web site A

Cruise the Inside Passage aboard the Statendam - (Ketchikan, AK - 7am-3pm)

We woke up early this morning to find we were passing through another narrows, coming into Ketchikan. We were scheduled to arrive at 7:00am but, since we didn't have any excursions booked, we took our time eating breakfast before we left the ship to explore.

Ketchikan is called "Alaska's First City" as it was the first place the boats bringing would-be prospectors to the Gold Rush would arrive. I expect that they were greeted with as many eager sellers of services that we were, just not the same kind. The cruise line has buried us in paper promoting diamond merchants and jewelers selling gold watches. We aren't in the gold and diamond market just now but were interested in finding a float plane to the Misty Fjords National Monument located near here. Again, there were numerous choices but we found one with two empty seats leaving in 30 minutes and signed up.

We chose Misty Fjords Air, owned by a Dave Doyan who was our pilot. We were in a DeHavilland Otter, a 10-passenger plane with two additional seats for pilot and co-pilot. Each seat had a large curved window, which allowed not only great views but clear

pictures without distortion or fog, We each had headsets so we could hear Dave and could ask him questions. It was a beautiful flight over clear lakes and tree-covered islands to reach the fjords The first thing we saw when we passed over the

"border" of the park was a sheer granite cliff, 4000 feet tall. It was higher than we were flying. The Misty Fjords were formed when glaciers 10,000 years ago, carved out of the granite, and dotted the landscape with freshwater lakes that may be 400 feet deep but thousands of feet up in the mountains. There were numerous waterfalls, one dropping hundreds of feet.

About an hour into the flight, Dave brought us down on a lake in an area known as God's Pocket and we got to step out on the pontoons. I was surprised at how stable the plane was, no rocking as we went down the stairs or stepped out on the pontoons. But I have to say it was a little breathtaking to be standing there. Another seaplane landed while we were there and we waved across when they climbed out.

We saw a grizzly bear and her cubs just before we flew in to land on the lake and later saw the remnants of the lava tube of an ancient volcano which held two nests of bald eagles. The eagles were sitting on eggs and Dave says that, when the babies hatch, you can watch them learning to fly. He did a circle so everyone

Montana Majestic Mountain T Tour

On The Road Again

Yellowstone then Home

It had started to rain and was quite chilly so we went back on board the ship. I was already napping when we pulled out of Ketchikan a little later.

Tomorrow we dock in Juneau for the day. We are going on a whale quest where they guarantee that you will see a whale! I've heard that you actually get close enough to see them, not just a dark spot in the water. I'll let you know tomorrow.