Ketchikan
Eagles and Crab
We were only in the port of Ketchikan unill 3PM today and our Wilderness Exploration and Crab Feast excursion was going to take much of our port time so we had little free time there. We boarded a bus just outside of the ship that took us south on the only highway in Ketchikan to the Georgia Inlet Inn where we decended a number of steps to the water and boarded a small boat with about 30 other people. Our captain took us along the shoreline not far from the Inn as the other crew member talked about the area, it’s wildlife and crabbing. We passed a cannery which closed in 1959 but is now used for social events. We saw a pair of eagles that came down to within 50 feet of our boat which thrilled all of the passengers.
A short distance from the eagle nest we got to see how Dungeness crab is caught as some people got up close and personal with some of the crabs in the trap.
For the final part of our tour we had an all-you-can eat crab lunch. The crab was outstanding. At the end of lunch there was a contest to see who could build the tallest tower with their crab shells. Ours measured 23.75 inches, just a quarter inch short of the winner.
We had about an hour in theTown of Ketchikan where we walked down Creek Street, the town’s red light district during the Gold Rush but now a tourist area with restaurants and shops. The town has a number of totem poles around the town. Our bus driver shared that totems made by a master totem carver can cost over $100k each.
Our dinner this evening was at Le Petit Chef which does an animation on each diner’s plater about preparing food. It was a lot of fun and Charlie enjoyed it quite a bit
