Day 6: Ketchikan, AK

The next day at 7 am we docked at a small logging town called Ketchikan. Ketchikan has always been a center of trade in Alaska, even when it was a Tlingit village! There were also large logging and fishing industries. First we went to the Tongass Historical Museum, where we saw lots of old logging equipment like a 2-man whipsaw. There were also lots of artifacts from early 20th century Ketchikan, like globes, water pumps, old-fashioned medical equipment, and even a bullet-riddled message board! Then we went to the Totem Heritage Center, which housed many original totem poles from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Most of the others we had seen so far were actually fakes because wood doesn't take that long to deteriorate. But these ones were all real, complete with helpful signs as to what they represented. Lastly, I went to the Deer Mountain Tribal hatchery and Eagle Center. There I saw 2 female bald eagles sitting and staring at us with an air of haughtiness. I also saw a salmon jump up a (artificial) waterfall!