One of the things that Rita wanted to see was Saxman Totem Park. The Ferry arrived in Ketchikan early morning. We took a taxi to the Native village of Saxman, which we were told was 2 miles. The native Tlingit of SouthEast Alaska had a very developed culture. Since there was a lot of fish, animals, berries, and mild climate, they did not have to spend most of their time surviving as in more Northern and Interior Alaska.
We enjoyed the beautiful Totems. Some were brought from villages from long ago, and some are recent carvings.
Ketchikan is only accessible by water and air, although it is not an island. The airport is on an island in the strait and one needs to take a Ferry to get there. You can see the strait from this photo at the Totem Park.
Totems are hallowed out and today they are secured on posts as you can see above.
It was hard to believe that Abe Lincoln was featured in an Alaskan Totem!
Totems include eagles, frogs, fish and other important animals... note Rita
After the Totem Park we walked back to town which we thought was a mile... we met a bicyclist along the road on an early Sunday morning and he said that it was 2 miles, but there WAS a coffee shop in town. It turns out that it was 2.5 miles... a long walk and the New York Coffee shop was wonderful.
We then took a bus back to the ferry, as it was after 9:30 am and the buses were running.
wonderful place
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