Our Chariot
Downtown Ketchikan!
Look quick it's sunny!
Even pretty under a cloudy sky!
reflective pond! Prettier under sunny skies!
So pretty!
Waterfall from outside the plane.
"don't slip, don't slip"~~AS WITH ALL GOOD THINGS, THIS TOO MUST ~~
~~END~~
What an absolutely awesome trip we have had.
Could we be any more blessed to have seen the sights we have seen or to have met new friends along the way?
Thank you God for such an amazing world we live in.
Our last port of call in Alaska was Ketchikan. It was a last minute decision to stop there while we were in Wrangell. We just weren't quite ready to let this amazing state live without us even for a week. Our time in Ketchikan was fun. We didn't do all that much but what we did do was good. We spent 6 nights there in a state park about 8 miles from town. It was called Signal Creek Campground at Ward Lake. The lake was teaming with salmon at the end of their journey. Even though they were getting near the end they were not giving up. All day long they would jump and jump and jump. I wonder if they were jumping and saying "YAHOO we did it". After watching their plight over and over at every port we stopped at IF I were a salmon I think that is exactly what I would do. My goodness what those fish go through just to have offspring, I would rather have my babies the old fashioned way. ;-) Seriously, we watched some salmon trying to get up stream and over and over they would jump to go over some rapids and rather than make it to the water they would go head first into rocks and bounce off. It really was very sad to watch! So we didn't for very long! And I am not going to dwell on those sights because for every salmon that didn't make it up that waterfall/rapid area there were 1000's that did! Those are the ones who were strong enough to find the way and their offspring will be stronger for it. The strong will survive, right?
We went on a float plane trip through the Misty Fjords (fee-ords). When we arrived by bus at the dock where the plane was moored there were 2 beautiful yachts. We had heard one of them was Paul McCartney's but no one would confirm or deny that. Other than it flying a British flag there were no signs that it belonged to him, like musical notes on the stern near the name or even the name. Of course if you are trying to remain anonymous you would not name her, The Abby Road! That would be a dead give a way. The plane we flew in was very nice. It seated 10, 5 on each side with their own windows (nice) and was comfy. We had to wear headphones with microphones so we could communicate. I took mine off at one point and was surprised at how noisy it was without them. We were in the air a little over an hour flying over acres and acres of beautiful inlets, tree covered mountains and water streaming off the mountain sides. They call them waterfalls but they were a straight line of water rolling over the mountain rather than cascading. I guess we are spoiled by Hawaiian Waterfalls. We saw Eagles soaring below us but never did see any bears or whales. I could not help wondering if they ever see whales from above. I think that would be an awesome sight. The country side was beautiful especially from the air. There are hundreds of little ponds of water reflecting the cloudy sky and at times spots of blue in between. Anywhere there was a flat spot there was standing water. The trees were a dark hunter green and looked so healthy. Not like the acres of bark beetle infested trees we see in So. Cal. and have see along the way. It appears there is no place that is unaffected by the bark beetle. The plane flew over islands that didn't look any different than the main land. A rock covered with trees! Actually the trees grow right down to the water's edge. I would think the salt water would kill them! We did land on the water at one point and were allowed to get out of the plane and stand on the floats. It was here that we did see what I would consider a real waterfall. It was actually a double fall and was very pretty. From a comment the pilot made I assume the fall isn't usually quite a large as when we saw it. He said "there must have been a lot of rain here last night". I was wondering if it ever stopped raining. We were standing on the floats in the rain and had been flying in the rain all morning, so......... Standing on those floats I couldn't help thinking "don't slip, don't slip". We were out there about 20 minutes and then were off again. This time the pilot actually used the plane like a boat and ran along for a while on the surface of the water. It was only for a couple minutes but it was great to be moving along at the waters level and see the height of the canyon walls. They had to be over 600 ft high. Before long we were back in the air and on our way back to Ketchikan. The entire trip from take off to landing took 1 hour and 30 minutes. We were back at camp in time for breakfast! What a way to start the day!
Our last port of call in Alaska was Ketchikan. It was a last minute decision to stop there while we were in Wrangell. We just weren't quite ready to let this amazing state live without us even for a week. Our time in Ketchikan was fun. We didn't do all that much but what we did do was good. We spent 6 nights there in a state park about 8 miles from town. It was called Signal Creek Campground at Ward Lake. The lake was teaming with salmon at the end of their journey. Even though they were getting near the end they were not giving up. All day long they would jump and jump and jump. I wonder if they were jumping and saying "YAHOO we did it". After watching their plight over and over at every port we stopped at IF I were a salmon I think that is exactly what I would do. My goodness what those fish go through just to have offspring, I would rather have my babies the old fashioned way. ;-) Seriously, we watched some salmon trying to get up stream and over and over they would jump to go over some rapids and rather than make it to the water they would go head first into rocks and bounce off. It really was very sad to watch! So we didn't for very long! And I am not going to dwell on those sights because for every salmon that didn't make it up that waterfall/rapid area there were 1000's that did! Those are the ones who were strong enough to find the way and their offspring will be stronger for it. The strong will survive, right?
We went on a float plane trip through the Misty Fjords (fee-ords). When we arrived by bus at the dock where the plane was moored there were 2 beautiful yachts. We had heard one of them was Paul McCartney's but no one would confirm or deny that. Other than it flying a British flag there were no signs that it belonged to him, like musical notes on the stern near the name or even the name. Of course if you are trying to remain anonymous you would not name her, The Abby Road! That would be a dead give a way. The plane we flew in was very nice. It seated 10, 5 on each side with their own windows (nice) and was comfy. We had to wear headphones with microphones so we could communicate. I took mine off at one point and was surprised at how noisy it was without them. We were in the air a little over an hour flying over acres and acres of beautiful inlets, tree covered mountains and water streaming off the mountain sides. They call them waterfalls but they were a straight line of water rolling over the mountain rather than cascading. I guess we are spoiled by Hawaiian Waterfalls. We saw Eagles soaring below us but never did see any bears or whales. I could not help wondering if they ever see whales from above. I think that would be an awesome sight. The country side was beautiful especially from the air. There are hundreds of little ponds of water reflecting the cloudy sky and at times spots of blue in between. Anywhere there was a flat spot there was standing water. The trees were a dark hunter green and looked so healthy. Not like the acres of bark beetle infested trees we see in So. Cal. and have see along the way. It appears there is no place that is unaffected by the bark beetle. The plane flew over islands that didn't look any different than the main land. A rock covered with trees! Actually the trees grow right down to the water's edge. I would think the salt water would kill them! We did land on the water at one point and were allowed to get out of the plane and stand on the floats. It was here that we did see what I would consider a real waterfall. It was actually a double fall and was very pretty. From a comment the pilot made I assume the fall isn't usually quite a large as when we saw it. He said "there must have been a lot of rain here last night". I was wondering if it ever stopped raining. We were standing on the floats in the rain and had been flying in the rain all morning, so......... Standing on those floats I couldn't help thinking "don't slip, don't slip". We were out there about 20 minutes and then were off again. This time the pilot actually used the plane like a boat and ran along for a while on the surface of the water. It was only for a couple minutes but it was great to be moving along at the waters level and see the height of the canyon walls. They had to be over 600 ft high. Before long we were back in the air and on our way back to Ketchikan. The entire trip from take off to landing took 1 hour and 30 minutes. We were back at camp in time for breakfast! What a way to start the day!
We are leaving Prince Rupert this morning and headed to Jasper, Alberta. We will we out of touch for a while but............
When I write next I will tell you all about our day on
"THE SKIFF"
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