Endicott Arm Fjord and Dawes Glacier

Endicott Arm is a narrow fjord approximately 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Juneau, Alaska, extending over 30 miles (48 km) with nearly one-fifth of its area covered in ice.  At the head of the fjord, glaciers, including the Dawes Glacier that we are heading toward, regularly expel enormous chunks of ice that float along the water surface, from a few inches in size up to three stories wide.

We head out of Ketchikan up to the Endicott Arm, entering early in the morning and cruising up the fjord as the sun rises.

Along the coast on the way up

Making our way up the fjord

Waterfalls and floating ice along the way

Continuing up the fjord

Reaching the Dawes Glacier at the head of the fjord

Turning around and heading back

We spot several large chunks of blue floating ice.  This phenomenon occurs when snow falls on a glacier, is compressed, and becomes part of the glacier.  During compression, air bubbles are squeezed out and dense ice crystals emerge that absorb other colors more efficiently than blue, leading us to see them as blue.

Blue ice

Endicott Arm is within the Tongass National Forest and is a haven for wildlife including black and brown bears, deer, wolves, harbor seals, mountain goats, and a wide variety of seabirds, none of which we see in our cruise up the fjord (except maybe a few birds).  But we do get incredible views of snowcapped mountains, magnificent waterfalls, and spectacular glaciers galore.

We proceed back out of the fjord, on our way up the coast to Juneau.

Heading out of the fjord

Up the coast toward Juneau

What an incredible side trip on the ship!

Continuing through Ketchikan

The path along Ketchikan Creek celebrates the annual journey of salmon up the creek with signs, information, overlooks, and art.

Path along Ketchikan Creek

Salmon info

Soon we reach Creek Street, an antique boardwalk on wooden pilings over the creek, now home to restaurants, curio shops, a museum, and private dwellings.  Creek Street was built over the water (as is much of Ketchikan) because it was too difficult to blast away the rock hills surrounding the creek.  Originally known as Ketchikan's old red-light district, in the mid 1920's there were over 20 bawdy houses on the street.  During prohibition, Creek Street featured bootleg whiskey smuggled in from Canada to supply the backroom saloons.  Houses on the creek had hidden trap doors for bootleggers to row their boats under the houses at high tide and deliver the product straight up.

In current times, we wander through the more-modern shops, and museums.

Creek Street (view from the creek)

Funicular to the Cape Fox Lodge

Continued celebration of salmon

Local humor

Carved art on Creek Street

Celebration of the bawdy days

Looking back up the street

We leave Creek Street and head back into downtown Ketchikan, passing shops for the tourists, shops for the locals, and lots of beautiful view.

Views from town

Several cruise ships along the pier, we reach our ship, but continue further along the water to see what we can find.

Discovery Princess - 1083 feet (330m) long

Glimpses of the water from the docks

Views of the hills

Returning to the ship, we take in a few views of the town prior to our departure (in trail behind two other ships that depart first).

Views from the ship

The ship is heading north toward Endicott Arm Fjord and the Dawes Glacier.  We will enter the fjord around 4am and many of us will join the viewing several hours later as we proceed up toward the glacier.

Ketchikan, Alaska

Ketchikan is often known as Alaska's "First City" because it is the first major community that people reach as they journey north to Alaska.  This charming waterfront town showcases its maritime history, picturesque scenery, interesting architecture, and bawdy western frontier spirit.  We leave our ship and wander into town.

Cruise ships lined up

Local boats

Heading into town

Bald eagle greeting

Layout of the town

Tribute to fishing history

Celebrating maritime roots

Ketchikan, located 679 miles (1100 km) northwest of Seattle, was founded in 1883 with the opening of a salmon saltery.  By 1900, the town was incorporated with a population of 800.  The cruise ships in port today bring an additional 10,000 people to town for the day (reportedly 15,000 to 18,000 people per day on Thursdays and Fridays).

Remaining fishing industry

Line for local fish (cooked)

We wander into town, past the famous Creek Street Red Light Distract (near the piers, we'll be back on the other side of our loop walk through town).

Creek Street

More tribute to and history of salmon fishing here

A few blocks inland, we come to Totem Heritage Center which houses 33 totem poles (16 on permanent display) dating from the mid-1700s to the late-1800s, when the fur trade created a sense of wealth that the native Tlingit, Tsimshian, and Haida tribes had never before experienced, leading them to invest in potlatch celebrations and the creation of totem poles (made easier with the arrival of iron tools).  Memorial poles, story poles, family poles, and clan poles each offer individual designs and explanations.

Totem poles on display

Crossing the Ketchikan Creek from the Totem Museum, we reach the Deer Mountain Fish Hatchery whose current annual production is 100,000 chinook salmon (released into Ketchikan Creek), 100,000 coho salon (released in Anita Bay), 50,000 rainbow trout (released in the Ketchikan area lakes), and 1,500additional rainbow trout released into city parks.  That's a lot of fish for such a small facility!

Crossing the creek

Fish hatchery

We continue along Ketchikan Creek from the hatchery, following the trail and story of salmon migration up the creek in the last-summer, early fall.  The creek is a vital spawning ground for salmon, particularly pink and king salmon, who return to the creek annually.  Along a fast-moving part of the creek, we find a salmon ladder to assist salmon in their upstream migration.

Salmon ladder

Fast-moving waters that the salmon swim up

Salmon statue overlooking it all

We continue along the water to link up with Creek Street (oddly enough, a little further along the creek).