Float Plane Ride !

And, we’re off on our float plane and bear sighting adventure!  Ok, so it wasn’t as dangerous as the word “adventure” might imply – but it did have its share of perfect moments!  The above image was one I took as we took off from Ketchikan.  You can see the town itself, and our cruise ship is the first one in line.  Interestingly, the road that runs thru town only runs for a few miles outside of town along the shoreline, and then ends.  And, the roads that seem to run up away from the shoreline pretty much end after only a very short time – some are only a couple of hundred feet long!  You really can’t get over the mountains.  I guess the waterway into town is the true Main Street of this town!

Vibrant green, isn’t it?  A nice break from the grey!  We are approaching Prince of Wales Island where the bears are!  Aren’t these little islands quite lovely?  The sort of yellowish “rings” around the islands are due to it being low tide and that’s sea residue (my term!).



Our pilot has dropped us off on Prince of Wales Island and is flying back to Ketchikan with the group that visited the bears just before us.  Although I knew he’d be back, it was a bit of an odd feeling watching him leave and knowing that, for us, he was our only way off this island!  However, we weren’t alone – Joshua , our bear guide, was at our side.  He was quite the character, but I guess you had to be to live out on this Island, given how remote it is!





Adam, our pilot, did come back for us and this was one of the great views going back to Ketchikan.  I was sitting in the co-pilot seat on the way back, so that’s why I was able to capture this “pilot’s view” of the area.  We also saw some orca whales on our way back, but I wasn’t able to capture them with my camera – darn!!

Enjoy!