Day 6 brought us to the beautiful town of Ketchikan. As we sailed into port, we were greeted by a gloriously cloud free morning that promised great weather. Our excursion wasn’t due to begin until afternoon so we decided to get off the ship and explore the town. I started in long sleeves, jeans, and a jacket. This was soon to change as the temperature began to climb and the jacket was the first to go. I’d seen some YouTube videos of Ketchikan and knew I wanted to visit Creek Street, an area where the houses are built on stilts above the creek below. We reached the area early before many other visitors and found it to be beautifully maintained with lots of shops and eateries.

As we neared the end of the street, a woman in costume reminiscent of the 1920s beckoned us to come into Dolly’s House. She shared with us that Creek Street had been the red light district in the early part of the 20th Century and these shops had mostly been bars and brothels. We paid our $10 a piece and toured Dolly’s home. It was certainly a journey back into time as the house has been preserved almost perfectly as it looked when Dolly died in the 1950s. The self guided tour explained how whiskey made her more money than managing prostitutes. Due to prohibition, alcohol had to be smuggled into the house through a trap door in the floor. No more than one bottle and one shot glass could be kept in the house at a time for easy disposal into the creek below. Dolly’s shower curtain was embossed with rosettes made of early condoms made of silk that she sewed together, after recognizing they had no other real purpose. Our host was extremely happy we enjoyed her museum and graced us with a selfie.

After the museum we journeyed farther up the creek to a waterfall that included a fish ladder for the salmon. We didn’t see any fish, but the scenery was beautiful.

Ketchikan is host to many shops, both local and industry owned. I found a nice Alaska T-shirt to replace my long sleeved sweater that by now was becoming insufferably hot. We also found some bamboo sheets at the Cariloha store to have delivered home before heading back to the ship.

After lunch, we embarked on our last excursion of the cruise. By now, the temperature was in the 80s and I was ready for shorts and short sleeves. They say packing for an Alaskan cruise can be difficult, and I can certainly attest to the variety of clothing you should bring. Our excursion was to the Saxman Native Totem Village. This village was home to Tlingit, Ts’msyen, and Haida people and was a carving center for many of the regional totem poles. We were taken first to a cultural center for a brief presentation about the village and some exhibits of tribal artifacts.

After the presentation, we took a short walk through the woods to the clan house. This replica of traditional clan houses is used for more of the presentation and demonstrations of native dances. Many members of the community of all ages participated in the dances and it was quite informative and enriching.

After the dances, our guide took us outside to share the meanings of the totems on the grounds. While some represented stories, others were made to identify who lived in the village. The other two types of poles were for honoring and for ridiculing. The lawn included examples of all four.

The final stop on our tour was the carving house. A team of craftsman led by the master, Nathan Jackson, worked on poles which could take up to nine months to complete. As I leafed through the master’s portfolio, I came upon a picture of the totem that graced the pool deck of the ship. I made mention of it out loud and Mr. Jackson was excited to find out that our group was on the Radiance of the Seas. He had designed that totem and appeared to be really excited that our group was from that ship.

Ketchikan was our last stop in Alaska, and was certainly one of our best. With so much to see and do and the weather getting warmer, it represented a perfect ending to this spectacular adventure. We still have a cruising day left, but it’s time to say goodbye to this marvelous state.