Day 2, Tuesday, May 30, 2023
So it’s going to be *that* kind of day!
Rain, rain, rain. Our activities for the day were a hike through a rain forest, meeting a rescued eagle and two of his pals, and meeting a woodcarver who has spent his life carving totem poles. But isn’t a walk in the rain in a rain forest rather redundant?
Approaching Ketchikan
The excursion we had chosen for Ketchikan was “Rain Forest Sanctuary Walk, Totems & Eagles.” Our driver, Zee (“my name is @#$U*, but no one knows how to say it, so just call me Zee”) was great. Mr. Personality and a joy to ride with. There were about thirty-five people on the excursion. When we arrived at the starting point in the Tongass National Forest, two naturalists were waiting for us.
Here’s what National Geographic says about the Tongass National Forest:
Stretching 500 miles north-to-south, the Tongass is an island archipelago of countless streams, glacial fjords, and lush valleys backing into spectacularly rugged mountains and sprawling forests of majestic, old-growth cedar, spruce, and hemlock trees.
Five hundred miles!! Imagine a national forest that stretched along the California coast from San Diego to San Francisco. That’s 500 miles. And the USDA website says the forest encompasses almost 17 million acres, which is about twice the size of the state of Maryland.
[Over the course of two days, we cruised from Ketchikan to Juneau, 241 miles from one port to the other, and entered the forest in two different places, about 250 miles apart. We only got the tiniest taste of the wonders of Tongass National Forest. If you’re interested in knowing more, here’s the link to the National Forest Service’s Visitor Guide.]
The guides split us into two groups. Our guide was Brolin Taylor, a delightful, passionate young man who knows his trees and flowers, and loves the environment. What a joy to wander through this woods with him. (And I can’t ignore the other guide, a lovely young woman named Rina. Both of them are highly educated and very knowledgeable about the flora and fauna in the forest. AND, they carry bear spray!) We walked for about ¾ of a mile, then stopped near the salmon fishery. Instead of seeing salmon swimming around, we saw a cutie pie sea otter swimming around.
Next, we walked over to the Alaska Raptor Center‘s local exhibit. Their main center is in Sitka; this is a secondary location. There are four rescue birds at this location. We saw three: a bald eagle, a snowy owl, and—I believe—a great horned owl. The Alaska Raptor Center is obviously doing a great work with these beautiful creatures.
Then we went into the old Herring Bay Lumber Company sawmill, where a wood carver was working on his current totem pole. Beautiful workmanship and a very nice guy, who learned to carve from his uncle. Follow him @mischievous_raven on tiktok. Or you can find him on Instagram. It was a pleasure to hear his stories. After the sawmill, we admired the totem poles on display in the yard, then snooped in the gift shop, where I bought a tea towel to take home as my memento of Ketchikan.
Another bus took us back to the dock. If you remember my story from Vancouver, I had a luggage strap waiting for me in Tongass Trading Company right on the dock. We walked in and picked that up, then headed back onto the ship. Lunch and a relaxing afternoon followed.
On Monday night (last night), we had asked our concierge to make dinner reservations for us for tonight, and request that we be seated in Yudi’s area. Another wonderful dinner with a delightful waitstaff. We both started with the Beef and Barley Soup. I had the Beef Pot Roast for my entree, and Jas has the Braised Beef Short Rib. For dessert, Jas had the Red Velvet Cake, and I enjoyed the strawberry crisp with vanilla ice cream.
And our second cruise day was over.
Alaska 2023, Day 2
