July 18, 2011 - A Day in Ketchikan

This church is just up the block from our apartment. We did attend here and heard some good preaching. The pastor left for his vacation in WISCONSIN!

This is also right next to the bus stop so I am here often. Today I am catching the bus to head downtown. 

I took the bus to the south end of Ketchikan and got out to walk and to see some of the town that I have only viewed from the bus.

Many of the businesses in the area have totems. This totem is just like one at Saxman.

The daisies are not out everywhere!

Even many private homes have totems in the front yard.












This one is larger than most that are by homes....

THE HARBOR...

I have been wanting to walk out to the end of the breakwater.

It is a long way.

 

A tour boat out on Tongass Narrows. There were so many different boats to see.

Looking back at the harbor from out on the breakwater. The last place on the right is a private home. On another day, Juel and I stopped and visited with the lady and her son. She had her porch filled with pots of vegetables and flowers. Here is another view of her place...

Fireweed growing in the rocks along the breakwater.
 

Two cruise ships in port. There are two more berths beyond these. At times there have been five cruise ships in the area. One stays out until another leaves. Juel said she saw people being boated in from a fifth cruise ship, so I guess they do that if their schedules overlap too much.

Boats of all kinds are enjoying the day.

The harbor from out on the breakwater. I think this is beautiful enough to be a picture puzzle.

Obviously the tide is OUT!

Raven

FLOWERS:

There were so many beautiful floor beds along the harbor walk.

There were also many decorative benches along the way. This one has a whale's tail. Each was different.

Even this plain one provided a place of rest.
 

This gentleman was the one who asked me if I knew God's first name. When I replied I did not, he said it was "Andy." Then he began to sing, "Andy (And He) walked with me, Andy (And He) talked with me...." Then he laughed and I laughed with him.  It was a good joke. He also asked if I like taking pictures. I said I did, and asked if I could take his. He promptly scooted over and put his arm around this lady sitting with him.

Fishing beneath Steadman Bridge over Ketchikan Creek.

Display in a rock/gem store along Creek Street.
 

These trains ran around the room near the ceiling in a store along Creek Street.

Bigfoot has a store in downtown Ketchikan. They sell kettle corn and will take your picture with Bigfoot, for a price, of course. When you see Bigfoot walking around he has an escort who is selling pictures. He says that Bigfoot is "shy" and doesn't like anyone else to take his picture. So you have to be quick to catch a picture yourself. He was not here today. But I did get pictures of him and they are on the blog here somewhere...LOL
 

A bench in Whale Park.
 

I went into the Discovery Center just to get a better picture of this grizzly.

A t-shirt. The saying is so perfect for the time I have spent here in Ketchikan.
 

This monument depicts some of the natives and early settlers of Ketchikan.

When I saw this picture today as I was writing the blog, it made me sad to see the cruise ship leaving. While I didn't care for the crowds the ships brought to town, they were still an excitement to see. I am so glad that I had such a long visit and was able to really get to know Ketchikan. The people on the cruise ships were in and out again the same day. I felt sad for them.
 

I love seeing the underwater life along the edges of the harbor.