Buckets of Rain in Ketchikan (July 6, 2018)

Our first Alaskan experience was a rather soggy day in Ketchikan.  Luckily, the town offers a free bus that runs the main roads of the town, so we didn't have to walk too far in the rain. Our first stop was Creek Street, which was built over Ketchikan Creek.  The "street' was the former red light district turned tourist area with the motto "where both men and salmon swam upstream to spawn".  Here's a family pic in front of the Chief Johnson totem pole, which tells the story of the fog woman and the creation of salmon. 

Here are a few pics of Creek Street, which is more of a boardwalk than a street:

Ketchikan Creek runs right through town.  Salmon spawning season is a little later in the summer, but it is still pretty to view. 

The town built a salmon ladder to assist the salmon in making it upstream.  We couldn't see any salmon in it, but the design helped the kids realize why one of their favorite American Ninja Warrior obstacles is called the salmon ladder. 

There was one overachieving salmon in the creek right below the ladder.  It was one of the other four variety of salmon other than sockeye (which appears pinkish red), so it is very camouflaged in the water.  Maybe you can see it if you look closely. 

Sidney also found a face in a tree on our rainy walk to the Totem Heritage Center. 

The Totem Heritage Center had lots of totem poles on display, of course.

Several of these were actually mortuary poles, including this one of a killer whale on top of a bear.  Before missionaries reached the native people, they typically cremated the upper caste or important members of their tribe and stored their ashes in a box inside the back of the mortuary pole.  Fascinating!  I'm thinking that we may be able to consider this continuing education for the Funeral Home as the funerary studies of native cultures. Tax write off for the trip???

Jack's particular favorite totem legend was about how the raven stole the sun and brought it to the world.  Here's a pic of him in front of a totem pole that depicts the legend.

We also visited the Tongass Historical Museum.  The kids really enjoyed the display of a bear's skull with a metal frame that showed the approximate size of the bear.  This bear terrorized the Ketchikan area for years before it was finally caught.  I wouldn't want to encounter this in the woods!

As we prepared to head back to the ship, we passed a restaurant sign that we absolutely loved. 

Only in a small town would you find Chico's Mexican Restaurant -- The Best Pizza In Town.  In case you were wondering, we didn't have time to stop in for a sample.  Time to board the boat for the journey to Juneau!