Ketchikan, Alaska

Tongass and Cape Fox Tlingits were some of the first settlers of Ketchikan.  They named it "kitsch-khin" which means "thundering wings of an eagle."  White settlers arrived in the 1880s and built a salmon saltery at the mouth of Ketchikan Creek.  By 1936, Ketchikan was one of the largest exporters of salmon in the world.

Ketchikan is also famous for its totem poles, San Franciso-steep streets, and rain.  The city put up a Liquid Sunshine Gauge to mark the rainfall day by day.  The average annual rainfall is about 160 inches, often topping 200 inches in really rainy years.  

Creek Street was once the red-light district.  During Prohibition, there were many speakeasies and more than thirty houses of prostitution.

The buildings on Creek Street are built on pilings over the stream in which salmon swim up during spawning season.  

At least one of the buildings is a residential home, one has been converted into a museum, and the rest have been restored as shops.

Totem Bight State Historical Park is located on the former site of a native campground called Mud Village or Mud Bight Village.  In addition to fourteen totem poles on display, there is a replica of a traditional chieftain's house, or clan house, in the park.

Sitka, Alaska

The Kiksadi clan of the Tlingit people lived in Shee-Atika for centuries before the arrival of the Russians.  The Russians settled Old Sitka in 1799.  Alexander Baranov, manager of the Russian-American Company, became governor of New Archangel, the Russian name for Sitka.

Mount Edgecumbe, a dormant volcano on Kruzof Island, seen in the background

In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia.  The sale took place on Castle Hill on October 18, 1867.  Panoramic views of Sitka and Sitka Sound are found at the top.  The above photo was taken on Castle Hill.  

In 1804, the Russians and Tlingits fought a battle at the site that is now Sitka National Historical Park.  The totem pole in the above picture is the K'alyaan Pole, a memorial to the Kiksadi who lost their lives in the battle.  The pole is named after K'alyaan, the Kiksadi leader.  

The top figure on the totem pole is a raven, which represents the Raven clan.  Below the raven are other clan figures:  woodworm, sockeye salmon, dog salmon, beaver, and frog.  The bottom figure represents the helmet worn by K'alyaan during the battle.

There is a totem-pole trail that you can follow in the park.

Between 1903 and 1904, Governor Brady was concerned that native traditional art was disappearing as Alaskan coastal villages were becoming sparsely populated due to disease.

He collected totem poles from around Alaska and brought them to a place where they could be preserved.  Having the poles in one location would also allow them to be viewed.

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve

In 1794, Captain George Vancouver described the small five-mile inlet of Glacier Bay as "a sheet of ice as far as the eye could distinguish."  The glacial wall of ice was more than 20 miles wide and in some places more than 4,000 feet deep.

John Muir visited Glacier Bay in 1879 with a group of the native Tglingit, the ice had retreated 40 miles up the bay.  

Each ship that enters Glacier Bay takes aboard a park ranger.  The ranger provides commentary throughout the day about glaciers, wildlife, and the bay's history.  

Glacier Bay has 16 major tidewater glaciers and 30 valley or alpine glaciers.  

Grand Pacific Glacier 

Lamplugh Glacier

Margerie Glacier

Juneau, Alaska

Juneau is the state capital, the third largest city, and cannot be accessed by road.

Mendenhall Glacier is the most visited glacier in the world and is the easiest glacier to get to.  It is located twelve miles from downtown Juneau.

Like other glaciers in Alaska, it is retreating, losing more than 100 feet a year.  Large chunks of ice calve into Mendenhall Lake.