Tony Fallone of Rosie Moments Travel had a good morning salmon fishing in Ketchikan! Our 6 passenger fishing excursion was a first for us. All in all, the Fallones, O'Leary's and Herricks hauled in about 25 salmon and other local fish, had it cleaned and packaged and was shipped home. Our memory of this exciting morning lasted through many delicious dinners!

Just 90 miles north of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Ketchikan hugs the bluffs that form the shoreline along the southwest corner of Revillagigedo Island. If you spend enough time in Ketchikan chances are good that it will rain at least once. The average annual rainfall is 162 inches, but in some years it has been known to be more than 200 inches. Local residents call it "liquid sunshine" and umbrellas are rarely used. But rain or shine, the beauty of Ketchikan's setting becomes apparent. The town is backed by forested slopes and distinctively shaped Deer Mountain and faces Tongass Narrows, a waterway humming with floatplanes, fishing boats, ferries and barges hauling freight to other Inside Passage ports.

Stretching 31 miles long but never more than 10 blocks wide, Ketchikan is centered on Tongass Avenue, which is never out of view of Tongass Narrows. On one side of the avenue, many businesses and homes are built on stilts out over the water, while on the other side they cling to the steep slopes and often have winding wooden staircases leading to their doors.

The downtown area is the main commercial district and contains two large harbors, several cruise ship docks, and many of Ketchikan's main attractions, including historic Creek Street, a boardwalk road built over Ketchikan Creek on pilings. The city center is best viewed from Ketchikan's Waterfront Promenade that skirts the busy shoreline and is equipped with historical markers and whale-tail benches for visitors to rest and gather in the view.

Founded as a cannery site in 1885, Ketchikan's livelihood was initially fishing and for years the city was known as the "Canned Salmon Capital of the World." Logging became an important industry as well and when cruise ships started plying the waters of the Inside Passage, Ketchikan naturally became a popular port of call.

Ketchikan is known as Alaska's "First City," the initial port for Alaska Marine Highway ferries and cruise ships coming up from the south. For the vast majority of visitors stepping ashore, this is their first view of Alaska. Rarely does this community of 12,993 disappoint them.

-courtesy of Alaska.org

An ancestral home of Alaska's Tlingit Indians, Ketchican displays its proud native heritage in colorful totem poles - the town boasts the largest collection in the world. Head over - and up - to Creek Street, with its shops and galleries built on stilts above a crystal stream.