If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 734

  

 

 

 

Ketchikan, Alaska, 2025

 

This is another postcard from our Alaska cruise in July.  It features a partial view of Creek Street.  This card and a few others were purchased onboard the cruise ship.  

 

 Creek Street has two sides, both on pilings

 

 

Dolly's House, once a brothel now a tourist attraction

 

On the previous trip to Alaska Bob and I had walked down to the totem heritage center and then back along to Creek Street via the Married Man’s trail.  This time we walked down to the Rock sculpture and on the main streets to connect with Creek Street.  

 

 The Rock sculpture group

 

 

 Plaque on the sculpture 

 

 

The Rock is a collaborative sculpture that features aspects of the culture of this part of Alaska.  Everyone from native peoples, to lumberjacks, fishermen, and miners, are represented.  Several artists worked together to create the entire grouping.

 

 

 

Ketchikan Creek at the end of Creek Street
 

 

Ketchikan is named after Ketchikan Creek.  It is the earliest incorporated city in Alaska (1900) and is located in the southeasternmost part of Alaska.  Creek Street is built over the river on stilts or pilings as a way to get around laws concerning brothels and saloons.  Since the buildings are not technically on the land, they were exempt from the laws.  Today there are many shops along the boardwalk “street” and many artisans have works for sale.  

 

  

 

Ketchkikan is full of steep hillsides up the surrounding mountains.  I won’t complain about our stairs after seeing how many the people who live in this house have to go up.

 

 

 

Ketchikan is known as the “Rain Capital of Alaska.  A giant rain gauge is found in the downtown area near the visitor center.

 

 

 

Also near the Visitor Center is this helpful map with points of interest

 

 

On our walk to Creek Street we came upon this very tall totem pole 

 

 

 Once on Creek Street we encountered a large group of people looking up into the trees.  One look up and we saw why.  This bald eagle was sitting up there looking down on all the tourists.

 

  

 

Saxman Village Totem Park, Ketchikan, Alaska. 2024

[Photo by Mark Kelley*] 

 

This second postcard features the Saxman Village Totem Park.  It is part of the Images of Alaska series by Mark Kelley.  The card was printed in Canada and has PC2312 at the upper left corner on the reverse as part of the blurb.  The blurb reads:  “Saxman Village Totem Park.  Ketchikan is the totem pole capital of the world.  Saxman Village Totem Park, south of downtown, features the most standing totem poles, 25 poles, in one location in the world.”  This is one place that we would like to visit someday.  It is just far enough away from where the ship docks that we could not walk to it.  There is an option to sign up for an excursion trip, for a large fee, that includes a bus ride to the site, a meal, and a program.  It would take all of the shore time and not allow us to meander around and look at other things in the city, so we opted not to do that.

 

 A last view of Ketchikan from our room aboard the ship

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketchikan,_Alaska

 

* To see more photographs by Mark Kelley:   https://www.markkelley.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Price Sculpture Forest, Whidbey Island, 2023

 

 

Sign at the parking area

This was a new place for us to visit near Coupeville on Whidbey Island. The sign is by the entrance and the parking area.  This is a non-profit outdoor gallery, no fee to park or walk through.  Donations are welcome.  There is a port-a-potty in the parking area.  

 

The entry to the loop trail is through this archway 

[Entry arch and kiosks by Michael Hauser and Ken Price]

The trail is two loops, Nature Nurtured and Whimsy Way, linked together to form a figure 8.  The sculptures are placed within the forest along the .6 mile trail that winds up and down and around.  It is open from 8 am to 7 pm (or sunset) everyday year round.  No bikes or dogs permitted on the trails.

Here is a sampling of what the visitor will encounter while walking on the trail through the forest.

 

Attacking Eagle by Greg Neal

There are two eagle sculptures in the forest by the same artist.  This one titled Attacking Eagle and the other is called Soaring Eagle. 

 

Playa Flowers by Jeff Tangen

 

 

Tyrannosaurus Rex by Joe Treat

 

 

Wind Shear by Jeff Kahn

 

 

Nature's Keystone by Anthony Heinz May

 

Lichen Series:  Spore Patterns by Jenni Ward

Pentillium by Gary Gunderson

 

Life Tree by Andrew Woodard

We Are Water by Sue Taves

Count for the day:  2 people, 9 deer

For more information, see:

https://sculptureforest.org/

 

Goose Rock, 2023

 

 

Goose Rock, Deception State Park

 

Goose Rock is a place we like to hike this time of year for the views from the top and to see the wonderful wildflowers.  We were not disappointed.  The day was perfect, cool but sunny.  This is a 2 mile RT loop.  The Discover Pass or a day use fee is required.  We parked in the lot just across the Deception Pass bridge where there are about 20 parking spaces and public restrooms.  There are stairs that lead down to the trails from the parking area.  One trail heads farther down to the beach and another trail that goes under the bridge and forms a junction with two trails branching off to head up the Goose Rock Loop.  We prefer to take the shorter right-hand trail and head up steeply to the top, enjoy the view from the top, then head back down the longer route that ends up back at the junction left-hand trail.  The elevation gain is about 500 feet with some ups and downs.  There are some very sharp, steep switch backs on the way down.  Hiking poles are extremely helpful in those spots.  There is one place on the way down that has a grove of native rhododendrons but it is still too early for them to be in bloom. 

Blue Camas

White Death Camas

Broomrape

 

Broomrape is a shy little flower that likes to hide in the grass and in between other flowers.  It is an annual; therefore, it is found near where it bloomed the year before but not usually in exactly the same place.  

Chocolate Lilies

 

 

Close up of Sea Blush

 

Close up of part of a Lomatium

Indian Paintbrush

Madrona tree blossoms

Larkspur

 

Star flower

 

Wild Morel mushroom

Looking down on the boats in Cornet Bay from the trail

 

Count for the day:  20 people including one baby being carried, 1 dog

2 miles RT, 500 ft EG

Edmonds Waterfront Park

Following several days of pouring rain it was wonderful to have a dry, sunny day to get outside for a walk.  We have walked along the Edmonds Waterfront Park before but it had been a while so it seemed the perfect place to spend the afternoon.

The park is really a strip of beach, metal bridges and walkways along the shore.  There is a large marina, dry dock and breakwater incorporated into the park too.  The Edmonds ferry terminal interrupts the park for a short space and then the walkway continues to the north.  We went as far as the end of the southern path but stopped just short of the terminal.  It was fun to look at all the beautiful sailboats and cruisers in the marina.  The boats in dry dock on the tiers are loaded up with a forklift then taken down in the same manner, put on a boat elevator to be lowered into the water.  The sailboats have deep keels and tall masts so they are moored in the water.

There are several pieces of public art along the walkway too.

This fish sculpture turns in the wind.  The fish are black when facing one direction and silver when turned the opposite way.

Young seal taking a sunbath

 Harbor seals frequent this area.  We saw two live young seals dozing on a float and bronze sculptures of seals on the sidewalk.

Bronze Limpet shells decorated the raised bulkhead

This next sculpture reminded me of the “Waiting for the Interurban” in Fremont.  It shows people looking out to sea and even includes the ever present seagulls.

Even the manhole cover looked like a shell . . .

There were flower boxes too with miniature daffodils in bloom

We watched a ferry come in at the dock then turned around and started back to the car.

The end of a beautiful afternoon . . .