Day 3-Ketchikan

Sal Getting Harnessed for Zip Line Action

Finally we have arrived in Alaska, to the southernmost location at the little city of Ketchikan. There were three other cruise ships in port today. There are no roads out of here, so there are lots of puddle jumpers, float planes, in constant operation in the area.

After a quick breakfast, at about 8 am, Sal and I went exploring the 'downtown' area of the city. It was cool (57 degrees) and raining as it usually is, we were told. We followed a recommended walking tour and saw some shops, totem poles and lots of salmon (dead and alive) in the local river. It is the end of the spawning season.

At about 9:45 we returned to the dock area to meet our tour bus for the day. Today we are doing the Alaska Canopy Adventure Tour. We are bused up to a camp where we will be suited in gear to be attached to what are called 'zip lines'.

The guides gave us training in the techniques, equiped us in the necessry gear, and provided a short test run before we moved to the main event. From high up in the rain forest we traversed large spaces between platforms attached to trees. There were 7 zip lines and 3 bridges high above the forest floor.

The longest run was over 700 feet long and the height of the various sections ran from 50 to almost 150 feet. It was quite an experience, not for anyone afraid of heights. At one point, we did see two black bear cubs feeding on salmon below us in the forest. Cool!

Both Sal and I did very well during our 90-minute adventure high in the Alaska tree canopy.
We returned to the ship barely before it left Ketchikan for its next port, Juneau.

Tonight we will relax and perhaps take in another show.