The ship arrived in Ketchikan at eleven, so we had a relaxed morning. My wife went to a nature talk about whales that she thought was good while I took a shower. We went ashore and there is an impressive statue right at the center of the cruise dock.
The next thing we were impressed with was that three other cruise ships were docked, and one was anchored or holding position off-shore, and the town felt totally over-run with tourists. It is has a cute downtown and several historic districts with good signage and a walking tour map, but with several thousand other people all walking many of the same roads we soon felt claustrophobic. We headed a bit off the beaten path and walked past a marina.
We stopped at a grocery to pick up some cough drops, drinks and a snack, then we walked up to a totem pole museum and a park further up the creek that empties into the center of ‘old town’ and sat on a bench overlooking the creek for a bit. It took us several minutes to realize that what looked like dark parts of the creek bed were actually hundreds of salmon resting there.
There was a fish hatchery nearby and we saw a bunch of “fingerlings”. Then we walked back into town past the fish ladder that the thousands of fish we saw in the creek must have come up, then back to the ship for lunch.
After lunch we walked to the “new part of town,” past the couple of small college campuses there, and then returned via a nice hiking trail through the woods that are right above the town.
We ate in the dining room for the second “gala night” (fancy dress) and shared a table with an interesting couple from Hershey, Pennsylvania. We had solid conversation with them throughout the dinner and a bit beyond it, then we took in a few songs in the B.B. King club. The music was very good, but it was very loud.