Day 12 Ketchikan part 1

As Ketchikan is known as the rain capital of Alaska with an average rainfall of some 13 feet, the sun made a welcome appearance amongst the clouds this morning—a good start to the day!
As we left the ship, we noticed a couple of signs that put this town's extreme climate into perspective. First, we passed a bright blue tsunami evacuation route sign pointing up to higher ground—a stark reminder that cozy Ketchikan sits right on the volatile Pacific edge. Near it was a historical flood marker from 1949, the legendary year Ketchikan shattered records by catching a mind-boggling 202.55 inches of rain! Standing there looking up at the height the water once pooled, it made us realize that its "rain capital" nickname is definitely not an exaggeration.
We went to the famous Creek Street, which lived up to the hype. The historic stilted boardwalks looked great, and we stopped right outside Dolly’s House to read the famous sign about men and salmon coming upstream to spawn.
From there, we followed the salmon route. Ketchikan is also known as the salmon capital of the world, being one of the rare places where all five species of Pacific salmon—King, Silver, Red, Pink, and Chum—run through the local waters. The path got pretty run-down and industrial once we left the tourist hub, but watching thousands of fish fight their way up the Salmon Ladder by Married Man's Trail was incredible.Read more