Arrived in Ketchikan

Had a leisurely cruise to this quaint little river town.Woke to clear sky and sunshine after very overcast skies yesterday.
This town is the home of the totem poles in Alaska and in the pics 4,5,6 is where the totems are thought of and carved by master carver and the apprentices,they take up to a year to do some even longer depending on the story they are going to represent.
The only one who knows what the story or tale is going to look like is the carver.They make a template as in pic4 and 5 which is placed onto the redwood log then the template is transferred to the log.
The tools they use to carve out the totem are all hand made and each is different to the others.You can see the tools in pic 6 behind the new totem.
The totem in pic 5 was carved in 1899 and the red wood is used because it rots from the inside out and takes years to consume the totem.Once it is carved and painted they are stood up by hand and are not touched or repainted ever,the paint on the one in pic 5 has not been touched at all absolutely amazing to see.Read more