Family Fun in Ketchikan, Alaska

Our cruise ship docked in Ketchikan, Alaska on Tuesday, June 28. If you're visiting Ketchikan for the first time, a guided tour is a great choice. But this was my fifth time in Ketchikan, not my first. It was Steve and Trevor's third time. During previous visits, we'd seen the outstanding Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show, visited the fabulous Southeast Alaska Discovery Center, and been in and out of all the shops along Creek Street. They're my top recommendations when visiting Ketchikan. 

Ketchikan is a very walkable city, making it perfect for an Urban Adventure Quest. But there aren't any Quests in Alaska (so far). We've completed Quests in 20 cities, so we have a pretty good idea of what one entails. So we thought it would be fun to try to write our own. The three of us set out, along with Mom, Uncle Don, and Aunt Vickie, to start making up questions. 

With all the experience we've had, it was easy for us to identify the artwork, buildings, signs, and other permanent features that would work well as questions. 

The hard part was actually writing those questions. 

  

    

We grossly underestimated the amount of time it would take to map out a route, write challenging questions, and test and retest those questions until we were sure they were accurate. We also grossly underestimated our interest in doing all of this in the rain. I have even more respect for the folks at Urban Adventure Quest for the work that goes into creating each one! 

As the rain increased, our success at thinking up challenges decreased. We popped into the small museum at the Ketchikan Fire Department to look around. 

Then we made a much longer visit to Tongass Historical Museum. What a neat place!

  

The rain got heavier as the day went on. This wasn't a surprise, but it dampened (haha!) our interest in taking extensive notes and photos. 

  

We had a really fun time in Ketchikan. Our next port of call was Juneau, another city we'd visited many times before. Tomorrow I'll tell you what we did there.