The Aleutian Ballard was featured on the first season of Deadliest Catch. It has since been outfitted for tourists to experience the adventure.
The fisherman had fascinating stories about their dangerous days on the Bering Sea, and their personal testimonies are what made this special.
We traveled in calmer waters.
Along the way they demonstrated and talked about their jobs. Here he’s baiting hooks.
Ya never know what you might pull out of the sea.
Whatever came up went into tanks for close up viewing…
...and handling
Next we went to a spot on land & water belonging to Alaskan natives for the very best eagle encounter ever. Nest
Fish on! The eagles were diving and fishing right next to the boat.
In-coming…
Strike! Sorry it’s blurry.
In flight.
Perched pair.
Snagging a crab pot
Winching in the pot. This one had King Crabs
Anyone want to hold one? Mouth parts up close.
Second pot had multiple critters.
Snow crab
Box crab
Blue crab
Escargot
Starfish eating a scallop.
Pulling up some baskets. Inside we have….
Prawns…tiger and spotted
Hermit crabs
Launching the baskets again
Back in Ketchikan we had time to tour the town a little
Totem
Historic Creek Street
Looking down Creek Street…a series of little shops
Back aboard ship….a view of various transportation modes
As we slip out of Ketchikan we sit down to enjoy our only sunset in Alaska.
Bear with me now…it lasted a looonng time.
Forgive me…I really like sunsets.
Ok, last one.
In the morning we went under the Lions Gate Bridge into the harbor at Vancouver.
View of Victoria Island (I think). Wished we’d had time to explore, but had an early flight.
Approaching the dock.
Had a clear view of Mt. Ranier as we flew over. People on the other side of the plane could see Mt. St. Helens.
Ok, that’s all of Alaska folks. But don’t worry, I’ll be heading out in my RV in a few weeks.
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