KETCHIKAN , five hundred miles north of Seattle, is Alaska's "first city," and as the first port of call for many cruise ships, its historic downtown, wedged between water and forested mountains, becomes saturated in summer with elderly tourists. Beyond the souvenir shopping it can be a delight, built into steep hills and partly propped on wooden pilings, with boardwalks, wooden staircases and totem poles dotted throughout.

By 1886, white settlers had opened the first of dozens of canneries in what was soon to be the "salmon capital of the world." Forests of cedar, hemlock and spruce, which had provided timber for Tlingit homes and totems, also fed the town's sawmills. The timber and fishing industries have declined, and with the closure of the antiquated pulp mill in 1997 the town's economy is in a state of flux.

The state's fourth largest city is a strong contender for the nation's wettest; annual precipitation averages 165 inches. The tourist board shrugs it off as "liquid sunshine" and, indeed, Ketchikan's perennial drizzle and sporadic showers won't spoil your visit