June 28, 2024
Today we were going to Ketchikan, but we didn’t reach port until 11. We slept in until 7 and got ready. I had a delicious omelette for breakfast. They had a huge display of everything you could put in your omelette, but usually we were kind of in a hurry in the morning so I hadn’t done it yet. I had an omelette with spinach, onions, mushrooms, peppers, cheese, and avocado on top.
We went to the crow’s nest for scenic commentary as we headed into Ketchikan. We worked on our crossword puzzles and got a little help from Mark, a guy we had seen do really well at trivia. We went and had an early lunch since we had the lumberjack show right when we got off the ship. It was a small lunch because I wasn’t super hungry.
We got off the ship at 12:30. We could just walk off the ship. It was a little misty in Ketchikan. They get 14 feet of rain a year! We took a few pictures near the ship.
We went to a visitor center and then got directions to the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show. We walked there and waited in line until they opened the doors. We were just near the front of the line which meant we got first pick of seats. We sat in the middle near the front. They divided the audience into fans of the two competing logging camps. We were sitting in the Spruce Mill (U.S.) section and those lumberjacks were competing against the Dawson Creek loggers (Canada). These were the names of actual logging camps that used to operate in Alaska and British Columbia. There were two lumberjacks on each team and an announcer. The announcer encouraged us to cheer for our lumberjacks and boo the opposing camp. They competed in a variety of events from ax throwing to pole climbing to balancing on logs in a pool to chopping through logs. It was very entertaining! After each event, a lumberjack from the winning team would give away a signed photograph to the wildest/loudest/cutest fan. During an intermission time, one of the lumberjacks carved a bunny with a chainsaw and then “accidentally” cut off the head. When he turned it upside down, it was a tiny chair. He gave it away to a girl in the audience. I’m sure her mom was not thrilled at the prospect of fitting that in their luggage! The lumberjacks were equally matched throughout the competition, but the American lumberjacks ended up winning.
It started raining during the show, but we were under an awning. By the time the show ended, it was just misty again. We followed directions to get to the bus to take us to Totem Bight State Park. Our tour guide was in school to be a high school social studies teacher. She drove us about 25 minutes to the park. We saw the only Christian totem pole outside a United Methodist church that told the story of Easter.
When we got to the park, it was not raining/misting at all. We walked around the park and our guide told us the story of each of the totem poles. Around the time of the Great Depression, totem poles were discovered laying in the forest in disrepair. Under the New Deal, native people were paid to repair them and display them in a state park. The native people had been discouraged from making totem poles and speaking their native language so this helped breathe new life into their culture. There was also a clan house at the park that we got to go inside. Many of the totem pole stories were violent. One of them explained how the sun and moon and stars got up in the sky. Another pole was 40 feet high! After we saw all the totem poles, we went in the gift shop for a free cookie and coffee for those who wanted it. We loaded back up on the bus and headed back to town.
We arrived back in Ketchikan at 5. We had actually gotten a lot of good pictures from the bus and were ready to get back on the ship.
Then we went to the crow’s nest for scenic commentary for a bit before heading to the World Stage to see the dance company perform again. The show was different than the one we had seen, but was equally as enjoyable. We really liked their costumes. After the show, we went back to our room and got ready for bed.
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