KETCHIKAN

 The Oceania Riviera arrived in Ketchikan to brilliant sunlight.  Next to our ship is the Regen Seven Seas Explorer again.

Snow still on mountains.

Simple lunch in the Terrace Cafe.

At 12:30, this restaurant is usually so crowded that it is difficult to find a table.

Why?  This is our last stop until we arrive in Vancouver in two days.  There are also 34 different tours.  Some years ago I might have gone halibut fishing.  On the other hand, pay them $600 to freeze?  Maybe not.   Then again, this red rockfish is the type caught in Ketchikan.  Today, I did nothing much except for the above and following.

While my filming technique is a work in progress, here is perhaps my most boring:  departing Ketchikan.

Ketchikan.

• Sunny the whole day, which, they say, is unusual.  Annual rainfall is 150 inches, and Ketchikan is nicknamed the Rain Capital of Alaska.  Hawaii is annually 72 inches, although Mount Waialeale on Kauai receives an average of 450-500 inches/year.  In 1982, got 683 inches.  However, Cherrapunji in Meghalaya, India received 1042 inches from 1August1860 to 31July1861.

• 
  Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic Landmark District.
• Population of 8192 in 2020 from 8050 in 2010.
• Since the BCs, settled by Tlingit natives, with Mike Martin in 1885 credited with establishing the town,  Became known as Alaska's first city because of location.
• 
  Ketchikan has the world's largest collection of standing totem poles.
• If you're expecting thousands, nope, only 80.
• Totem poles are mostly crafted from Western red cedar, as it is rot resistant an easy to carve.
• The most notable is the Chief Johnson Totem Pole, which is 55 feet tall.  Stands outside the home of Chief George Johnson, is a replica of the original pole from 1901.  The original is stored.

• 
  Senator Lisa Murkowski was born here.  I got to personally know her father, Frank Murkowski, when he was a senator and I was a staff member of Senator Spark Matsunaga.

• 
  In the 2016 miniseries The Young Pope, Jude Law as Pope Pius XIII sends several cardinals who upset him to Ketchikan as punishment.  Rotten Tomatoes scores of 80/87.  On HBO.
• 
  Here are a few of 21 Fun Facts About Ketchikan.
• The fifth most populous city in Alaska.
• Is known as the Salmon Capital of the World.

• 
  Five types are caught here:  Chum, King, Sockeye, Silver and Pink.
• First cannery opened in 1892.

• 
  And where there is salmon at the surface, there are bears and eagles.
• Season just started this month, and extends into September.

• 
  The area along Ketchikan Creek where salmon are caught was once the red-light district of Ketchikan, with as many as 30 brothels on either side of the creek.  Note:  not anymore.
• 
  Ketchikan is on Revillagigedo Island, and are part of the Inside Passage coastal used by cruise ships.
• Is surrounded by the 17 million-acre Tongass National Forest in the the U.S.
• One of the ZIP codes for Ketchikan is 99950, the highest number in the U.S.

Final party night on the ship ended with a dinner at Red Ginger and a show in the Riviera Lounge.

The final show also featured a goodbye from the entire staff.

Only 2366 steps today.

Tomorrow we cruise the Inside Passage.

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