Friday in Ketchikan, May 3, 2019

Friday morning when we arrived at Megan's office, it was low tide and lots of star fish were exposed on the rocks, both in and out of the water.

After spending a couple of hours at the office, Megan had to run errands and dropped me off at Safeway to wander around Ketchikan and get in my daily dose of 15,000 steps (I ended up with more than 23,000).  I shared these photos with my students so that they can get a feel for how narrow Ketchikan's buildable strip of land can be.  I took the first photo while standing on the sidewalk in the second photo.

Ketchikan averages 20 times as much rain as Phoenix - 150 inches vs 7.5 inches.

Some of the staircases between streets are designated as city streets complete with street signs.

And of course, Creek Street is not a paved street, but rather the wooden walkway over the the creek.

Friday night was Art Walk in Ketchikan and we visited several stores before pizza and drinks.  Another fun day in Alaska.

Juneau and the ferry back to Ketchikan, AK, April 30 - May 2, 2019

Tuesday morning, we set out to explore Juneau.  Our first stop was the Sealaska Heritage Center.  After taking a couple of photos out front, we went in only to find out they did not open until 10:00.

Juneau is the capital of Alaska, so we went to the Alaska State Capitol building which has free self-guided tours.  The building includes offices for the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, all of the state senators and all of the state representatives.  Alaska's first capital was Sitka, but after discovery of gold in Juneau, the capital was moved.  There were many elements of historical importance as well as art work on display, including events around statehood.

There are still two phone boths on the ground floor.

Just across the street, there is a statue and information about William Seward, the U.S. Secretary of State who negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia.  From the informational signs, I learned that he was also a target of assassination at the same time as Abraham Lincoln - he was stabbed while in bed and was left with scars from the attempt.

We then went back to Sealaska where they have a large replica of a clan house inside, as well as two large rooms of exhibits from native artists and information about the lives and history of native peoples.  One thing I learned about was how they fished for halibut with specially designed hooks.

Then we went to see Takhu at a waterfront park next to the bridge to Douglas.  Some of the money for the park came from donations and some from a tax that is paid by and supposed to be used for cruise tourists - but since this beautiful sculpture and park are a mile from the closest cruise ship dock, there is litigation claiming improper use of funds that should have helped improve the cruise ship area.

The park is on the Gastineau Channel which separates Juneau from Douglas (although Douglas is part of Juneau).

Then we went to hike Flume Trail, only to find that it was closed.

No cruise ships were in, so we went and explored the two or so miles of cruise ship docks.

We walked to the south end and then back to the north end where we had dinner the night before in Hangar on the Wharf.  There were massive ravens who were not intimidated by me.

Wednesday was a round of shopping to get things not available in Ketchikan: Home Depot, Costco, Fred Meyers, Office Max, Alaska Sportsman and Joann's Fabric were among our many stops.  We arrived at the ferry dock and checked in at 2:00 for the 4:00 departure.

As before, beautiful scenery both in the evening and at sunrise.

And we arrived back in Ketchikan an hour early at 11:00.