Alaska Cruise – 2012 – Part III – Ketchikan, Still

The previous post got us off the ground (nice segue, eh?), and we rejoin the narrative up in the air, and looking at a nice view.

This last one seemed primed for some manipulation (all these were done using the Topaz Suite I mentioned before)

I snapped away like a maniac on a mission to . . . to . . . well, to snap away like a maniac.  The SmugMug album has many, many photos taken from the air, as befitting a maniac succeeding in his mission. 

However, I’ll only choose a few to showcase here (still probably more than most people care for).

On the shore, in the above photo, near the center-bottom, you can see sea lions (or seals) on the beach.  There will be better shots of them later, on the return leg of the flight. 

A couple of things about flying.  It is noisy (as heard on the video), but each person is wearing ear cuffs, and there is either music playing, or the pilot is describing stuff around us.  Each one of us is also miked, and speaking interrupts the music, so you can interact with the pilot (for example, to ask stupid questions designed to lower her opinion of the guy sitting in the back).

Time passes pretty quickly, and soon we were at our destination.

That’s right!  We were going to land on that lake, and not only that, get out and walk around in the middle of the lake.  Well . . . not the lake proper, but the smaller of the two islands visible on the lower right quadrant of the above picture.

You can’t properly see it on this photo (but it’s clear in the SmugMug album’s full size photos), but that little dark spot near the bottom third of the photo, on the water . . . it’s the reflection of another plane ahead of us.  The plane itself is also visible against the trees, just under the wing strut joint (a little red speck).  Click on the photo to open up the larger version of it in SmugMug.

I should mention . . . that was one of the smoothest landings Melisa or I have ever experienced.  In fact, I could not tell when we touched down.  But don’t take my word for it . . . watch the movie.  It’s almost 5 minutes long, but if you are just interested in the landing, go to about the 2:oo minute mark.

So, here we are, on this little island.  Guess what I did?

Yeah; I took a few pictures.  After a while, I heard the other plane take off.  Guess what I did?

The pilot . . . oh, screw it!  That’s too awkward.   I don’t know her very well, but . . . .

Meanwhile, Michelle had been busy snapping pictures of the other couples.  Finally, she asked me if we wanted any pictures taken.  Now . . . people who know me, and a number have that misfortune, know I don’t like my picture taken.  Even less, I don’t like people messing with my stuff.  Not because I’m that jealous of it, but because they generally don’t know what they are doing. 

But . . . Michelle’s a pilot.  She pushes levers, turns dials, reads gauges, flicks switches . . . in comparison, my D7000 should be a snap to operate.   And it was.

Of course, I’m not going to clearly show what I look like . . . I’m much more compassionate than people give me credit for. 

The lighting kept changing as the sun played hide-and-seek with passing clouds.  Many, many photos were taken, and I only shared a few in the SmugMug album, and even less here.  But enough to make it worth your while to check them out. 

There are a number of shots of the above view, each with slightly different lighting.  I just could not decide between them all.

But, eventually it was time to leave. 

As I looked back at the little piece of land, it was interesting to ponder that of all the places in the world, Melisa and I stood on that little island, on an inland lake, on a large island in the Alexander Archipelago, in Alaska. 

We’ll probably never set foot there again, but for a brief moment, we truly were “away from the things of man” . . . well . . . except for the plane, my stuff, and, you know, the other people there.

Here is a video of the take-off from the lake, and a bit of flying.

One thing that happened that did not please me was that some people changed places . . . Melisa ended up in the middle seat.  Had I realized what the arrangement was going to be, I would have sat with her.  I still feel bad about it.

And here a few things we saw (a lot more in SmugMug).

. . . did you notice the eagles loitering about?  Click on the picture to see it in SmugMug.

I did not make a movie of the landing.  But the pictures turned out nice.

Both Melisa and I think the taking of this little adventure was well worth the money, and would highly recommend others do the same.

We walked back to the ship, but did not embark.  We wanted to walk around town a bit, and do some shopping.   As we walked toward the shopping district, you guessed it . . . I snapped some pictures.

An example of the shops . . .

Basically, the place is a huge shopping center.   We did walk around a lot, but all the nifty places we had read about and planned to visit . . . not really all that striking or photo-worthy.  I did snap a picture of some salmon (post-spawning) waiting to die.

We got back to the ship, and ate.  Then we snacked as we waited for departure. 

Here is the plane again . . . note how the gangplank is almost level with the floating dock. 

High tide . . . time for us to leave.

I kept snapping away . . .

Planes occasionally passed us up.

And then . . . what’s that?

Goodbye Ketchikan.  We were the last cruise of the season.  People were literally closing up shop as we left.  As I continued eating, shooting pictures, and watching scenery pass by, I looked forward to Tracy Arm fjord, and Juneau. 

For now, thanks for visiting, and for them who be interested, the SmugMug Album (HERE) covers all the photos from Ketchikan and the flying tour.   Some of you might enjoy exploring the album for photos not included here.

. . . or not.

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