Ketchikan

                                                 The path to Ketchikan is a wet one indeed.

                              With no roads to it, it can be reached only by air or water.

 Although Anchorage has the largest floatplane base in the world, there is no shortage of them here.

                           DeHavilland Beavers such as this are one of Alaska's best bush planes.

The ships Columbia and Kennicott are already out of service for the year and are in dry dock.

The city is neatly laid out along a narrow, flat strip of land at the base of Deer Mountain on Revillagigedo Island.

                       There is only one cruise ship in port and most passengers are on tours-

                                            -so once again we have the town to ourselves.

The funicular ride over the city reminds us of the one we were on in Guanajuato, Mexico

                                                    -but that city is much more picturesque.

Established originally as a fishing camp, the city is built right over the water in many places-the steep hillsides making construction extremely expensive.

 Ketchikan was once an important mining and trading community, with an estimated 2/3 of miner's wages reportedly ending up in the bars and bordellos of Creek Street.

These two gentlemen are knocking on the door of Dolly's House, the most famous bordello on Creek Street.

Judy thinks this view from Dolly's bedroom might have been better than the visit itself. I'm still thinking that one over.

Creek Street is a collection of ancient frame houses and shops resting on pilings over the water, joined by boardwalks bordering Ketchikan Creek.

Ketchikan Creek is now crowded with spawning salmon.

                                                         Can't get much fishier than this.

                                    You have to be a fisherman to understand the odor of this .

                                        We watched this harbor seal fishing for his dinner.

The Southeast Alaska Discovery Center has world class exhibits on Southeast Alaska's peoples, public lands, and natural resources.

             It presents the history of mining, logging, fishing and tourism in Southeast Alaska.

This beautiful home belongs to a commercial fisherman. He has his work boat, plane and pleasure boat all ready to go.

It is said that if you stay in Ketchikan longer than an hour, chances are good that it will rain at least once, if not several times. The city of Ketchikan gets the most rainfall in all of Alaska, averaging 162 inches a year. Here we find the largest selection of XtraTuf "Alaskan Sneekers" we've ever seen.

The ones with cleats are not Alaskan golf shoes. They are worn by hunters to get a better grip in this slippery, boggy soil of Southeast Alaska.

After passing through this tunnel, we drive a few miles out of town to a lovely National Forest Service campsite-free for us because it is so late in the season.