If there was ever a town that needed this (for real), it's Ketchikan! Those damn tourists will literally stand in the middle of the road or stop mid-step right in front of you to take a picture.
The Tourist Lane
« Showing posts with label Tourism. Show all posts »
Friday, June 11, 2010
«The Tourist Lane»
Thursday, December 3, 2009
«Saxman Totem Poles (Photo Heavy)»
Bunc made a comment on yesterday's post:
Because it was 40 degrees outside (not freezing), not stormy, and not yet dark; I rode my bicycle out to Saxman and took a few photos of the totem poles, just for Bunc. All these photos were taken yesterday (December 2nd, 2009). So here they are, click an image to view full.Your post got me starting to read up a little about Ketchikan - I see the largest collections of standing totem poles are in the area - is that right? That would make some fascinating photos.
From here you can see most of the totem poles.
The sign reads:
SAXMAN
Legend Tlingit Indian village, established 1894, is named for school teacher Samuel Saxman. One of three men lost Dec. of 1886 while scouting for a new location for people of Tongass and Cape Fox villages. Totems here, comprising world's largest collection, including poles moved from Pennock, Tongass, and village islands and from old Cape Fox village at Kirk Point. Many are poles restored under federal works project directed by the U.S. forest service beginning in 1939.
Alaska Depertment of Highways
Totem poles around the sign.
I bet you didn't know Abraham Lincoln was at the top of a Tlingit totem pole.
I don't know the proper names of any of these, I'm calling this one a China man.
This one I know is an eagle on the top and a beaver on the bottom.
This one was my favorite. Shouldn't have put his hand in there...
A tribal Tlingit meeting hall.
That's all so pretty... Because it's meant for tourists. However, look down any side road in Saxman and you'll see what it's really like. I don't mean to be racist, but it takes only a simple observation to notice a lack of home maintenance and clutter control on the part of your average Alaskan Native.
EDIT: Fixed spelling of the word "racist". Thanks Vid.
See the rest of “Saxman Totem Poles (Photo Heavy)”»
Monday, July 6, 2009
«Cruise Ship Watch: Sea Princess»
No, I'm not starting this back up this year. There just happened to be a ship in today that I didn't photograph last year in my Cruise Ship Watch series.
Here's the Sea Princess. I think it was doing tours in Europe last year, so that's why I didn't get it. It's longer than it appears in the photo; the angle is making it look short.
Click image to view full.
See the rest of “Cruise Ship Watch: Sea Princess”»
Thursday, April 23, 2009
«Cruise Ships Are In Again»
Yesterday marked the beginning of the 2009 cruise ship season here in Ketchikan, Alaska. There was 1 ship in.
I've decided this year not to do a Cruise Ship Watch series. I'm going to be going on vacation after the first week of May, so I'd miss a bunch of ships anyway.
I'll say more about my upcoming vacation in a later post.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
«Cruise Ship Watch: Serenade of the Seas»
Well, this is it. This is the last installment of the Cruise Ship Watch series for the year. The season ends Monday with the Millennium. I'll leave the series in the sidebar for a while.
This is the Serenade of the Seas. It was only in town twice this year; once in the beginning of the season and now, once at the end.
Click image to view full
And so the 2008 tourism season comes to an end in Ketchikan.See the rest of “Cruise Ship Watch: Serenade of the Seas”»
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
«Cruise Ship Watch: Spirit of Columbia»
We're coming down to the end of the cruise ships for the year. The 29th of this month marks the last ship of the year. There haven't been many new entries in this Cruise Ship Watch series lately because frankly, I already have most all of them.
Here's the Spirit of Columbia, it's another small ship owned by Cruise West. That's the Volendam in the background.
Click image to view full
See the rest of “Cruise Ship Watch: Spirit of Columbia”»
Thursday, August 14, 2008
«The Bridge to Nowhere»
I said earlier in my Gravina Island image post that I'd talk about the Gravina Island access bridge.
I'm sure some of you have heard about the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere" proposed to be built in Ketchikan, Alaska. Nearly as long as the Golden Gate Bridge and taller than the Brooklyn Bridge. It made national, even global news. It was called a prime example of run-away pork-barrel spending on pet projects. The project was shut down after an outcry from the mis-informed public. They ridiculed it as being a "bridge from mainland Alaska to an island with a population of 50". That statement alone shows they are completely ignorant of the issue.
Let me (being a local resident of Ketchikan) correct a few facts for the "Bridge to Nowhere".
Technically, it would be 2 bridges, using Pennock Island as a stepping stone. The bridge does not have anything to do with mainland Alaska, I don't know where that even came from. It has nothing to do with the 50 residents of Gravina Island, and everything to do with the airport that's located on that island. It's to connect the 14,000 people of Revillagigedo Island (8,000 within the city limits of Ketchikan, but 14,000 in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough) to the Ketchikan International Airport, located on Gravina Island. Ketchikan is the only city in Alaska without road access to its airport, and the federal government promised 30 years ago that we'd get a bridge.
Both Pennock Island and Gravina Island would have been opened up for development and recreation. There's a significant amount of flat land over there (a rare commodity in Ketchikan, nearly the entire town is built on the side of a mountain). Had the bridge been built, the "Bridge to Nowhere" would become a bridge to somewhere pretty quick due to development and expansion.
Ketchikan has a thriving tourism industry. Setting aside for the moment an impressive bridge would attract more tourists, around 850,000 people already come and go by cruise ship each year. The bridge must be tall enough for cruise ships to pass under; hence, why it has to be so tall.
A significant number of people come and go through the Ketchikan International Airport as well. In total for the year 2007, there were 222,249 passengers that used the airport. 406,664 people and 107,609 vehicles used the current airport ferry system in place to get to and from the airport (source). It's that near half million in traffic volume per year the bridge would have been built for. Instead, we have to pay ferry tolls to get there. $5.00 per person (round-trip if in the same day), and $6.00 per car (one way, not including driver or passengers). No-one else has to pay to get to their airport. Also, a bridge would make it faster and easier for emergency vehicles to get to the airport, if something were to happen.
So what happened instead? The State of Alaska still got the federal funds, but with the earmarks for the bridge removed. So our governor, Sarah Palin, vetoed the bridge. However, they forgot to remove the earmarks for the $25 million road over on Gravina Island that was to connect to the bridge. The road is under construction now. It's a true "Road to Nowhere", complete with a tunnel under the runway (as you can see in the pictures I took). All we're going to get is a useless dead-end road and a new ferry. The least they could have did is subsidize the cost of the ferry so we wouldn't have to pay to access our own airport.
The rest of the funding got siphoned off to other projects for Anchorage; it didn't even stay in Southeast Alaska. Meanwhile, our roads are quickly deteriorating and Sarah Palin vetoed the money that's needed to fix them. She really has it out for Southeast Alaska for some reason. But that's going off on a tangent with a different issue.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
«Cruise Ship Watch: Tahitian Princess»
The Tahitian Princess is in today. Next year they're going to rename it Ocean Princess, to "reflect a more global theme". Just in the time it took me to walk back and get this posted, the sky has significantly clouded up. I can't see any blue anymore... Click the image to view full.
Here's the Tahitian Princess in Ketchikan, Alaska.
Friday, July 25, 2008
«Cruise Ship Watch: Norwegian Pearl, Silver Shadow, and Westerdam»
By now I must be close to having every ship... I've got another one planned for tomorrow, I'll have to look ahead on the schedule after that one to see when the next ship I have to get is. Like a friend of mine said, it's about like a collectible game: "Gotta catch them all!" I wonder if this is what it's like to play that Pokémon Snap game...
Anyway, the ships I photographed today are the Norwegian Pearl, Silver Shadow, and Westerdam. Click an image to view full.
Let's start with the Norwegian Pearl, docked in front of the Ketchikan Visitor Information and Restrooms.
Here's a ship that's not here too often, the Silver Shadow. It has the highest space-to-passenger ratio of any cruise ship.
Here's the Westerdam, taken from the Thomas Basin boat harbor breakwater.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
«Cruise Ship Watch: Spirit of Endeavour»
One small cruise ship for today's Cruise Ship Watch, the Spirit of Endeavour (no wikipedia page). By one ship, I mean one ship I haven't yet photographed for the Cruise Ship Watch series. There were 5 cruise ships in total for today; the Golden Princess, Oosterdam, Statendam, and Sapphire Princess, along with the Spirit of Endeavour. Click the image to view full.
Here's the Spirit of Endeavour docked in Ketchikan, Alaska with the Golden Princess in the background.
Monday, July 14, 2008
«Cruise Ship Watch: Carnival Spirit and Sapphire Princess»
Two ships in today that I haven't previously photographed, the Carnival Spirit and Sapphire Princess. It's actually quite amazing how many ships go through Ketchikan. Before, I've always figured it was the same few ships over and over, kinda like the Norwegian Star has been this year. However, since I've been keeping track for this series, I've realized there's a ton of different ships that come here.
And yes, the Norwegian Star was one of the ships in today, again. Seems like that ship is always here. Click an image to view full.
Carnival Spirit, docked in Ketchikan and unloading passengers. It had just arrived about half an hour before this picture was taken.
Sapphire Princess in Ketchikan, Alaska.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
«Spirit of Glacier Bay Repairs»
Flooding Forces Grounded Cruise Ship To Reroute
The Spirit of Glacier Bay had to go to Wrangell for emergency repairs. It didn't even make it here to Ketchikan for repairs. It's a small cruise ship (like the Spirit of '98). Last week it ran aground in Glacier Bay, the place it was named after.
From another news article, it looks like they've patched the crack in the hull well enough to get it here. I had missed taking a picture of it on May 13th for my Cruise Ship Watch series; perhaps I can get a picture of it in the shipyard, lol.
Monday, July 7, 2008
«Cruise Ship Watch: Seven Seas Mariner and Ryndam»
Two ships in today that I have not photographed before for my blog, the Seven Seas Mariner and Ryndam. Click an image to view full (I wounder how many times I've typed that phrase now).
The Seven Seas Mariner coming in to dock. If you look closely, they don't even have any lines to the dock yet. You can also see a bit of turbulence from their thrusters at the rear of the ship.
The Ryndam docked in Ketchikan, Alaska.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
«Cruise Ship Watch: Golden Princess, Spirit of '98, Statendam, Oosterdam, and Diamond Princess»
Like I said in the last Cruise Ship Watch, there would be 5 ships in today that I haven't photographed for my blog. Well, I decided to stay in town so I could get them. So here are the Golden Princess, Spirit of '98 (no wikipedia page), Statendam, Oosterdam, and Diamond Princess. Click an image to view full.
Let's start with the Golden Princess. You can also see the Spirit of '98 in this picture.
Here's the Spirit of '98 up closer, with the Golden Princess towering in the background. The Spirit of '98 is just a small ship, carrying only about 100 passengers. 
The Statendam, you can see a couple of buses for size comparison.
The Oosterdam docked next to the Ketchikan Visitor Information center.
The Diamond Princess docked in Ketchikan.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
«Cruise Ship Watch: Volendam»
I've noticed that the ships are on a fairly weekly schedule. As a result, I see the same ones over and over on the same days of the week. I'm not in town (walking distance, anyway) on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. So I'm missing many of the ships that are usually in on those days. For example, this Thursday there are 4 large ships in and one small one. I don't have pictures of any of those yet. Click an image to view full.
Anyway, here's the Volendam. It was in today and I hadn't taken a picture of it for my blog yet.
Here's the 4 ships that were in. Kinda hard to make them out through the trees. The Volendam (on the far end), Mercury, Star Princess, and Norwegian Sun.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
«Spiders»
I keep seeing these spiders at my mom's place, and I finally decided to look into what they are, and if I should be worried. I sent an email off to Spider Identification.org, so I'll see what they have to say.
Click image to view full
I sent in the full-sized version of this image along with this email:
So we'll see if I get a reply.Subject: Please ID this spider
Name: Cody Durkin
Location: Ketchikan, Alaska, United States
Website/Blog: http://mastermarf.blogspot.com/
Email: To stop spambots, you must have javascript enabled to view the email address.
Picture: Attached as spider.jpg
I have seen quite a few of these at my mom's place, but no-where else in town that I can remember. It's a rather old apartment building. With the legs spread out, their leg-span is about the size of a silver dollar. Although as you can see in the picture, their bodies are quite small. The only poisonous spider we're suppose to have here is the brown recluse. This spider does not have the violin shape marking, so it's not one of those.
With nearly a million people passing through this town each year through our tourism industry, any spider could find its way here. We have cruise ships in town during the summer every day, sometimes 5 or 6 at a time. The ships are in Mexico or Australia / New Zealand in the winter. Most of the ships were constructed in Europe, and registered in Bermuda or the Bahamas. So these spiders could have hitched a ride from about anywhere. Because they are in the house, they could easily survive the winters.
They make irregular shaped webs, usually in corners. The webs are not very dense; there are not many strands of silk in the webs.
The picture was taken at about 1:00 AM in the bathroom on June 17, 2008. I kill them with a folded tissue paper every time I see them. I've seen these here ever since my mom moved in the building 3 years ago. Anyway, I'd like to know what type of spider this is, and if it's dangerous. Thanks.
EDIT: The spider has been identified.
See the rest of “Spiders”»
Sunday, June 15, 2008
«Social Networking Links»
I was playing around with Feedburner the other day. I've been using it for my webfeeds, but I've tapped into another feature of it. You'll notice links that look like this at the bottom of each post:
Technorati Links • Digg This! • Stumble It! • Save to del.icio.us
So feel free to use them. I figured why not? Just because I don't use those sites doesn't mean I can't benefit from them. Or make it easy for others to use them with my blog. I've never used Digg, Stumble Upon, or del.icio.us. I use Technorati sometimes.
The Technorati Links are posts from other blogs that have responded to my corresponding post. Or if I've responded to another blog. It essentially tracks a topic or conversation through the blogosphere. Since my blog isn't terribly popular yet, most of my posts won't have much of an impact in the blogosphere to track.
You can also use it as a blog search engine. I've found blog posts using Technorati from tourists that went on cruises here. It's interesting to read an outside opinion of this town. See things from the view of a tourist rather than a local.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
«Cruise Ship Watch: Millennium»
One of the ships in today was the Millennium. Seeing as I didn't have a picture of it yet on my blog, here it is. I took the picture from the breakwater for the Thomas Basin boat harbor.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
«Cruise Ship Watch: Dawn Princess, Mercury, and Norwegian Sun»
5 ships were in today; Dawn Princess, Mercury, Norwegian Sun, Star Princess, Zaandam. There's room at the docks for 4, so one (the Mercury) anchored out. When anchored out, they use the lifeboats to ferry tourists back and forth between the ship and town.
As always, I'll show the pictures of ones I don't have on my blog yet. Also as always, click an image to view full.
Norwegian Sun, notice the artwork of the sun on the bow.
Dawn Princess docked in Ketchikan, Alaska.
Mercury, anchored out. You can see a lifeboat in the water on the side of the ship.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
«Cruise Ship Watch: Island Princess and Radiance of the Seas»
4 ships in today. The Amsterdam and Infinity I already have pictures of in my blog. So here are pictures of the Island Princess and Radiance of the Seas. Click an image to view full.
Island Princess
Radiance of the Seas, as seen from the top of a flight of stairs.
I know, they all start to look alike after you see enough of them.
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