(This sign greeted airline passengers arriving in Ketchikan in the 1950's)
I had the pleasure of taking a bit of time off of work to go visit my friend Bobby in Ketchikan. A bush pilot and a local to Southeast Alaska, Bobby showed me very authentic and rich perspectives of Ketchikan. I saw fjords, muskeg, peaks, alpine lakes, and scarcely-populated harbors from the windows of a de Havilland Beaver, temperate rainforest canopy from a zipline, the rocky coasts of lonely islands from a 14 foot skiff, as well as salmon choked creeks, well-preserved totem poles, and wandering tourists from walks about town.
I enjoyed observing the complicated relationship between proud "locals" and the touring masses. From two to four cruiseships that dock in KTN come the daily influx of thousands of instantly recognizable cruise tourists. Half-drunk fraternities of sport anglers emerge at a steady pace from the airport. Local motorists play chicken with tourists who wander into the crosswalks and clog up the streets. Meanwhile, Ketchikan kids ramble about the streets in the squalling rain with cotton hoodies and carharts and declare minutes into a conversation that they are local: "born and raised." Tourists are welcome in Ketchikan however as somewhat of an annoyance.
The highlight of the trip was emphatically the chance to fly with Bobby and Taquan Air. The pilots, dockworkers, and office staff were eminently friendly and all helped to provide a great service to locals and tourists alike. Let the photos lobby the family (as well as the any and all of the Gruenthals) into considering a floatplane/forest service cabin trip some summer in the future.
Well enough amateurish travel writing, here are some pictures:
Taquan Air's Beavers warming up for the morning.
The illustrious pilot and I.
New Eddystone Rock.
Nooya Lake, following a landing that produced screams of joy in one of the passengers.
Close call on the zipline tour. Hehe.
My silver, now smoked.
The view from Deer Mountain during a brief partly cloudy moment.
What is this? Figure it out and win a prize! Hints: Made circa 1900; it is not scubba gear and it was used in a major Ketchikan industry at the time.
4 comments:
I think it is a head + protector.
Kevin
Reading the file name doesn't count. What does it do?
It is a drinking apparatus. The alcohol is contained in the big shiny vacuum tube and the drunkerd's head is protected by the padded leather helmet.
It's a De-fur-er (huh?). You put a little fury critter in it..... wait a while... then you have a fur. pelt? And maybe a cooked critter? Ha! I am curious to hear what it is!
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