Our first port of call was Ketchikan, known as the Alaska’s First City, and the Salmon Capital of the World. This is the view from our cabin as we headed into port.This is where we disembarked. They scanned our medallions for us to leave, and we needed to go through security like an airport, plus have our medallions scanned again, to embark.We are officially in Alaska!Float planes are everywhere. It is one of the major ways of travel all over the state, along with bush planes.Our excursion in Ketchikan was on the Bering Sea crab fishermen’s boat the Aleutian Ballad. This boat was featured in the TV show Deadliest Catch a few years back. It is famous for being slammed by a 60-foot rogue wave, turning it on its side. The video is still available on Youtube.Captain Kevin and tourist Kevin.These guys told many fascinating stories about crab fishing while demonstrating their craft.Beautiful Alaska shoreline.Some of the Inside Passage of Alaska, calm water.Crabbing gear. Industrial crabbing is big business.Sea Star.Box King Crab.Snow Crab.King Crab.After the crab fishermen’s tour, we walked around town a bit. A scenic tourist trap.Creek Street was once a bustling Red Light district, now a tourist spot.This what salmon spawning looks like. I was like this for the entire creek above the waterfalls. It was an incredible sight. Once the fish lay their eggs, they die, so the creek banks were full of dead salmon!Raven Stealing the Sun totem pole.The Rock sculpture – a depiction of Ketchikan’s history: Tlingit Chief Johnson, Tlingit storytelling woman, logger, miner, fisherman and pioneer woman.
