Excursion: Misty Fjords National Monument
This was our early morning. After a 6:00 AM room service breakfast, we packed up for the boat ride to the Misty Fjords National Monument. We thought we were early when left the ship a little after 7:00 AM. Turns out we were late! The line for the Melinda Leigh stretched nearly the entire distance of the ramp to the Ketchikan visitor’s center. The only advantage to being late was that we stood under the covered portion of the ramp. We appreciated this as it was in the high 40s and spitting rain.
Our late arrival also meant that we almost didn’t get to sit together. Fortunately, two singles agreed to sit together. As we got underway about 7:30, the naturalist, a young woman from Northern California (as Jack didn’t get her name, he’ll call her Cali) said this would be about two hours each way. As we left Ketchikan, Cali said that this is the only city in the US that can be reached only by boat. While Ketchikan has an airport, it’s on a different island. She said that Misty Fjords was designated a national monument by President Jimmy Carter. It’s the only national monument that can be reached by motorized transportation.
The ride out got bumpy at one point. However, it was nothing that we couldn’t handle. Misty Fjords was an apt description, especially today. Most of the hills were obscured in whole or part by mist and clouds. Reportedly, Carter dubbed the fjords the “Zion of the North”. Jack thought that, while the comparison was apt up to a point, this was an overstatement. Certainly, there were bare mountainsides, some which had one or more waterfalls. However, as scenic as they are, Jack thought the fjords had little of Zion’s grandeur.
Jack was glad we didn’t spend too much time at Misty Fjords. As it was probably in the forties with light rain and wind, Jack felt woefully underdressed with his Vogel fleece pullover and rain shell. Some of the passengers were overdressed with heavy parkas, one of which had a fur-lined hood. Then there was the guy who wore only a baseball cap and a short-sleeved shirt!
On the trip back, we got to know our neighbors a bit. The single man was Sumter, SC, the lady was from the UP. A couple at the next table was from Camden, GA. We also met a woman from Wesley Chapel who’d been there since 1967! About midway back, Cali gave the mic to Wayne, a Native-American craftsman. He spent about ten minutes talking about his Tlingit heritage, his first career as a fisherman, and his current career as a licensed walrus harvester. The Tlingit people have lost much of their language. He did not learn it growing up because his father was beaten when spoke the language as a child. He started fishing at fifteen and fished the Bering Straight for seventeen years. Several years ago, he met the strict requirements to harvest walrus. To do so, he had to prove both his Native heritage and membership in a registered coastal tribe.
When we docked at noon, Ketchikan somehow seemed colder than it did this morning. We did a bit of shopping – Cathy snagged a fleece-lined jacket for $15! and we purchased her coveted Coke Zero and some water. Once back to the room, we headed to a late-ish lunch. Jack laid down about 2:00 for a couple of hours. At FOBW, Jim and he were joined by Gene, a retired Lehigh Acres firefighter!!! now living in Morristown, TN. After dinner, we were back to the room where we watched the movie Blythe Spirit. Shortly thereafter, Cathy got her pjs on and hit the sack, stating that she wanted to get to the buffet tomorrow at 7:00 AM to get her sticky buns. Jack lasted until about 10:30.