Last day for Cruise Ships

Today is the last day that the cruise ships will be stopping in Ketchikan until next year. In their honor, I went down to the dock and took a photo of Celebrity Cruise Line's Millennium. Today was sunny, too, which made the scene even more dramatic.

The morning started off rainy, foggy and misty. As the day progressed, it stopped raining and cleared up. By the time I headed down to the docks, the sun was out and there were clouds high up hanging in front of Deer Mountain (that's the mountain pictured at the top of the blog). I tried to capture the amazing scene - sun, clouds, firs, wisps, snow - but I was too far away and at the wrong angle. I'll try again next time... You'll see lots of cloud photos here because I am so amazed by the dynamic views and how quickly the sky can change from one weather system to another.

Finally - a bear!

Yes, it's true. We finally sighted our first bear in Ketchikan. (We suspect there may be one coming down through the back woods, across our deck, along the side yard to the neighbor's trash can across the street the night before trash day, but we haven't caught him yet.)

Last night after dinner at the galley, we drove down to Herring Cove, about 8 miles south of town. It was low tide - a must for bear sightings, as they come down to the water to fish. It certainly was low tide, as parts of the river bed were visible. Quite a few fishermen in waders stood on exposed sandbars trying their luck. The area was dotted with sea gulls who were also fishing for salmon. Their raucous squawking filled the air. And then, in the distance, Gates spotted the moving ball of black fur. It seemed to be more than a football field away, so it was hard to discern - but it was indeed a bear. Unfortunately, I had forgotten my camera, so I'll have to return when low tide is in the daytime so I can photograph it.

So, even though it was a bear, I don't feel like it truly counts because I didn't get a picture of it and it was so far away. Stay tuned!

PS - I just added this photo - I didn't take it, Lisa Thompson did for an online newspaper called SitNews which stands for Stories in the News. It is a great source of information about Alaska as well as Ketchikan. When I saw this photo, I had to add it to the blog since it was taken right where we were!

Ketchikan Staircases

I've gotten the idea to photograph the staircases of Ketchikan. Many of them are very unusual as well as being very high. Some people have homes with front doors 50 - 100 steps up. (Think about that in terms of building muscles!) Because Ketchikan is built into a towering cliff, some of the streets are actually staircases. Hiking a trail often involves climbing steps. In fact, many trails have wooden steps as part of the trail. The reward, of course, is the view at the end of trail.

The Rainbird Trail is about a mile from our house. I took a walk this afternoon to the steps that lead to it. I climbed to the top and then started photographing the view and the steps. I remember the first time I climbed those steps - I was really out of breath. Today, it was much easily - I guess I'm getting in shape!

Enjoy these steps you don't have to climb, and periodically, I'll update the collection.

Another Sunny Day

Hello everyone!
I'm starting a new, blog about my first year in Ketchikan. There is so much going on here and it is such a different place that I want to record as much of it as I can.

Today is the second sunny day in a couple of days. I've learned that you really have to take your sunny days when you get them. For example, yesterday, it was beautiful and then all of a sudden the sky opened up and it rained torrents. With the sun still shining! I've been on a hunt for signs of fall. I'll post some of the photos I've taken so far. There are very few non-fir trees here, so it's going to be quite a hunt. The mountains are so amazing in their beauty that if they were filled with some nice oaks, maples and elms, it would be spectacular. Since they're not, I have to be content with some of the isolated trees which are turning colors.

This week is the last week for the cruise ships. For the past month, the ships have been making their last "call" on Ketchikan. I think I will miss seeing all the people milling around downtown with their cameras and maps. It will be interesting to see what the town is like without the visitors.