Ketchikan #1

After breakfast, we got checked out of the Four Seasons Vancouver and headed to the airport. The weather had changed a bit overnight and it was chilly and breezy as I performed the preflight. Everything check out fine, so with the luggage all loaded, we piled in and took off for the frozen North!

I knew that it was going to be cloudy and overcast most (if not all) of the way to Ketchikan, so I requested 12,000 in order to get on top of the clouds. It worked –just barely! As we climbed out of Vancouver and into the murky clouds, the temperature kept dropping and we picked up a little ice. I kept a close eye on it, but it was not accumulating and we were soon skimming the clouds in the sunshine at our cruise altitude.

We all know, what goes up, must come down…eventually. As we approached Ketchikan, I listened to the airport conditions on the radio: Overcast clouds at 3000 feet and light rain –no visual approach this time! We got back into the clouds as we began our descent and maneuvered for the instrument approach. Because of the mountainous terrain in the area, this approach was a bit complex with lots of altitude step-downs, and tight turns. I executed the approach as published and, sure enough, the runway came into sight as we finally descended below the clouds a couple miles from the airport.

The customs agent came out to greet us as we taxied in. He was polite, but thorough and I spent about 15 minutes with him poking around the airplane and examining my documents while everyone else cooled their heels inside. Finally, we were free to go.

Our hotel , the Cape Fox Lodge, is really pretty. It’s at the top of a big hill overlooking downtown Ketchikan. It even has its own tram to take you up and down! We hadn’t eaten lunch yet, so we went to the lounge and had a couple appetizers after we got checked in. Then, Michele went to the room for a nap while I took the boys for a walk. We found a nice footpath through the woods leading down to a big creek. We followed the path and ended up near the base of the tram. There really scenic shopping area built on stilts at the river bank. All the shops were closed for the day, but we did a little window shopping. I think Brandon really loved our walk –he seemed really happy and thanked me for taking him to Alaska.

After our walk, I had time to shower and change before we headed down to the hotel restaurant for a delicious dinner. I got some fantastic king crab legs and seafood chowder –yummy! We took another short walk after dinner and now we’re getting ready to go to bed. It’s just now getting dark at 10:15pm. Tomorrow, we’ve got a sightseeing flight scheduled to see the Misty Fjords and land on a glacier. We might get to do a little fishing as well.