Ketchikan is one of my favorite stops on an Alaskan cruise. Unlike other ports, you literally dock right in the center of town. It’s perfect for exploring and is completely walkable - full of brightly painted wooden houses on Creek Street, stores with locally made souvenirs, totem poles (including a totem pole park) and of course, salmon. It’s the salmon that brought the first settlers to the area, and salmon also attracts something else - bears!
As salmon begin their journey upstream in rivers and creeks, bears can be seen looking for their next meal. So we headed to Margaret Bay, an hour north by private boat, into the Tongass National Forest. After docking, we hiked along trails where we were the only people in sight until we got to an elevated area with a river below. And then we waited. The end of July is the very beginning of salmon season, so bear sightings are more scarce. I heard some rustling of brush below and then I saw a bear start to make her way into the river, with two cubs waiting for her on the banks. We watched her search for fish in the white rapids before starting back into the forest with her cubs trailing behind her. Our guide said the cubs looked to be about 6 months old. Definitely a moment I’ll remember forever!
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#disneywonder #ketchikan #alaska #blackbears
We’re back from Alaska!
Cruising in July was a completely different experience than our first cruise to Alaska in May 2016. While the weather was definitely wetter at times, we saw so much more wildlife - the absolute highlight of this itinerary for me! There’s too much to share in just one post, so I’m dedicating several over the next few days to share our experience. And to kick that off, here’s a video shot from the ship of harbor seals on glacier ice during our visit to the Sawyer Glacier in the Tracy Arm fjord.
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#disneywonder #alaska #sawyerglacier #harborseals
