways of the fiords. Misty is an excellent description, as there is a mist that hangs in the air. Not so heavy that it obscured your view, but it was noticeable. The view from the Beaver was fantastic. The pilot set us down on a small remote lake were he spotted a grizzly bear and two cubs. The bears ran at the sound of the plane, but we got a brief glimpse of them anyway. Alas, I was not able to get a picture of the critters. The water on the lake was literally as smooth as glass, not a ripple to be seen, except near the pontoons of the plane. The flight lasted 1-½ hours. The weather was excellent, even for the Misty Fiords that we flew through. There were many times it seemed as though you could reach out the window of the plane and touch the shear rocky mountainsides. That is how close the pilot was able to take us. I was uncomfortable several times with the proximity of the plane to the mountain.

	A view from the seaplane of one of many lakes in the Misty Fiords
	A view from the seaplane of one of many waterfalls in the Misty Fiords
	A shot taken from the pontoon of the seaplane. The pilot landed us on this beautiful lake in the middle of the Misty Fiords. He had spotted bears on the green beach, but they ran at the sound of the engine.
	This is the view in the other direction from the pontoon of the seaplane. Quite a dramatic change!
	Another spectacular view from the seaplane of the Misty Fiords
	Another spectacular view from the seaplane of the Misty Fiords
	A strange rock formation in the middle of one of the lakes in the Misty Fiords
	Another spectacular view from the seaplane of the Misty Fiords
	Another spectacular view from the seaplane of the Misty Fiords
	A boat of the shoreline in the Misty Fiords.

We walked from the cruise ship to Taquan air, but took a cab back to town and Margot’s Mother’s knee was bothering her. We roamed around the shops, Margot bought a ring and her mother bought a necklace at "The House of Gold" run by an Indian family.

We had lunch at Jimbo’s, a local greasy spoon. Jimbo’s was full of people that one would describe as "crusty" or "salty dogs". The type of guys you might think of in "a bar down by the docks". The gruff sailor types, which haven’t shaven in a couple of days, and their skin is weathered and tough like leather. You knew that everyone of them had a tattoo with the word "mother" on them somewhere. And they were just a friendly as could be - not a vulgar word to be heard, not a drunken sailor to be seen. I didn’t feel like a bar brawl would break out at any minute. And the food wasn’t bad either.

I shot all Velvia, all handheld. I used both the 28-105 and the 100-400. Since the day was so bright, I really had the run of the mill on shutter speed and apertures. So getting depth of field wasn't an issue. I used the Tamrac belt system that day, and it was quite pleasant, except in the plane. It was really just too bulky to be comfortable in. A photographers vest might have been a small improvement, but the plane was so cozy, that I doubt much of anything would have been any better.

	A tug boat south bound on the Inner Passage
	A fishing boat south bound on the Inner Passage
	Another fishing boat
	Another fishing boat
	Another fishing boat
	Fishing boats moored at Ketchikan
	A view of the marina at Ketchikan
	Another view of the marina
	Another view of the marina
	A sport fishing boat cruises by the marina
	A view of the village of Ketchikan
	A closer view of the village of Ketchikan
	A weather beaten building
	The weather beaten roof
	A twin engine Dehaviland tour plane coming in for a landing.
	Another fishing boat
	Homes on the Inner Passage near Ketchikan
	The Coast Guard cutter stationed at Ketchikan
	A view from the dock at Taquan Air
	A weather beaten pier in Ketchikan
	Another fishing boat
	Another view of the marina
	A docked freighter. Notice the size of the propeller stowed on the side of the ship as compared to the men on the deck above.
	Two abandoned boats on a shoreline near Ketchikan
	A small quarry ocean side
	Beautiful scenery on the Inner Passage north of Ketchikan.
	More beautiful scenery on the Inner Passage north of Ketchikan.
	A lighthouse on an island in the Inner Passage north of Ketchikan. Supposedly men who were stationed there had a year long tour of duty and were not permitted to leave the island during their tour.

	The Taquan Air hangar on the water front
	The DeHaviland seaplane we toured the Misty Fiords in, landing.

	A fishing boat northbound on the Inner Passage
	The Touristy downtown part of Ketchikan.