Everyday during the summer the cruise ships become the largest buildings in town. Occasionally, as many as five will be tied up along the waterfront in Ketchikan, Alaska. The skyline changes and sometimes they even block out the sun.
Have you ever been on a cruise?
I know, I know a dandelion is only a weed… but the joy that they bring to our lives should never be taken for granted.
I am pretty sure Ketchikan has the award on the biggest and brightest dandelions anywhere!
I remember the first time I was presented with a huge bouquet of dandelions and and the joy I felt. I dried a few, pressed a few and made a dandelion necklace.
Once I learned how to make a chain, I would sit for hours with friends making them in a field of dandelions.
They are bright and cheerful and remind us that summer is on the way!
Have you ever made a dandelion necklace?
Alaska style Billboard.
Just a short walk down the ramp.
Ketchikan’s cutest little harbor!
Calm after the storm. Photo looking north up Tongass Narrows, Ketchikan Alaska.
This is our awesome welder Charlie Ratzat way up on top our mast. He is welding us a higher red light.
Just a few minutes before he climbed up there it was pouring buckets of rain. Hard to believe with the beautiful blue sky and those puffy clouds… that’s Ketchikan! 🙂
I chose this photo because it reminds me of when Ole and I first met. I was living South and Ole was up here commercial fishing. He sent me an airline ticket to fly up to Ketchikan. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and the trout were jumping. Ole took me to Ward Lake for a little trout fishing up by the old swinging bridge around dusk. Standing in my “down south” slippery boats, Ole tells me to stay here and watch for bears. Immediately I say…whoa, whoa, whoa, BEARS!?!?!?!? He said awe we should be fine. He wades across the river bed and started catching a few trout. When all if a sudden a black mama bear and two cubs came out of nowhere right behind Ole. I had never seen a bear before and couldn’t speak, all I could do is point past Ole. He saw the bears coming at him, and to this day I’ve never seen him run so fast! He left the trout for the bears and we ran. We got back to the car and he tells me that was a close one!
We walk around the lake quite a bit and love the beauty of it. We’ve had many a picnic there too.
Last year we had our second close encounter with bears. We were walking around the lake and got to the bridge. There were yellow signs that said “caution, aggressive mama bear and two cubs seen the day before”. Half way around the lake, we stood at the bridge and soaked in the beauty. We looked at each other and said, do we turn back or continue on? We decided to go forward. Scared and each and every turn we would run into the bears, we started singing and making noise, we walked all the way back to the car.
Have you ever had a close encounter with a bear? I’d love to hear about it.
The 1,080 passenger Crystal Serenity launched the 2012 cruise ship season last Saturday as it stopped in Ketchikan as part of a 94-day circumnavigation of the Pacific Ocean.
They start in LA, then go to Hawaii, New Caledonia, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong (and other Chinese ports), South Korea, Japan, Russia, Alaska, Canada and back to LA on April 21. Whew!
What fun to taste food from different parts of the world. But I simply can’t help but wonder. Do the passengers start off in their skinny clothes and end the 94 days in their fat clothes waddling off the cruise ship? I know I would!
Photo of the Week- Beautiful Easter Sunday in downtown Ketchikan, Alaska with snow capped Deer Mountain.
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