Ketchikan At Sea

Leslie Saturday, May 31, 2008

We had discussed taking a float plane out to see Misty Fjords National Monument, a nature preserve. Yesterday in Ketchikan we had discussed the prices with a representative from a float plane operator. The stated price is $229 per person for a 1 1/2 hour trip. We met some people in town who had just come off the trip and they raved about how wonderful it was. The representative of the float plane said that if we were willing to be flexible and go on an "as called" basis, she could make us a better deal. The plan takes 6 passengers and if we were willing to go as fill-ins for another group, we’d get a better deal. After thinking about it overnight we decided that $500 was beyond our budget just to see waterfalls and maybe some bear (especially since we’ll see lots of bears later in Katmai).

The weather was wonderful today, 65 degrees and sunny. After watching many fishing boats leave from the harbor below our windows, I suggested that we should rent a little skiff and go sightseeing independently. We rented a 18 ft. aluminum open boat for $50 for two days. The boat came with a new type of life jackets. Initially the life jackets are small and unobtrusive. If a sensor gets wet, the jacket automatically inflates. There is a pull cord as back-up in case the auto-inflation fails to work. Because the jackets so small, they are far more comfortable, encouraging people to actually wear them.

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The dock crew couldn’t believe that we weren’t going fishing. This weekend is Salmon Derby and every fisherperson in the area is out competing. Just before we left the dock a successful fisherman was weighing his catch. This King Salmon weighed a little over 25 lbs.

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We took off for sightseeing. There was a little chop in the water but it wasn’t too bad. We spent 4 hours on the water and saw some pretty waterfalls, a US Sub base (very anonymous) and lots of bald eagles. I was trying very hard to capture a picture of an eagle in flight. That is a difficult picture because the auto-focus on the camera has a difficult time focusing when the background is infinity.

View of Carpe Diem from the water:

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Waterfalls:
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Sub Base:

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Eagles in Flight:

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Eagle poses for his picture.

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Unlike places like Annapolis, MD, boaters here pretty much have the ocean to themselves.

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And finding a private beach isn't hard.

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This crazy family at the state park was even swimming -- although I always test the water whenever I travel, even I wouldn't consider going in this water. The air temperature reached a high of 65; I'm guessing the water temperature wasn't out of the 40's.

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We enjoyed more wonderful fish for dinner.

more later,

Leslie