Ketchikan, Alaska

Ketchikan is five hundred miles north of Seattle, is Alaska's "first city," and as the first port of call for many cruise ships, its historic downtown is wedged between water and forested mountains. Beyond the souvenir shopping the city is a delight to explore,  built into steep hills and partly propped on wooden pilings, with boardwalks, wooden staircases and totem poles dotted throughout. By 1886, white settlers had opened the first of dozens of canneries in what was soon to be the "salmon capital of the world." 

Ketchikan also has the world's largest collection of standing totem poles, located at three major locations: Saxman Village, Totem Bight, and the Totem Heritage Center.

One of the great places to visit while in Ketchikan is Misty Fiords National Monument. It is a pristine masterpiece featuring some of Alaska’s most spectacular scenery. Seventeen thousand years ago the area was covered in ice. Massive glacier action carved out its present landscape- long saltwater fjords hemmed in by cliffs that soar as high as 3,000 feet into the air. Scenery ranges from tidewater estuaries to mountains often shrouded in mists, sky-blue lakes, waterfalls and the seemingly endless evergreen forest. Misty Fjords' road-less location is only accessible by floatplane or boat from Ketchikan.   Highlights of the area include pictographs (native rock art) painted along the cliff walls, New Eddystone Rock and Punchbowl Cove. Look for sea lions, killer whales and porpoises, brown and black bear and mountain goats which are often sighted in the monument area.

Ketchikan is one of the planned stops on Rawhide Travel and Tours' "Kick Ice Alaskan Glacier Route Super Cruise".  Join us  August 22-31, 2012. Call (602) 843-5100 for more information.