Auke Bay and Ketchikan

Auke Bay is about 10 miles down the road from Juneau. We docked there for 3-4 hours Wednesday. I walked about 1.6 miles to Auke Bay, and the Liquor/Grocery store to buy a mug so I can eat my yogurt and drink tea on the ferry without paying for it. This store had a lot of liquor, candy bars, chips, and no mugs.

So I walked back a ways to the Gonzo Café with the “Ninjas Only” sign above the door and bought a mug and vanilla ice cream and walked back to the ship.

Thursday at noon we arrived in Ketchikan. Our AirB&B host picked us up at the ferry, gave us a quick tour of the town, and delivered us to our tiny apartment in an older apartment building. Our apartment overlooked a vertical stream of salmon swimming up and seagulls on the rocks eating the dead ones.

One of our host’s friends, a cab driver, drove us to Totem Bight State Park and Potlatch Park. We saw and learned about totem poles, 

tribal houses, and tribal community houses.

When trees fall in this rain forest, their root system comes up in a flat disc because the soil is so thin on the rock.

The beach is lichen-covered rocks, very beautiful.

We walked around Ketchikan. There is a lot of vertical. What we saw was pretty touristy – jewelry stores and fudge stores and art galleries and great food and a knit shop!!!

Most interesting to me was how eager I was to get back on the boat. I like sleeping on the boat and I like walking around the entire ship on the deck, getting my steps in while observing whales and sea lions and otters and mountains and islands and sky and water. I find it delightful to sit in the front and look out and knit. I told the story today of my grandmother taking my brother to Scottsbluff on the train and upon return he said that he wanted to be a train passenger when he grew up. I’m thinking about becoming a boat passenger when I grow up.