The great thing about this day: It was cloudy but there was NO rain!!! YIPPEE..................
This is the port I had been waiting to visit since we booked the trip 8 months ago! For me, it was saving the best for last. We woke up in port. My excursion didn't start until 12:30 which meant I had time to explore the town, shop and go on a great adventure all in one day.
My husband had been waiting for this day, too. He and Mickey had booked a Sport Fishing trip that would take them out to salmon fish. Dianne and I were going on our Bear Watch!
Since Dennis and I had been soaked by the rain in Juneau, we got up very early, had a quick breakfast and were off the ship at 8:30 to go to a sporting goods store called Tongas right at the dock. Den got some new boots and a pair of water proof pants to wear on the fishing boat and I got new gloves and a inexpensive rain poncho to put on over my heavy jacket if the clouds opened up on me again.
From there, we ventured across the street to a gift shop where we found a few things for friends and family. Dennis does not like to shop so after we finished that errand together, he headed back to the ship and I took off for a fun 2 hour walk and shopping trip. I didn't buy much but I did get two pair of earrings including a pair of what they call Alaskan Lights. It's a stone that has the colors of the Aurora Borialis - they are so pretty. Since the weather was so lousy, I bought a lot of post cards so I would have good pictures of the things I wanted to remember. I got a few other things, too, but they were gifts for other people and I haven't handed them over yet so I won't say what they were in case someone reads this. Don't want to spoil a surprise. ô..ô
Around 11:00, I got back to our room in time to wish Dennis good luck on his fishing trip and to have a light lunch. When Dianne and I got back from lunch to pick up our cameras and jackets for our excursion, the guys were in our cabin. Their salmon fishing trip had been cancelled because there were 50 mph winds out at sea and the small boats were not allowed to go out in that kind of weather. Needless to say, there were two very sad guys. When Dianne and I left to meet our group, we wondered if our trip would be cancelled, too. After all, we were flying in a float plane from Ketchikan to Neets, a 30 minute flight. If the winds were that bad, they may cancel our flight.
When we gathered on the dock, the good news was, we were not cancelled. We were going! We boarded a bus and off we went to the float plane dock. There were 3 groups/3 planes. Dianne and I were in the last group to get called so we were sitting in the lobby where it was warm when a group from an arriving flight came in. A woman in her early 70's stopped and told one of the women going in our group, "That scared the sh....t out of me. I've never been so scared in my life! That plane bounced all over the place. I'm lucky to be alive!" As she left the building she turned and said, "Good luck."
We all looked at each other and I said, "Well, thank you so much for sharing that with us, you little ray of sunshine." We all laughed and that broke up some of the tension she had created. Dianne's eyes were popping out of her head at that point and I thought she was going to freak out because she did not like the idea of flying in one of these little planes to begin with so I put my arm around her shoulders and said, "You know how it is, there's always one person who just has to be the drama queen and who sees things much worse than they are......"
She put her hand up and smiled, "I'm going. I'm going to do this. I made up my mind and nothing is going to stop me even if I have to go with my eyes closed the entire way."
"I'm proud of you." I told her with my own heart rate and blood pressure escalating. I didn't dare express my own insecurity at that moment.
Our group was called and we walked down the ramp and were helped into that tiny little 10 seater. Dianne and I had the two back seats which was fine with me. That way no one could see us clutching on to each other for dear life if it came to that. LOL We got our emergency instructions and then were told to put on headphones so we could hear the pilot point out land marks and give instructions if necessary. As we did that, the engines fired up, the plane pulled away from the dock, sped up and before we knew it, we were in the air. It was an amazingly smooth take off. I had imagined it would be bumpy but it wasn't at all.
We flew over the water most of the time, which was good because that was the smoothest ride. When we got over the forest, it got bumpy. There was one part when we crossed a channel and the wind was blowing from left to right that it got scary. We got pushed around a bit and it did get rough but it was over quickly. The pilot played a CD of soft piano music the entire ride and that helped so much. It put our minds at ease and really helped us relax. It was also a nice to listen to beautiful music while looking at such beautiful scenery.
Arriving in Neets, the first thing I noticed was 1,000,000 seagulls. They were in the air, in the water and on the beach. Squawking, screaming, and making other noises that seagulls make. They are the garbage collectors of the bird world and they are there to pick up the left over salmon that the bears leave behind. There were a huge number on the beach so our pilot taxied our plane close to shore to get them to scatter. As they did, we could see a small black bear feasting on salmon right in front of us. We were told the bear was probably a pre-teen because of his size. We watched as we waited for a place to dock. He finished his lunch and then climbed a small sandy hill and disappeared into the forest. Wow! We'd seen our first black bear.
As we exited the plane and headed up the ramp, I asked Dianne how she was doing. "I'm great! I faced my fear and I did it! I had my eyes closed the entire time but I did it!" I was so proud of her. I knew what a huge thing this was for her. She would have never considered doing this if I hadn't asked her to go and she knew I was going even if she didn't want to so there was no pressure to say 'yes'. It was another way for her to 'step out of her box' and do something new.
I don't want to get too far away from the Ketchican story but I do want to say that this year has been a 'stepping out of the box' year for me and for Dianne. We are both doing a lot of new things and trying not to let fears and outside influences define us anymore. I made the pact with myself when I started my diet program last November and she decided after losing two younger sisters last year within a 2 month period that she had to embrace her life and start living it like she wanted.
The group met at the top of the trail and we were told to stay together and given the 'DO NOT RUN' instructions if confronted by a bear. Off we went for the short hike to the viewing area. The area where the bears fish for salmon is the place where the salmon are released from a hatchery. The fish return to the hatchery when they spawn and the bears are waiting for them so they can bulk up before they hibernate. This is the end of the season so we were very lucky to be able to experience this.
There were two covered platform viewing stages for those who wanted to stand there but you could just stand along the bank of the river, too. As we approached, there was a young black bear (the guide said he appeared to be about 15 or 16 years old and weighed about 200 pounds) eating a fish on a rock just across the river and about 200 feet from us. He had his back to us so we couldn't see much more than his big bottom for quite a while but it was still very exciting! When he finished the fish, he walked along the water's edge, up and over some rocks looking for another salmon but I guess he decided he was full and he turned and went back into the forest.
We sat down on benches in the shelter and talked about what we had seen. Many were taking pictures of the scenery, water falls, river and the hatchery while we waited and hoped for another visitor. It must have been close to 15 minutes before a very big guy came out of the trees and worked his way down to the bank. My gosh, he must have weighed well over 300 pounds. He was huge compared to the other 2 we had seen. The guide said he was an older adult male and had been a regular for several seasons.
He walked along the rocks, stopping to smell the air and to look across the water at us. He wasn't at all worried about us and we didn't feel any sense of danger from him. He would walk for a bit, then look up, sniff and then start his hunt again. He finally walked into the water and within a few seconds he had snatched a large salmon. He took it to a large rock and (this is kind of gross) did something to express all of the eggs and then start eating. If it weren't so interesting it would be really nasty to watch. LOL We're talking Discovery Channel LIVE, folks.
Anyway, he took a few bites and then let it drop back into the water. I don't know if he lost it by accident or if it wasn't up to his culinary standards. He didn't seem upset, he just started looking for another fish. This went on 3 other times. He'd catch one, take a few bites, drop it and go for another. Maybe he just liked the filet migon part or something (if there is such a thing on a salmon). The best part is when he sat in a large pool of water to wait for something to swim by. He was up to his waist in water just sitting, looking around, sniffing the air and waiting. Once in awhile he would shake the water off his head and shoulders but he just seemed so content to sit in that icy stream and wait. It was awesome. I have some great video of him and I am trying to find a way to post it. I didn't get a lot of still photos because I was getting such great video. I had promised my grandchildren that if I was lucky enough to see bears that I would bring them lots of movies and I had to keep my word. If anyone knows if there is a cable to connect a camcorder to the port slot on the computer, please let me know. I wish I had taken some video with my digital camera but it didn't even occur to me at the time.
Our hour visit to the bears ended far too soon. We had to get back so the pilots could bring one more group up before the end of the day. As we prepared to leave, we found another small bear fishing from a rock tucked into the hillside. She blended in with the background and you really had to look hard to see her.
Down the trail, about 1/2 way back, there was another bear on the beach. The guide stopped us and made sure we were in a tight group. "That guy crossed this trail while we were at the viewing site." He told us. "Let's all stay close together. No stragglers, please."
It gave me chills to know he had walked across the road I was now walking on just minutes after we had passed by. Was he watching us go to the viewing area and waiting for us to pass? Who else was watching and waiting right then? Yikes! I felt the excitement build again and I really didn't want to leave that place. I could have stayed all day at the shelter watching those beautiful bears, listening to the water cascade down the rocks, and smelling the fresh air and pine trees. It was heaven on earth to me.
Our flight back to Ketchikan was smoother than our flight out. We saw the smallest U.S. Navy base which is on a small island in the channel outside of Ketchikan. The navy does sonar research with their submarines in that area because the water in that channel is 1200 feet deep and they can run the subs through there. I learned something new that day!
After we got back, both Dianne and I felt empowered by the experience. We had flown in a float plane and seen bears just a stone's throw away. It was glorious!
So that's my Ketchikan story in brief. I could probably write a book about that day but this space is limited to 25,000 characters. There are so many little details and facts that I learned. I have notes and brochures tucked away in my scrapbook so I won't forget all the wonders of this experience.
Next the Inside Passage and some odds and ends about the trip and our trip home ~~ strange glitches with a pretty good ending.
Pictures on this page were copied from:
http://www.alaska-bear-pictures.com/
