Learning the Meaning of Totem Poles, Saxman Totem Park, Ketchikan, Alaska

During our brief stop in Ketchikan, Alaska, we visited the Totem Heritage Centre – housing the  learned about the various types of totem poles and its history.
largest collection of salvaged totem parts in Alaska.

With his strong desire to learn about indigenous cultures, J. suggested that we hailed a taxi taking us to the Saxman Native Village.

This is a Tlingit village with about 500 residents.

We purchased our admission ticket from the park entrance station and the young man there was very helpful and patiently explaining to us where to go and the history of the village.

There was a collection of twenty totem poles, each with a different story.

We visited the clan house where between 6 – 7 families shared their dwelling place together.










Now the clan house is used as a theater where performances and dances are held for visitors.

We also met a totem pole master carver.

We learned a lot about the totem poles, its significance in the native traditions and their' use as a tool for passing the native's oral history and stories from generation to generation. It was fantastic and informative!

J. enjoyed meeting and talking to the two indigenous young men and learning from them first hand about their cultures and customs.

Types of Totem Poles

It was interesting learning about the different types of Totem poles at the Totem Heritage Centre and at the Saxman Village.

Carved to honour a person, special events & occasion, totem poles were carved for reasons as follows:

      Memorial Poles -   To remember an important clan member who passed away. The person chosen to succeed  the deceased leader could not assume leadership until he had commissioned a totem pole honouring the events and lineage of his predecessor. 

Shame or Ridicule Poles - A pole erected publicly to discredit one who broke his words or behaved dishonourably  e.g. the Totem pole we saw at the Saxman Native Village where a Totem pole was originally made to honour Seward whose carved figure was sitting prominently on top of the pole.

 However,  as he nor his descendants failed to repay their debts to the people, the nose and ears of his figure were later painted red to shame him for his debts owed .

House Posts or Pillars  - carved with family history. Could be a part of the clan house structure.

Heraldlic or Crest Poles - Placed in front of a clan house with the crests displaying the matrilineal designation. Crests also showed geographical origin, family events and history.

Mortuary Poles - When a person of high status died.


















We thoroughly enjoyed our tour of the native village and learned a lot about the culture and customs of the people indigenous to this area.

     

R.T.
Saxman Totem Park

Ketchikan, Alaska

USA

4
      

Day 3 Alaska Cruise - A Brief Stop in Ketchikan, Alaska

Day 3, Ketchikan, Alaska, USA

This was our first time docking on this cruise and getting off the ship on this Alaskan cruise. We were pretty excited.

I was all ready and got all my clothes ready the night before. This is Alaska so we need to be well prepared for the weather.

I was up by 6am.


Looking out of the balcony of our cabin, I saw high mountains ranges covered in dense green forests with their tops shrouded by misty clouds.

View of the shore of Ketchikan from the balcony of our cruise ship. 

As our ship approaching the shore of Ketchikan, the first city of Alaska, it dawn on me that my travel dream of visiting Alaska, North America’s furthest state, has been realized.





We had only from 7 a.m - 2 p.m in Ketchikan, Alaska.

We were glad that from where our cruise ship had docked, it was just steps away from downtown Ketchikan, Alaska.

Downtown Ketchikan, minutes away from our cruise ship.

Instead of signing up for a tour that costed from a hundred US dollars to $799.00, we decided that we would do a self guided tour of this frontier town.

The visitors’ centre located right at the dock gave out good maps and clear  information of where to go around town.

Creek Street, Ketchikan, Alaska

We followed the map and our first stop was Creek Street – the most infamous red light district of Ketchikan.

The creek that runs along this town of about 9000 residents was the hub of the Tlingit people, one of the five main tribes of the native people living in Alaska, who used to gather here each summer as their fishing camp.

Walking along the creek, we saw numerous fish swimming below the shallow clear water!

Creek Street, Ketchikan, Alaska - listed as one of the National Historic Places in the U.S.

This is a pretty part of the town with houses dotting along the creek as colourful as its past.

Star House on Creek Street, Ketchikan, Alaska

We saw many houses on Creek Street with plaques explaining the history of the buildings such as this one on the right called "Star House", one of the oldest buildings and the only registered brothel in Alaska.

Ketchikan was called the most wicked city in USA, due to its prostitution and gambling.

A lot of the not so desirable activities took place in these houses located on Creek Street in the early 1900's,












Visitors to Creek Street can take a tour in one of these houses and learn about the business that made this street infamous.

At the door of the Dolly's House, a lady dressed as one of the madam's in the past beckoned us to go inside for a tour of the house.

Ketchikan was racially divided in the early 1900's. Japanese Americans opened the New York Cafe on the other side of the town, This Japanese family was interned and whisked away during the WWII.

After Creek Street, we visited two native culturral places - the Totem Heritage Centre,  housing the largest collection of salvaged totem parts in Alaska and the Saxman Native Village.

From the knowledgeable museum guide and staff at the village, we  learned a lot about the natives' cultures and the various types of totem poles and its history.



We even had time doing a little bit of shopping in town. J. bought some Alaskan beer and I got a fury headband and leopard print gloves in case I would need warmer accessories for this trip.

It made me very happy when J. said to us,” I like the cruise trip. It exceeds beyond my expectations.”

I am grateful to God for answering our prayers. We have not travelled together as a family for a little while and this is a great trip to get reconnected and a chance to catch up and talk!

R.T.

Ketchikan, Alaska

USA

Day 2 of Our Alaska Cruise - A Full Day of Sailing in the Inside Passage to Alaska

I was surprised that J. was up at 8 am when I was up. Usually, he sleeps in on holidays, so this was a pleasant surprise. Without the internet keeping young people up, they have enough sleep and could get up early!

We had a quick breakfast at the Lido Deck and went for our stretch exercise class. The class was held at the fitness centre and it was full of people with their exercise mats spreading out on the floor already by the time we got there.

J. went to do his own fitness routine while we participated with an instructor telling us what to. It was a good 30 minutes stretching exercise session preparing us for our excursion tomorrow.

After exercises, we went for a hearty breakfast in the dining area. Since the cruise ship was sailing along the inside passage of the glaciers,  The scenery outside was spectacular with high mountains along the way.

It was nice enjoying delicious food and chatting with J while enjoying the beautiful scenery. However, I wish, J’s topic for conversation can be more diverse. I could not believe that J. has an intense interest on politics and the subjects of politics and the media's biases do come up a lot.

We went to a presentation on dog races in Alaska and learned a lot about the culture and customs of this vast state.

There were many activities to enjoy on the cruise ship. We also went for a violin performance at the Lincoln Centre stage on Deck 3.









 It was standing room only and we did stand throughout the entire 30-40 minute performance.

Classical music performances on the Lincoln Centre Stage

Tonight was the first gala evening on the cruise ship when everyone dressed a little formal than usual.  Since we were all dressed up, we went for a family portrait.  The photographer was very good helping us to post and captured the true moments of our interaction.

We watched a great song and
dance show at the main stage before dinner.

A colourful song and dance evening show on the cruise ship's main stage

The show was colourful with beautiful costumes and familiar tunes of the 1960’s and 70’s.  

We enjoyed the show very much!

Rack of Lamb served in the fine dining room

After the evening show, it was around 8pm and  we proceeded  to the dining room for some fine dining experience.

I had marinated duck breast

The selection of food offered in the dining room was much more sophisticated.


We were served some delicious dishes. My hubby ordered leg of lamb while I ordered duck breast and J had steak and shrimps.

J. loved his Steak and shrimps dish

I was glad that J. also enjoyed this fine dining experience.

The B.B. King Blues Club - my husband's favourite entertainment on board

My husband loves blue music and there was a B.B. Kings All Star Band playing at the Blues club on board. Enjoying the music tremendously, we got on our feet and danced to our hearts’ content. 

Enjoying my tea on the Lido Deck after an exercise class

God, thank you for this wonderful opportunity spending time with J. I pray that your holy spirit will come upon us, especially E. and  J. so that they can be filled with love, joy and hope.

Thank you for this great holiday when our family can spend some quality time and have fun together!


R.T.
On a cruise to Alaska
USA

First Day of Our Alaska Cruise Trip on the Westerdam from Vancouver

Cruise to Alaska – Day 1

I got up in the morning trying to finish everything I need to do while I still had wifi access before embarking on the next leg of our travel.

J. was asking about which plane we would be flying and where we would be staying in Alaska. Then he got upset about the flight itinerary and for staying in Alaska for too long. He was upset with us for not consulting with him about the trip plan. Yes, we could have done better.

After E. and I went for a walk, we checked out and went for breakfast at this local mom & pop diner. It was good except J. was still upset. I was disappointed that E. left as soon as he was done breakfast. I wished he could stay longer. I noticed that every time I planned to share God’s word with my sons when we meet, there was always some arguments broke out and I ended up not able to do it.

I was determined to share a bible message with our grown children before we parted our way this time.

After breakfast, we took a cab to the cruise terminal, met E. in front of the Vancouver Convention Centre.

My husband and I gave E. and J. each a red pocket, then I shared the story of how the 10 lepers were healed but only 1 came back to thank Jesus. I shared with them how thankful I was that both our children took  time and flew to celebrate my birthday with me. I got so emotional that I cried a little.

Vancouver waterfront, Canada

I have been praying that J. and E. could reconnect and develop a better relationship, but this didn’t seem to happen. I do not understand what’s happening but I just keep on trusting God that He knows what He is doing.

E. saw us good bye and we even had time to play a trivia game set up close by the boarding gate. 

E. walked us all the way until we reached the US border security. That was nice of him. 

We checked in at 2:30pm and it didn’t take long before we were in our room – stateroom 6044 and we upgraded it to a room with a balcony!

After unpacking and going through the safety drill, we went for our first dinner on this cruise.

There was a good variety of nutritious food from which to choose. I was glad we could eat healthy on this trip. We chose rainbow trout, ribs and salad. It was delicious and healthy! We sat and ate at the Lido Market, a buffet area, and enjoyed the ocean view.

We went around and explored the Westerdam cruise ship. J. showed me how to take pictures from a good angle in the gallery area. That was fun!

Attending a presentation on our cruise ship on day 1 of our cruise

We tried to find out the programs offered this evening and went to a Ted talk style presentation about Alaska. 

The cruise director gave an informative presentation on the State of Alaska

We learned something about this huge state with about 730,000 inhabitants, same size as Seattle while J. explored the ship on his own.

The impression I got from the  Holland America cruise ship is that it’s a little older ship than the others, but it does pffer good educational workshops. It seems to attract a different crowd than the other bigger cruise ships.

Beautiful sunset view from our cruise ship heading to Alaska

For this evening’s entertainment, we watched the Walt Disney documentary, Bears, in the Main Stage theatre. It was an interesting show about how an Alaskan bear mother working hard to keep her two young  pups survived their first year. Very educational and entertaining!

Without free access to the internet on board, we all went to sleep by 12am. It was a nice break from all the  social media, a wonderful change!

We look forward a great cruise with our loved ones to Alaska!

R.T.

Onboard of a North bound Cruise Ship

 to Alaska, USA

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