As promised, I'm harking back ten years to a little expedition across the Canada-Alaska border which did not involve a cruise ship.
It takes a bit of patience, and a lot of flexibility, but you can certainly enjoy southeastern Alaska on your own, and travel on your own time frame.
All you need is a private yacht.... Okay, but keeping it practical, let's take the Alaska Marine Highway, the state ferry network.
The ferries run along an extensive network which stretches from Bellingham, Washington, and Prince Rupert, British Columbia, all the way north to Whittier and Seward, south of Anchorage, and then on south west down into the chain of the Aleutian Islands. Over such distances, it simply isn't practical to try to run to a daily schedule or even to sail at the same time on each day the ferry does operate.
While the ferries sometimes come and go at some pretty weird hours of the day or night, they can take you to places that cruise ships simply can't get into, due to the navigation hazards in many of those beautiful channels of the Inside Passage. Those tight spots are the reason why the ferries are not big, and not getting any bigger. Here's a picture of one near a cruise ship to prove the point.
In my case, I had taken the train from Jasper to Prince Rupert (read about that here: Into the Mists: Canada's Pacific Northwest), and then after an overnight stay boarded the early morning sailing northwards. We cleared U. S. Customs right in Prince Rupert before boarding the ferry. For overnight sailings, the Alaska ferries have cabins, but never enough to meet the demand so advance reservations are essential -- and you need to get them well in advance. The cabins are utilitarian, but comfortable enough. But if you want to be travel like a real Alaskan, bring your tent and gear on board and camp out on the broad solarium deck at the stern. It's not only allowed, it's encouraged. Welcome to the north!
First, a few pictures of the scenery, beginning in Prince Rupert harbour in the early morning with the veteran B.C. Ferries vessel, Queen of Prince Rupert (since retired).
The solarium deck of the ferry (no campers here because this was taken at about 10:00 am!). Taku, as with all ships in the Alaska Marine Highway fleet, is named after a glacier in Alaska.
The inevitable cruise ship.
Arriving in Ketchikan about noon, with another inevitable moored dockside.
Ketchikan is the ultimate example of a town squeezed between the sea and the mountains with no place to go but up. Look at a street map, and you'll see some streets marked in only as faint lines. Those are wooden walkways and staircases -- but they have street names, and the houses along them have addresses on those streets.
Ketchikan's most famous walkway-street is Creek Street. Today it's a popular shopping district with visitors. But this wooden walkway, perched in the air over the waters of a salmon stream, was once the notorious red-light district. Hence the sign at the entrance off Stedman Street, the main drag:
One house of ill repute survives as a museum -- and a fascinating one at that. Welcome to Dolly's House.
At the back end of Creek Street, a small funicular railway takes you up the ridge to the deluxe Cape Fox Lodge, where you can get this view of the town.
A government-directed resettlement program consolidated dozens of regional native villages into a few larger settlements. During the 1930s, the C.C.C. assembled the world's largest collection of totem poles in Ketchikan, retrieving them from the deserted village sites. These can be seen at Totem Bight State Park north of town, and at Saxman village south of the city. In both places, traditional clan houses are also preserved, and interpretive signs help visitors to understand the rich cultural and mythological symbolism underlying these artworks.
The biggest shopping area is on Front Street, where two cruise ships at a time can berth directly across the street from this complex of jewellery stores and restaurants.
At the north end of Front Street stands this modern native artist's interpretation of a traditional totemic symbol, called Thundering Wings.
First, a few pictures of the scenery, beginning in Prince Rupert harbour in the early morning with the veteran B.C. Ferries vessel, Queen of Prince Rupert (since retired).
The solarium deck of the ferry (no campers here because this was taken at about 10:00 am!). Taku, as with all ships in the Alaska Marine Highway fleet, is named after a glacier in Alaska.
The inevitable cruise ship.
Arriving in Ketchikan about noon, with another inevitable moored dockside.
Ketchikan is the ultimate example of a town squeezed between the sea and the mountains with no place to go but up. Look at a street map, and you'll see some streets marked in only as faint lines. Those are wooden walkways and staircases -- but they have street names, and the houses along them have addresses on those streets.
Ketchikan's most famous walkway-street is Creek Street. Today it's a popular shopping district with visitors. But this wooden walkway, perched in the air over the waters of a salmon stream, was once the notorious red-light district. Hence the sign at the entrance off Stedman Street, the main drag:
One house of ill repute survives as a museum -- and a fascinating one at that. Welcome to Dolly's House.
At the back end of Creek Street, a small funicular railway takes you up the ridge to the deluxe Cape Fox Lodge, where you can get this view of the town.
A government-directed resettlement program consolidated dozens of regional native villages into a few larger settlements. During the 1930s, the C.C.C. assembled the world's largest collection of totem poles in Ketchikan, retrieving them from the deserted village sites. These can be seen at Totem Bight State Park north of town, and at Saxman village south of the city. In both places, traditional clan houses are also preserved, and interpretive signs help visitors to understand the rich cultural and mythological symbolism underlying these artworks.
The biggest shopping area is on Front Street, where two cruise ships at a time can berth directly across the street from this complex of jewellery stores and restaurants.
At the north end of Front Street stands this modern native artist's interpretation of a traditional totemic symbol, called Thundering Wings.
And not too far away, as night was falling, I spotted this live version perched on a lamp post.
Here's a look back at a visit to Ketchikan, Alaska, which I made 10 years ago, complete with plenty of pictures.
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