Alaska is famous for its Salmon with King Salmon being on top of the list. Its waters are also home to Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Coho Salmon, Sokeye Salmon as well as Halibut. But there is one species of fish, which falls into the shellfish category, that is a must to eat whenever in Alaska. That shelffish being Dungeness Crab.
The largest and most flavorful Dungenese Crab is the one from Alaska.
So when we saw an excursions being offered on the ship called Crab Feast, we did not hesistate to sign up.
After leaving the Saxman Totem Pole Park, the tour bus drove us to the George's Inlet Lodge.
While the trip to the location was a short one, getting down to the lodge was slightly longer. l
Once we were down, we had to contend with this huge black bear.
Fortunately, our friend knew how to deal with ferocious bears and was able to help us get past him.
We then saw signs which ascertained we were getting closer and closer to our final destination.
Our final destination.......
"The Lodge is in a remote location just south of the town of Ketchinak. It is a historic building, built in the 1940's which at one time served as an old cannery bunkhouse. When the cannery closed in 1970, two local businessmen undertook the huge job of moving the lodge 90 miles up the George Inlet waterway to its present location at the site of an old gold mine."
The featured meal at George's Inlet Lodge is a salad in homemade Asian dressing, steaming hot Dungeness Crab, (all you can eat!!) and a slice of rich, smooth cheesecake, smothered in Alaskan blueberries for dessert.
While I forgot to take a photograph of the scrumptious dessert, I did take a photo of the Dungeness Crab.
Take my word for it when I say the Alaskan Dungeness Crabs are the sweetest and meatiest crabs available and if you can get your hands on them, indulge! 😉
The location of this lodge is very scenic therefor, lending itself to tons of photographs.
On the way back up....yes we did have to climb those steps upwards as well.....
I came across this rapidly flowing water, hence stopped to play with my shutter speed for a few shots, before moving upwards.
While waiting for others to get back on the bus, clicked some more.
The bus drove us through town for one last look before boarding the ship.
We even drove through the iconic Ketchikan tunnel.
"The Ketchikan 274 foot tunnel, (according to Ripley’s Believe it or Not newspaper column in 1967) was said to be the only one in the world that could be driven around, over and through. The Tunnel, completed in 1954, eased access to Newtown; relieving traffic on the front street in anticipation of increased traffic from the timber industry being opened in Tongass forest."
In front of the visitors center there is a monument called "The Rock".
"The Rock tells the story of how Alaska's First City came to be. Six of the seven figures on the sculpture represent prominent archetypes in the city's history- a fisherman, a miner, a logger, a bush pilot, a frontierswoman, a Native drummer. The seventh represents an actual historical figure- Chief Johnson, a Tlingit who stands on top of The Rock, symbolizing the fact that his people were the first to make their home in SE Alaska."
Once aboard the ship, one last few clicks before moving on.
And so we are off to our next destination.
But before leaving Ketchikan totally behind here's another look at George's Inlet Lodge.