Chapter 49
Funicular

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The Cape Fox Lodge (one of the only hotels right in the heart of Ketchikan) has a funicular tram that goes up the side of the hill to transport guests and tourists to the lobby.

The tram cost something like $2 per person for non-guests to enjoy all-day rides, and we didn’t think that was too outlandish.

As we cleared the trees down on the regular ground level, we could get a nice view of our docked ship.

We unloaded at the top of the hill and walked to another vantage point, where we could see the Wonder even more clearly.

There were also several totems just outside the lodge.

And one more view.

It wasn’t as though there was a whole lot to do once we got up to the top. We probably spent all of 10 minutes up there before heading back down. But it was still a fun little diversion that gave us a unique perspective on Ketchikan.

We continued to wander along Creek Street.

Downtown Ketchikan is just so unique when compared to the other ports we visited. Each little city had its own very distinct charm.

Like in Skagway (and maybe Juneau too?), there was a museum devoted to the town’s salacious past, but we didn’t go in.

They did have an old employment application in the window, however, so we could see what sort of questions the prospective ladies of the night had to answer.

As you exit through the Creek Street arch, this sign is the last thing you see.

Honestly, we didn’t see many scenes more picturesque than this one in any of our ports.

Here’s a map of the historic Creek Street district.

Tracy and I tried to wander to the docks on the other side of the ship because we’d heard that they might be a good place to spot some harbor seals.

We ended up at something of a dead end, however, and our only real option would have been to swim if we wanted to keep going.

Alas, no seals were to be seen, but we did watch this float plane land.

We turned around and went back into town. We knew we had pretty much exhausted Ketchikan at this point, but we still weren’t ready to go back on the ship just yet.

In the end, there wasn’t really anywhere else to go. We did stop into a few more souvenir shops on the trek back to the dock.

Since this was our last port, we knew this would be the last time on this cruise that we were on land in Alaska. The prospect of saying goodbye to this beautiful state was certainly a little sad, but I think Ketchikan was an excellent port for us to end on.

All aboard was much later this evening than it had been in previous ports, so we had plenty of time to still enjoy views of the city from the Wonder before we cast off.