Alaska's Southernmost - Visiting Ketchikan

Last weekend, Brian & I escaped south to Ketchikan, the southeastern most city in Alaska.  Most people wouldn't necessarily pick this as a weekend getaway place, but given that Brian graduated from high school here, it seemed like a perfect place to visit given that this was one of his old stomping grounds. 

 

With a population of 8K, it is the fifth-most populous city in the state.  Ketchikan's economy is based upon tourism and fishing, and the city is known as the "Salmon Capital of the World." For most of the latter half of the 20th century, a large portion of Ketchikan's economy and life centered around the Ketchikan Pulp Company pulp mill in nearby Ward Cove. The mill closed in 1997 in the wake of the passage of the Tongass Timber Reform Act of 1990, which reduced timber harvest targets on the Tongass National Forest.

 The only way to get to Ketchikan is by air and boat. 

This is what brought Brian to Ketchikan as a 17-year old senior in high school... Pop-Pop was in the Coast Guard.

 Ketchikan has the world's largest collection of standing totem poles, found throughout the city and nearby parks.

 

 

A glimpse at the old house that Brian used to call home.

 

 

Glimpse at some beautiful Bald Eagles.

 

 

The old pulp mill that was once a bustling place back in the heyday.

 

Stores & shops all along Creek Street.

Fun fact about this place?  This was the red-light district back in the 1920s when bootlegging and prostitution were in full swing thanks to Prohibition. 

Learned some fun stories walking this area.  That's the history-nerd-in-me coming out.