- Legendary Alaska – 28 Days in The Last Frontier – North to the Future!
- Seattle SailAway – The Legend Begins
- Cruising the Inside Passage
- Ketchikan – The Salmon Capital of the World
- Spectacular Sitka
- Hubbard Glacier – Scenic Cruising
- Valdez – The town that moved
- College Fjord – The Smartest Glaciers in the World
- Seward – Alaska Sealife Center
- CABIN CRAWL AND CAKE ME AWAY
- UNALASKA AND DUTCH HARBOR
- ARCTIC CIRCLE AND THE POLAR PLUNGE
We visit Saxman Totem Park and two Yarn Shops
KETCHIKAN
The ship cleared around 8 am
Our plan for today
Take the two-hour Eagle One – City Highlights and Totems Tour –
Lunch
Visit Ketchikan’s two Yarn Shops
CITY HIGHLIGHTS AND TOTEMS TOUR
The Westerdam cleared about 8 a.m., and we headed ashore around 9:55 a.m. It was in the 40s with light rain. We walked from Berth 3 to the Visitor’s Center (near Berth 2 waterfront), where we checked in for our City Highlights and Totem Parks Tour, which started at 10:30 a.m.
We met our guide, Debbie, and headed over to the Lumberjack Show, where we picked up a couple from the Noordam.  The five of us were very comfortable in the 13 passenger van.
HERRING COVE
We stopped in a pullout adjacent to Herring Cove a few miles out of town. We hoped to see bears or eagles there, but the salmon hadn’t arrived yet, and we saw no bears or eagles today.
RAINBOW FALLS
Continuing out of town, we stopped at Rainbow Falls for a photo. This is also a trailhead if you are in the mood for a hike.
SAXMAN TOTEM PARK
Saxman Totem Park features a collection of intricately carved totem poles. These 25 totems are authentic replicas of the original poles left in abandoned villages as Native Alaskans moved into more populated cities. Totem pole carving was an art form that flourished from the mid-1700s to the late 1800s.
Near the entrance there is a building where a Totem was being carved. People on ship tours were able to go inside the building.  Our private tour stayed outside, under the roof, to look through the wall of windows as our guide explained the totem carving.  TIP – Walk around to the back side of the building where there are more windows with a better view of the interior.
CREEK STREET
Debbie dropped us off at Creek Street at our request rather than return to the Visitor Center.   She recommended lunch a few doors away at the New York Café. We each had Fish and Chips – with a choice of Halibut or Cod. Afterwards, we walked down Creek Street to Fabulous Fiber Arts and More
YARN SHOPS
Fabulous Fiber Arts and More
This shop also sells quilt fabrics. Judy bought a hank of yarn in blues & yellows that was hand-dyed in Palmer, Alaska. She also bought a kit of yarn for the National Parks hat pattern called Gates of the Arctic. She has been looking for buttons for a gray cabled vest she knitted. Not having the vest with her, she bought some buttons that might look good on the vest. Note: The buttons turned out to be the correct size and are just a little bit lighter in color but will look nice on the vest.
Untangled Yarn and Fiber
Our next yarn shop, Untangled Yarn and Fiber, was about 1.5 miles north of town.  We took the free downtown shuttle that left from in front of the Tongass Historical Museum.  There is also a city bus that runs along the same route that costs $2.  The Free Bus is clearly marked FREE.  They both go to the same place for our purposes – so we took the first bus to show up which was a free bus.
Untangled Yarn’s front section features locally dyed yarn. Some of the yarns were dyed with natural dyes. The back room featured yarns from some of the popular companies from the US and Europe. Judy bought some beautiful locally dyed Alpaca and Silk lace weight yarn in shades of medium to dark blue. She also splurged on some Baby Alpaca, Silk and Cashmere yarn in shades of tans to browns.
After visiting Untangled Yarn and Fiber, we took the $2 bus back to the center of Ketchikan.
We had time before the All Aboard and went souvenir shopping at Tongass Trading Company. Judy bought some small jars of Salmonberry Jelly and Salmonberry Honey.
BACK ON THE SHIP
The ship hosted a Welcome Aboard reception for 3, 4 & 5-star mariners around the Lido pool from 6:15 to 6:45 pm.  Sparkling Wine and premixed cocktails were available at no charge.  You had to buy your own soft drinks.  There wasn’t any welcome address or other announcements.   The Captain and other officers were out and about mingling with guests.
WORLD STAGE
Comedian Buddy Fitzpatrick was on the World Stage.  He left the house lights on during his show.   Most of his performance was improv based on his interactions with guests.
Sounds wonderful…we love Ketchikan and have visited many times–always something new to see.I