Alaska: Chapter 6

Ketichikan! 

What a fun day! It was a busy one with lots going on. 

So my dad, one brother, and Husband went out fishing for Salmon. I didn't go with so I only have this picture. 

They had a good time and caught a lot of Salmon. They shipped it home to my parents' house, so next time we are in MN, we will take some home with us. 

My mom, M and I went on an Alaskan Family Fun Excursion.

First, we went to the Saxman Native Village, which I was genuinely so excited for, and we had possibly the worst tour guide who has ever been a tour guide, and it was a huge letdown. 

We first went into the largest clan house still standing in Alaska. The history of the building was so interesting to me. The houses had 8-10 families all residing together. 

Then we saw Native dancing, and they asked for volunteers to go participate. M went and she got a prize for dancing along with them. 

Then we went outside to see the totem poles. I wish we had just gotten time to wander and look at the poles. Instead, our terrible tour guide stood there and talked about them for 25 minutes. Since each pole had a plaque, I think that would have been plenty. 

I enjoyed that each stop sign had the Tlingit language and English. What a cool way to preserve their culture. 

We got to see how the totems are carved and this room smelled amazing. Fresh cedar! 

Then we went to the Ketchikan Discovery Center. I again really enjoyed this museum, but wish we could have just been free to explore. Our guide was MARKEDLY better than the one at Saxman, but I didn't love staying as a big group. 

This was a community art project where they paired up with a local school to create these fish to hang, and it was so neat.

We went to one of their education rooms and made clan bracelets. I swapped out the feather charm my mom was randomly assigned for a bear print charm, and all of our bracelets matched. 

Then we went to the lumberjack show. 

I knew it was going to be fun. I knew it was going to be gimmicky. I loved it so much. 

I had no idea there were collegiate lumber sports teams and it might be my new hobby to watch. 

First, Goofy came out and did the "Chicken Fat" exercise dance with the kids. 

A fun fact is that my mom loves to sing the "Chicken Fat" song. Also, it was written by Meredith Willson, and we went to that museum just earlier in the month, so... it felt very on-brand for our family. 

Then the show started and it was awesome. 

M won a signed postcard from the Lumberjacks. 

Then we headed back to the ship for dinner. 

You might be wondering what C did during this day. Well, C stayed with my brother, who is also his Godfather. They are so, so very alike in many ways. 

C went to an activity at the tween club to draw an animation cell. It turned out very cool. They ordered room service to my brother's room and watched a movie. They did wander around Ketchikan for a bit as well. But mostly they had an introvert day, which suited them both just fine. 

We all really enjoyed our time in Ketchikan. But again, note: I didn't go hiking or anything particularly outdoorsy. THAT IS OKAY! There were people who went and did some crazy outdoor activities. I was glad I wasn't with them. And we all were happy with our choices.