Ketchikan

Ketchikan Once we were cleared for Covid, we climbed down a long stairway of “see-through” stairs, much to Micky’s chagrin, and explored the town. It caters to the tourists onboard the cruise ships, so there wasn’t much of interest for us, though Don bought another refrigerator magnet for the RV and Micky purchased a coat that was on sale. We saw salmon spawning, the falls downstream, the marina, and several totems. The most unusual part of the day was the weather. Brilliant blue skies and temperatures in the 60s ruled the day - what fabulous weather!

We managed to find an Episcopal church - St. John’s - which has a history back to 1903. Its beautiful stained glass windows and its wood interior enthralled us, and a man was ringing the church bell, once every minute. We believe he was ringing the bell in memory of Queen Elizabeth.

Probably the highlight of the day was the talk given by John Williams about the Tlinglit culture. Because the culture is matrilineal, everything is based on the clan to which the woman belongs. He was from the clan where someone from the Eagle clan had to marry someone from the Raven clan; and the marriages were arranged until sometime in the 1930s when the different tribes realized they needed to begin to assimilate into the white society. Now marriages are not arranged, young people do not marry within their clans anymore, and rather than turn their two-year-olds over to an aunt or uncle to raise, children are now raised by their parents. John was of the first generation to be raised by his parents. Such an interesting presentation. On our way to the ship, we learned about totems. The significance of the totems is far beyond what I had previously understood, and knowing that they are supposed to stand until they fall, just like everything in nature, made me appreciate the work that went into them and also the philosophy behind the way the natives look at life - a circle to be respected.

Once on our ship, we were able to meet a few people, learn a little about the cruise and the ship, have dinner, and get to bed.