SEPTEMBER 14, 2017
Ketchikan’s nickname is “Salmon Capital of the World.” It is also home to Creek Street, which is suspended above the water and is a prime spot for strolling and salmon viewing. The city boasts having the most totem poles in the Northwest and is the most-photographed street along a boardwalk with shops overlooking Fish Creek.
Lots of dead salmon floating or washed ashore were a feeding ground for the sea gulls below the viewing boardwalk.
Creek Street, once the town’s notorious red light district, takes you back to the way Alaska was in the old days - small wooden colorful buildings built on stilts.
The buildings have plaques commemorating what they used to be - mostly brothels. Now they are art, souvenir and handicraft shops or cafes/restaurants.
We took a steep ride up the hillside on the Funicular lift to the top of the hill hotel for a bird’s eye view of the city below.
Outside the lobby a collection of totem poles greeted us as a surprised. 
In the main part of townKetchikan’s Parnassus Books has an amazing assortment of books for browsing and purchase. A former librarian is the owner of the bookstore. I found her to be personable, helpful and knowledgeable on the quality of her book selections.
Shopping for native crafts one can easily find woodcarvings, ivory pieces, polished coral, jade, animal skins and fur, gold nuggets, and more. However when cruise ships arrive in port the numerous jewelry merchants descend from everywhere. They are like vultures luring tourists with wallets into their shops so beware. “Oh sorry, I left my credit card on the ship!” is a good reply to shoo them away.
