The Anti-Juneau

May 25, 2023

Like Juneau, Ketchikan is a small coastal town in the Alaskan Panhandle and it is not “on the road system.” Both towns are perched on a narrow strip of land between the mountains and the sea. But to the eyes of casual visitors from Anchorage, that’s where the similarity ends. Juneau is a city full of white-collar workers: government employees, lawyers, lobbyists, etc. It is neat and tidy, prosperous looking, a little bit hipster, more than a little bit foodie. Ketchikan seems to be much more a blue-collar community. The importance of commercial fishing is evident everywhere. And, of course, boating and aviation. Lumber was once a major industry here, as well, until the pulp mill closed in 1997.

So it comes as no surprise that the prosperity that favors Juneau is harder to find here in Ketchikan. Yes, cruise ship tourism has brought a windfall to both cities. But Ketchikan remains a gritty, rough-around-the-edges town, whose residents, in many cases, don’t have the extra money or time to beautify their property and maintain their houses. The parts of the city where tourists usually don’t go are generally shabby and run-down looking.

There is a small downtown/tourist area populated by way too many jewelry stores and gift shops. You can find a few pieces of public art here, a bit of recently added wayfinding there, and only a handful of restaurants.

It’s interesting that every time we are in this part of town, we see/hear at least one jaywalking tourist getting yelled at by the locals. I’m not sure what this says about Ketchikan.

Today we started out by walking north, away from the tourist district. We walked past a number of worn-looking docks where fishing and tourism vessels and aircraft came and went. However, this was clearly not a place where a tourist was welcome to wander onto the docks.

A fishing boat heading out (or maybe heading in - it looks a little low in the water)

These hovercraft added a pop of color to the drab waterfront 

Shortly thereafter we climbed up a series of steep blocks through unkempt residential neighborhoods. 

Sometimes the views were magnificent.

And sometimes not.

Sometimes the residents could drive  right up the hillside to their houses. Sometimes they could not.

Some of the stairways actually had street signs, and names.

Many houses had boats and commercial fishing gear stored in the yard, and often a lot of other junk. Many of these houses needed paint and other repairs. This is an extremely rainy climate, and it shows. There were no cute Victorian homes or charming little inns or B&Bs. Not much in the way of parks, either. It’s just so clearly not Juneau.

Yeah, we saw a goat tied up to a house.

And sometimes there was stunning beauty.

Love this rhododendron

Sometimes people left trash on the ground, like they didn’t care. And sometimes there was evidence that they really did care.

We saw a few of these stickers around town. They showed the community’s support for Libby Oaksmith, who died of cancer in August 2021. They now show that she is still remembered and missed.

We finished our walk but decided to head south, toward the tourist district, to visit a quilt shop. We passed one of the pieces of public art. It is called The Rock, a nickname for Revillagigedo Island, where Ketchikan can be found. 

The Rock: a memorial to the early settlers of this region

This noble fellow perched on top of a church steeple and admired the view, and probably waited for the fishermen to discard some scraps

Tonight was “Dress to Impress” night. In other words, Princess has given up on the idea of “formal night.” Very few people bothered to dress to impress. Apparently it is ok to look like a slob because we are in Alaska. I guess they are taking a cue from the locals.

We saw a show called “Sweet Soul Music.” It is a show that has been part of the repertoire on board for years, and we have seen it before. Half of it was not really soul music, if you ask me.

We also saw a juggler called The Mighty Quinn. I don’t really care about juggling, but the lawyer part of my brain was wondering how this guy was allowed to pick a volunteer from the audience, have him lie on the floor, and then walk over the volunteer from toes to head while juggling large knives - on a moving ship. And how was he allowed to do backflips over the marble floor of the piazza while juggling a chainsaw and a knife?

Today’s color is pink.