Coming Into Port - Ketchikan, AK

Coming into port in Ketchikan, I was struck by the fact that it’s definitely a working town, and reflects that.  It’s also someplace that you can only get to by boat or float plane, so it’s not unusual to see homes with their float planes up in protected areas.  Did you notice the tracks that will make it easy for this homeowner to get his/her plane into the water?

I couldn’t resist this shot.  The “No Wake” sign makes reference to the fact that boats cannot go fast enough to create a wake in the water.  However, this seemed like such a sleepy Sunday morning at first glance, I got a chuckle thinking about the sign also asking for peace and quiet so the residents could catch a few extra winks!

Tourism is the largest source of income and industry for this town, with fishing a very close second.  Here are a couple of working boats.  There’s something about the patters of colors and lines that really appealed to me.  It also sort of reminded me of the quintessential New England fishing town, but, it’s a bit further north and west of New England!

Since float planes (also called sea planes) are a big part of the industry here, too, they are docked at piers as well.  However, notice how they are pulled out of the water when they are docked and not being used.  The pilot of the float plane we went on to see the bears (blog entries to come!) told us that the salt water will wreck havoc with the planes, so they pull them out of the water each night and actually hose them down with fresh water.

Enjoy!