Today I am feeling a bit nostalgic and homesick. So I thought I would write a little piece about a place that I have a real love/hate relationship with – Ketchikan, Alaska.
I spent a large part of my life living in this little town and it is a real tourist hot spot – So I think that it fits in with the theme of Up and Adam nicely.
Ketchikan is a small town in the southeastern corner of Alaska. It is the southernmost city in the state – only about 600 miles north of Seattle. It is dubbed the First City – mostly because as you sail the Inside Passage – it is the first city that you come to in the state of Alaska. It’s a smallish city of approximately 8000 full-time residents. I say “full-time” because it really is a job living there – and the population booms in the summer when the cruise ships come to town bring over 10,000 visitors a day to the tiny town perched on the edge of Revillagigedo Island.
My family moved to Ketchikan when I was about 5 years old and we lived there for a number of years before heading back to Iowa to chase our riches as farmers. My family moved back a few years later – but by that time I was a young, headstrong (otherwise known as arrogant, and know it all) young man – so I stayed behind in Iowa to attend school and generally get into trouble. I did move back for a short time in my early 20s – in fact Ketchikan International Airport and a job with Alaska Airlines is what propelled me towards the career I am in today. But I digress – back to Ketchikan.
Like I said – I have a real love/hate relationship with the town. I love that my family is there and when I arrive in town I can see my parents, my sister and my nieces all in one go. That is nice. I love that there is only like 15 miles of road from one end of the island to the other. It’s quaint. I love that when the weather is nice – it’s one of the prettiest places I have ever been. Hands down. Sitting on my parents beach, by the fire, beer in hand and watching boats slip by through black water that is smooth as glass is one of my happy places.
Happy place or not – I hate that it takes 2 days to get to there from anywhere on earth. I can almost fly from Australia to Dallas in the time that it takes to fly from Dallas to Ketchikan. The flights are just poorly timed for me. It makes running home for a quick visit almost impossible. I hate that when I explain where I am from to people down south they ask me if I know Sarah Palin – I don’t know Sarah Palin. My mom knows her, but that is beside the point, we don’t all know each other. I also hate that most people have no idea where the town is – but if you mention The Bridge to Nowhere – all the sudden the look at you like you’re from a town of mass murderers. Come on people – imagine if you had to take a boat every time you wanted to go to the airport. It’s a pain. I hate that when the weather isn’t gorgeous – it’s miserable. There really isn’t any in between for Ketchikan – it’s either sunny and pretty – or raining so hard that you expect the next ship that ties up downtown will have a captain named Noah.
Speaking of rain – Ketchikan gets a lot of it. Approximately 150 inches a year spread over about 230 days with measurable rain. It rains so much that Ketchikaners have a cutesy little term for it – Liquid Sunshine. Gimme a break. Rain is liquid sunshine in some place like Kissimmee, Florida – in Ketchikan it’s just rain and lots of it.
Now – all of those things doesn’t stop Ketchikan from being an amazing place to visit. There is no place on the planet quite like Southeast Alaska. First off – it’s green. Ketchikan sits right in the middle of the largest temperate rainforest on earth. The trees are huge and the views are spectacular from every angle. Next – if you’re an outdoorsy sporty type – the fishing, hunting, and just in general outdoor scene is amazing in Ketchikan. There are deer, bear, eagles, whales, seals, and just about every other type of animal you can think of right outside your door. Except snakes – Ketchikan is a lot like Ireland that way – no snakes.
Overall – I think that everyone should visit Ketchikan once in their lives. Southeast Alaska should be on everyone’s bucket list. I am fortunate to visit fairly often (I know, Mom, not often enough) and take advantage of a lot that the region has to offer. I think everyone should hop the short plane ride from Seattle, jump on a cruise ship, or (even better) take the Alaska Marine Highway ferry from Bellingham, WA and pop up for a visit.
Tell Sarah I sent you.
Up and Adam 
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