My first day in Ketchikan, Alaska.
It is quiet here. Peaceful. The feeling in the air makes you wonder if your life back home is moving at an entirely too fast pace. The locals here seem to make a living directly from the land. There are fishing boats everywhere. There are timber mills sitting right in people's backyards, and repair shops for the commercial fleets running out of the harbors. Everything seems to have a specific, rugged place.
That is... until I got into town.
The Cruise Ship Collision
This small island of about 8,000 people has one main road that travels up from around half the island, with a large port centered at the lower section.
I have never seen cruise ships as big as the ones I saw today. From Disney to the massive Princess cruise liners, there were five large ships all parked at the exact same time. Thousands of tourists were walking the small downtown area. It was a massive, concentrated tourist haven dropped right into the middle of the wilderness.
But in some sense, there are interesting tourism attractions here that seamlessly mingle with local services. I decided to stop in at a local seaport stocked with seaplanes. These floatplanes supply mail, cargo, and transportation to small, secluded local villages and to the many islands in the area that have no airports and no bridges.
One of those intermingled tourism options is a one-hour flight through the Misty Fjords National Monument.
Flying the Misty Fjords
Misty Fjords is over 6 million acres of mostly uninhabited land. It is a massive rainforest with mountain fjords that spike violently into the sky, completely surrounded by water and wildlife. Besides a few primitive cabins and a restaurant, the land is pure forest mixed with massive areas of peat moss swamps and beautiful rivers and lakes. There are bears, mountain goats, eagles, and a host of wildlife living out there.
We took the trip. It’s one of those things you see on TV and dream of doing.
Sitting on that plane, rolling footage out the window, was a massive reminder of how incredibly lucky I am to be given the opportunity to see such pristine and beautiful land. My four-year-old daughter was so excited to ride in a floatplane... ironically, she fell asleep 15 minutes after takeoff and missed the majority of it. But my two-year-old son stayed wide awake, constantly pointing out the windows. He occasionally fussed about having to sit in his seat, but for the most part, he had the time of his life.
I was able to capture some incredible 4K nature footage that I know will sell well. As a stock video contributor for Adobe Stock and NatureFootage, licensing these specific, high-quality environmental clips help pay for my camera gear and keep this journey moving.
The Pull of Alaska
After we landed, I spent some time talking to our pilot.
He told me he came up here for a commercial fishing job in his twenties... and just never left. He is in his sixties now. He told me he loves nature, and this—this island, these fjords—is true nature.
You always hear people talk about how incredible Alaska is, but seeing it for yourself puts it into an entirely different perspective. One day here, and you don't want to leave. It feels like home. We are staying about 30 minutes up the coast near a fishing marina, and the people here have a distinct sense of peace emanating out of them.
It is enough to make you severely second-guess the Florida lifestyle.
The Ocean Calls: Orcas and the Salmon Run
I hear there are humpback whales and orcas in the water here right now. I’ve been looking for someone to put me in the water with them, but I haven't had any luck yet. The dive shops here just don't cater to that type of wild, pelagic diving.
But now that I know where the boats are and how to get here, I am already thinking about hauling my own dive gear up here next time and making friends with some locals. Diving with orcas? Count me in.
While I didn't bring my heavy scuba gear on this trip, there is absolutely no possible way I am coming to Alaska and not getting in the water to look at some fish. So, my immediate plan is to freedive the coast.
I’ve already seen a host of wildlife just offshore. In some areas, the cliffs drop straight down into the ocean. The drop-offs hit immediate depth, providing perfect room for schools of massive fish. There is an abundance of salmon running right now, which means there are bears eating fish right off the shoreline.
I talked to some locals today who knew exactly where to go to see the bears eating. That is at the top of my list for tomorrow. I am also determined to find a spot to jump in with the schools of salmon and capture some raw underwater footage of the run.
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