KETCHIKAN, Alaska

Last stop on our Alaska itinerary: Ketchikan - self-proclaimed salmon capital of the world. As we rounded Creek Street, the most (and perhaps only) charming street in Ketchikan, three harbor seals poked up their sleek heads as they swam upcreek on the prowl for salmon. Thousands upon thousands of salmon flooding the Ketchikan Creek on their last leg upstream parted as the seals bobbed and weaved in pursuit. Our tourist stops included the Deer Mountain Tribal Hatchery and Eagle Center and the Totem Heritage Center, both of which are tribally sponsored. The Hatchery uses untreated water from Ketchikan Creek to facilitate greater survival rates for the salmon eggs that are spawned in this creek every year and the Totem center restores and preserves early 19th century totem poles and carvings from Tlingit villages. Our unexpected find was the Cape Fox Lodge, a short funicular ride uphill that is virtually invisible from anywhere in town. Our goal when boarding the funicular was finding a decent place for lunch, our reward was an amazing collection of baskets, carvings and totems that had not been written up in any of the guidebooks we'd glanced through.

Ketchikan is the southernmost town in Alaska and receives the highest level of rainfall. True to form, we were greeted with showers but by lunchtime the sun appeared and we rambled about the rest of the day in dry shoes. The main highlight for the cruise crowd is a trip to Misty Fjords National Monument, a short flight or long ferry ride away. Not wanting to board another vessel we passed this one by only to learn that an hour out foul weather forced the ferry to turn back and we were glad to have avoided the long detour!

As I headed to the dock at the end of the day I realized it was my last moment on Alaskan soil. I lingered awhile and reviewed the awesome sights and sounds of Alaska and vowed to make it back someday.

The next day we cruised south through the Inside Passage and on to Vancouver. The last photo here captures a glimpse of the continuous and seemingly infinite view of rolling evergreen-filled mountains. Reclined on the promenade deck, wrapped in tartan blankets, the passing scenery provided a soothing retreat for pausing to reflect, while pressing forward.