Alaska, Day 10 (7/7) -- Ketchikan
Jul. 19th, 2005 08:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
carbonelI got up and jogged around the promenade deck, that being the designated running area. At least, that was my intent. Because we were anchored rather than docked, we had to use tenders today to go ashore, and for some reason portions of the promenade deck were blocked off to move the tenders. So I ended up jogging back and forth instead of around.
I was scheduled to go on a canoeing expedition with my nephew Daniel (age 13), while my uncle Mark accompanied Aaron (age 17) on the same expedition. (We'd planned to go on separate expeditions, but because of the vagaries of scheduling and the limitations on choice, we ended up on the same one.) There was a bit of a contretemps in meeting up to leave the ship, but it all worked out and we met our driver on the dock. It was a 12-mile drive from Ketchikan to Lake Harriet Hunt, and on the way the driver regaled us with Tlingit legends. It's also a total shift in microclimate. The area around the lake is rain forest, getting 13 feet of rain per year. It freezes in the winter, whereas the area around Ketchikan doesn't, because of the Pacific currents.
We set off in what they called ceremonial canoes, and what we called war canoes at the summer camp I went to. The paddling was rather erratic, to say the least, since most of the people paddling were totally inexperienced, but the guide did a fine job of steering in the stern. The weather was rainy, which was rather the usual condition. Apparently it rains in Ketchikan 265 days per year, it's sunny 20 days, and overcast the rest of the time. We wore rain outfits and life vests over our clothes, and I had on enough layers that I stayed warm and dry.
We paddled the length of the lake -- two miles -- and halfway back, taking note of Beaver Falls on the way. The guide offered to take us over it, but at 32 feet, he didn't recommend it -- or the portage back. We then stopped at a prepared camp halfway back, where we they offered coffee and hot chocolate, rolls and jam, clam chowder, and smoked salmon. After people had refreshed themselves, we went on a short nature walk. The guide picked salmonberries and blueberries for anyone who wanted one. He said that most of the trees around the lake were Sitka spruce (the Alaska state tree). Some of them were amazingly large. He pointed out one that rose over 200 feet and was around six feet in diameter. He said it was over 900 years old (IIRC) and would be worth over $100,000 if cut down for wood.
He also pointed out patches of skunk cabbage, which are useful for bears post-hibernation. They use the leaves as a laxative after a winter without elimination. The path was quite wet in spots, flooding out the cedar chips that lined it. Apparently the water level is quite high at the moment.
There are patches of light green to be seen in the forest. This is witch's hair, a lichen that grows like Spanish moss. I asked if it was an epiphyte, and he wasn't sure. Apparently it's very useful for starting fires, because it absorbs almost no water, and just gets what it needs from sunlight.
After the nature walk, we boarded the canoes again and paddled back to where we started. The bus driver this time told us about the history of Ketchikan and some of the history of the indigenous peoples. Of the three types, Haida, Tlingit, and one I don't remember, the third is no longer around because they're the one group of Alaskan native Americans that chose to accept reservation land and moved there.
We got back to the ship around 2:30. I grabbed a late lunch, since I'd only had coffee and smoked salmon, went for my repolish appointment at 3:00, and joined Mom, Rick, and Daniel for trivia at 4:00. This time the questions were much easier, and we won handily. The prize this time was a luggage strap -- the kind that identifies your luggage, not the kind that attaches things. I don't know if I'll use it, but it might be handy.
Tonight was a formal dress night, and we were supposed to assemble for a formal photo at 5:30. Aaron was late, but did eventually show up, and the photo was duly shot. I hope it turns out decently. (Note added later: It didn't, alas.)
Dinner was splendid -- carpaccio appetizer, nice salad, and lobster tails as the entrée for me. Dessert was baked Alaska, which was marched, flaming, around the dining room by the waiters. They looked like flaming volcanoes, since they were in a conical shape. I had a few bites, and it was delicious. Tonight I gave Mom and Dad their thank-you memento from me and my siblings -- an otter carved from walrus ivory.
After dinner I went to the theater, and saw the production show, which was built around different types of dance, and was quite enjoyable. Then I went to the Liar's Club game (obscure vocabulary with three liars and one truthteller), where I'd expected to see the rest of the family, but none of them ever showed up, so I played as my own team.
The first word was "snooter," which turned out to be a rope that goes from the top of the mast on a sailing ship to the deck -- I guessed wrong on that. The second word was "titt-up," which I knew the answer to, from all those Regencies that had horses tittupping along -- it's the noise of hoofbeats. I was the only one who had the right answer on that, thanks to an exceedingly unconvincing performance by the man who had that word. The third word was "cockchaffer" (which Word wants to change to "cockchafer" -- that may be right, but it's not how it was spelled in the game), which I correctly guessed was a kind of bug. The last word was "farture," which apparently is the aroma of turkey stuffing. There were three teams that got two words correct, and we each won a bottle of champagne.
After that, I went to see the "comedy magician." He wasn't great at either, but he did a few close-up tricks that were quite impressive.
And at 11:30, there was a champagne fountain. I'd never seen one before and my mother said it was fun, so I headed down. Apparently I missed the best part, which was the building of the fountain. It was a pyramid of champagne glasses (the wide-mouthed kind), about 15 levels high, and containing over 700 glasses. They had women come up and pour some champagne over the top so it could cascade down, assisted by the maître d'. This was primarily a photo opportunity, best I could tell. Champagne was served, and all the wait staff, dressed up formally, danced and dragged passengers in to dance as well. I danced one song with our table's waiter.
Just after midnight, Mom and Rick and I went up to the Horizon buffet for a snack (shrimp and fruit for me), and when we went back to the atrium, all the champagne glasses were gone. So I don't think the fountain filled all the levels.
I finally got to sleep around 1:15. This was the wrong night to pick as a late night, since we turned our clocks ahead an hour overnight to put us on Vancouver time.
I was scheduled to go on a canoeing expedition with my nephew Daniel (age 13), while my uncle Mark accompanied Aaron (age 17) on the same expedition. (We'd planned to go on separate expeditions, but because of the vagaries of scheduling and the limitations on choice, we ended up on the same one.) There was a bit of a contretemps in meeting up to leave the ship, but it all worked out and we met our driver on the dock. It was a 12-mile drive from Ketchikan to Lake Harriet Hunt, and on the way the driver regaled us with Tlingit legends. It's also a total shift in microclimate. The area around the lake is rain forest, getting 13 feet of rain per year. It freezes in the winter, whereas the area around Ketchikan doesn't, because of the Pacific currents.
We set off in what they called ceremonial canoes, and what we called war canoes at the summer camp I went to. The paddling was rather erratic, to say the least, since most of the people paddling were totally inexperienced, but the guide did a fine job of steering in the stern. The weather was rainy, which was rather the usual condition. Apparently it rains in Ketchikan 265 days per year, it's sunny 20 days, and overcast the rest of the time. We wore rain outfits and life vests over our clothes, and I had on enough layers that I stayed warm and dry.
We paddled the length of the lake -- two miles -- and halfway back, taking note of Beaver Falls on the way. The guide offered to take us over it, but at 32 feet, he didn't recommend it -- or the portage back. We then stopped at a prepared camp halfway back, where we they offered coffee and hot chocolate, rolls and jam, clam chowder, and smoked salmon. After people had refreshed themselves, we went on a short nature walk. The guide picked salmonberries and blueberries for anyone who wanted one. He said that most of the trees around the lake were Sitka spruce (the Alaska state tree). Some of them were amazingly large. He pointed out one that rose over 200 feet and was around six feet in diameter. He said it was over 900 years old (IIRC) and would be worth over $100,000 if cut down for wood.
He also pointed out patches of skunk cabbage, which are useful for bears post-hibernation. They use the leaves as a laxative after a winter without elimination. The path was quite wet in spots, flooding out the cedar chips that lined it. Apparently the water level is quite high at the moment.
There are patches of light green to be seen in the forest. This is witch's hair, a lichen that grows like Spanish moss. I asked if it was an epiphyte, and he wasn't sure. Apparently it's very useful for starting fires, because it absorbs almost no water, and just gets what it needs from sunlight.
After the nature walk, we boarded the canoes again and paddled back to where we started. The bus driver this time told us about the history of Ketchikan and some of the history of the indigenous peoples. Of the three types, Haida, Tlingit, and one I don't remember, the third is no longer around because they're the one group of Alaskan native Americans that chose to accept reservation land and moved there.
We got back to the ship around 2:30. I grabbed a late lunch, since I'd only had coffee and smoked salmon, went for my repolish appointment at 3:00, and joined Mom, Rick, and Daniel for trivia at 4:00. This time the questions were much easier, and we won handily. The prize this time was a luggage strap -- the kind that identifies your luggage, not the kind that attaches things. I don't know if I'll use it, but it might be handy.
Tonight was a formal dress night, and we were supposed to assemble for a formal photo at 5:30. Aaron was late, but did eventually show up, and the photo was duly shot. I hope it turns out decently. (Note added later: It didn't, alas.)
Dinner was splendid -- carpaccio appetizer, nice salad, and lobster tails as the entrée for me. Dessert was baked Alaska, which was marched, flaming, around the dining room by the waiters. They looked like flaming volcanoes, since they were in a conical shape. I had a few bites, and it was delicious. Tonight I gave Mom and Dad their thank-you memento from me and my siblings -- an otter carved from walrus ivory.
After dinner I went to the theater, and saw the production show, which was built around different types of dance, and was quite enjoyable. Then I went to the Liar's Club game (obscure vocabulary with three liars and one truthteller), where I'd expected to see the rest of the family, but none of them ever showed up, so I played as my own team.
The first word was "snooter," which turned out to be a rope that goes from the top of the mast on a sailing ship to the deck -- I guessed wrong on that. The second word was "titt-up," which I knew the answer to, from all those Regencies that had horses tittupping along -- it's the noise of hoofbeats. I was the only one who had the right answer on that, thanks to an exceedingly unconvincing performance by the man who had that word. The third word was "cockchaffer" (which Word wants to change to "cockchafer" -- that may be right, but it's not how it was spelled in the game), which I correctly guessed was a kind of bug. The last word was "farture," which apparently is the aroma of turkey stuffing. There were three teams that got two words correct, and we each won a bottle of champagne.
After that, I went to see the "comedy magician." He wasn't great at either, but he did a few close-up tricks that were quite impressive.
And at 11:30, there was a champagne fountain. I'd never seen one before and my mother said it was fun, so I headed down. Apparently I missed the best part, which was the building of the fountain. It was a pyramid of champagne glasses (the wide-mouthed kind), about 15 levels high, and containing over 700 glasses. They had women come up and pour some champagne over the top so it could cascade down, assisted by the maître d'. This was primarily a photo opportunity, best I could tell. Champagne was served, and all the wait staff, dressed up formally, danced and dragged passengers in to dance as well. I danced one song with our table's waiter.
Just after midnight, Mom and Rick and I went up to the Horizon buffet for a snack (shrimp and fruit for me), and when we went back to the atrium, all the champagne glasses were gone. So I don't think the fountain filled all the levels.
I finally got to sleep around 1:15. This was the wrong night to pick as a late night, since we turned our clocks ahead an hour overnight to put us on Vancouver time.
