By Land or By Sea: Tuesday, September 16

Tuesday was our first day in port. It was a foggy day in Ketchikan, a city that measures rain fall in feet, but we did not have any rain. Which is very rare for a September day. Here are some pictures as we are approaching Ketchikan.

We planned a zip lining excursion for our adventure in Ketchikan and we were scheduled to go at 8:30 am. Getting off the ship was no problem – other then the fog the weather was fine – temps were in the mid to high 50’s which is the best you can ask for in Alaska in September. Here is the Star docked.

It is not a blurry picture, just the fog.

Here Shannon and I are at the Ketchikan welcome center.

To get from the pier to the Zipline we had to take a bus. The bus was a classic – I think it was from the 60’s or 70’s. We had to get a picture taken by that too.

The bus driver served as a tour guide as we drove, he pointed out salmon in the river and taught us the five types of salmon- chum, sockeye, king, silver and pink and we passed a bald eagle perched in a tree. The driver also told us about the history of Ketchikan and that they average over 250 days of rain a year. With all the focus on Sarah Palin the driver also gave us his opinion on her. It was interesting to hear about the impact her nomination had on the state of Alaska. For me this trip could not have come at a better time.

We arrived at the Alaska Canopy Adventure and we were so excited for this crazy adventure. The zip line course consisted of 8 lines and three bridges through the rain forest canopy about 150 feet in the air.

Here I am in front of the sign.

Here is Shannon.

In order to get up the Mountain to start the zip line we had to ride in this contraption…

Before we left we both ran to the bathroom – a port a potty – which is so ironic after avoiding the bike tour port a potty for the entire tour, it is on my vacation that I have to use one. Shan and I were the last people to get on the vehicle and our “seats” where literally a seat on a wooden crate.

Shan was not sure what to think of it all.

I was just happy to finally be on our way.

As I mentioned before it was pretty foggy - here is the rainforest on the way up.

Here is a tree that has fallen down – they were so tall!!

These are the trees as we got at the starting point.

When we got to the start we needed to get all the gear on. Here Jacob is helping me make sure everything is secure. He also had me put my hair back – the last thing we wanted was my hair to get tangled in the lines.

This is Bob and Candace – they were part of cruise critic group who had decided to go zip lining with us before the beginning of the cruise.

Here they are all ready to go, while one of the guides is passing around a trash can for anyone who had gum to spit is out – it can be a choking hazard when you first take off and gasp from the sensation.

Here Shannon is ready to go.

So am I –

At last I have all the gear. Once we were all set they went over the mechanics of zip lining – where to put each hand, how to keep your legs, how to lean back, how to break, how not to break, how to make sure you make it to the platform, how to land…. Basically 15 minutes of what to do and what not to do - so much to remember. I became a nervous wreck – not from fear of falling or the height, but from being afraid I would not remembering everything. The first line was a short practice one. Shannon was the first of the whole group to go.
Ready to go

Waiting for the signal.

I was the second to go and I totally forgot to break at the end. When I got to the platform I was told I needed to break or I would fall off the platforms. Which made me even more nervous. The second line was a bit longer but still not too long – this time I did everything right, but was still nervous. Here I am getting ready to go on the third line.

At this point we had slip into smaller groups and we had Christopher and Jacob as our guides. Christopher is the one who pushed us off and Jacob is the one who caught us at the end. I was standing on the platform getting ready to go on the third line an Christopher asked me how I was doing – I said I was okay – he said just okay? You need to be doing better then that. So Christopher get me on the line, hanging off the platform ready to go when he stopped me. He then swung out next to me and started swinging me all around. I just started laughing and totally loosened up. He obviously knew I needed to stop thinking so much and relax. That totally did it and from that point on I had a riot.

Here I am in the middle of the third line.

Remembered how I mentioned it was foggy – here is one the lines – we could not see the where it ended, but I was not scared, the line was still up it had to end somewhere over there.

Here is Shannon coming on one of the lines – can you see her way out there?

Here she is getting closer

And closer

This was one of the bridges we walked across.

Shannon again was the first to go and I asked Christopher if we all went at once (when we zipped we went one at a time) He said yes and so I followed along and so did the people behind me. Once we got a few feet onto the bridge, Christopher said stop – only one at a time and Shannon said the look on my face was priceless – I along with those behind me rushed to get back to the platform when Christopher said I am just kidding. It was too funny – he got us good!! As we were crossing the bridge we saw a black bear eating salmon from the stream.

He is really down there – just not the greatest picture, but we were 150 feet above him.

This was when I learned that salmon die after they spawn – it is kind of sad.

After the bridges we had a few more lines to go. Here is Shannon on one of the lines