We were picked up by Luanne and driven by bus to the Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary where we met our guide Ella. We walked casually through the forest while learning about the surrounding area and wildlife. We saw some eagles on our walk and eventually came upon the boardwalk near the salmon hatchery where we happened upon a black bear with its recent catch of salmon. After being mesmerized with the bear we walked further on the boardwalk to spy a ton of eagles perched in the trees and along areas in the low tide. Many full grown and juvenile eagles were spotted. Next we headed to watch a totem being carved them onto the blacksmithing area. Because we spent extra time with the bear we had a tad less time to wander around the grounds before boarding the bus again and heading back to the port. I thoroughly enjoyed the educational aspects of the excursion as well as the live appearances from the wildlife. It was an intimate tour with 11 of us total plus Ella. We really enjoyed the beautiful day outside along with wildlife spotting! read more

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We took the rainforest totem pole salmon hatchery excursion. Emily our guide was excellent. She was very thorough in explaining things to us. We also got to take pictures along the way. As we approached the hatchery, Emily was informed there was a black bear eating salmon in the area. We ended up watching the female bear eating, resting, catching salmon, and walking next to us ( in a safe distance of course). It was such a wonderful bonus experience! The gift store was well stocked, and price was reasonable. Highly recommend! read more

Cool rainforest rail. Jillian was an excellent host. We saw a bear along the way. The sawmill, totem carving and knifesmith demos were very good. read more

Went zip lining with Edwin and Stevie 10/10 they were the best guides ever! Knew what they were doing and made us first timers feel very comfortable and safe read more

We had a nature walk excursion booked through Princess while in Ketchikan. This was an amazing experience, our tour guide was very knowledgeable and great with our kids! We saw lots of eagles, slugs, salmon and bear tracks, unfortunately no bears but still a great experience. The nature was beautiful and unlike anywhere I had seen before. We would definitely do this again if we are back in Ketchikan! read more

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We did the Rainforest Wildlife Sanctuary and Totem Park tour with Kawanti Adventures. It was a great experience, highly recommended. We talked to the totem carver, were fortunate to see two black bears and enjoyed the guided tour through the rainforest. Our guide, Katie, was very knowledge about the rainforest and was an enthusiastic guide. read more

Great tour of the flora and fauna of the region. Justin was a fantastic guide, giving a very entertaining and informative tour of the rain forest and the amazing ecology of this area. We were too early in the season for salmon or bear sightings, but saw plenty of eagles and lots of other birds. Just the forest itself was awesome and the hike is easy enough for anyone to enjoy. Having a chance to meet with a local native Alaskan totem pole carver gave me a real appreciation of the art as well. Would highly recommend (and ask for Justin)! read more

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We booked this excursion last minute just to do something on our shore day. I'm so glad we did! Our tour guide was Elijah, and he was so very knowledgeable. I learned a lot about trees and the forest ecosystem. I learned about wildlife and salmon. We saw a bear fishing in the stream! Cute little gift shop with good coffee and clean restrooms. Highly recommend! read more

Amazing tour, last minute got to see a black bear catching some salmon! Our tour guides Cassie and (forgot her name oops) were very informative and helpful! read more

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If you visit this place, you will remember it a lifetime. If you were ever a fan of National Geographic -- where you can see wildlife up close and personal -- then this is the tour for you. The salmon run up creeks along the Alaska coast to spawn. Actually, they swim, but they call it a "salmon run" for some reason. The salmon do not disappoint. They are there by the thousands -- up and down the coastline as far as I know. At the ARS, you walk along a wooden platform (don't run!), about 15 to 20 feet about the creek, at the terminus is a waterfall -- the salmon are trapped! By the thousands! The water is only a few inches deep. And, not to disappoint, Brown Bears (which outnumber humans, by the way, on that island) are feasting! Momma bears and her cubs walk through the creek and pick through the juiciest morsels, eating the parts they like and discarding the rest. (Yes, lots of dead, mutilated salmon fill the air with an aroma you have to experience -- not unpleasant when we were there.) Shout out to Mickie and Loki - our guides - they were knowledgeable, kind, protective, and were never annoyed at our inane questions. (My video of bears catching salmon was too big to upload -- but amazing!) read more

Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary - An owl, rescued. - Tours Near Me - Ketchikan, Alaska

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Our original tour in Ketchikan, a float plane trip to Misty Fjords was cancelled ( two other float planes crashed a couple of weeks earlier!) so we were looking for another excursion. BEARS! Heck we've seen lots of whales in Hawaii, but BEARS is what we wanted to see. Shortly after getting to the sanctuary, we hear a loud noise.....two bear cubs high up in a nearby tree calling for their mom! This lasted for maybe 5 minutes. Then mom came to the bottom of the tree. The two bear cubs climbed down, then they all went to the nearby stream - caught salmon and ate them on logs. WOW! My cell phone video of the bear cubs is like a nature TV show! They have a raised board walk over the woods by a stream where bears like to feed. You can observe all this from a safe distance. read more

Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary - Bear Cubs! - Tours Near Me - Ketchikan, Alaska

Last minute tour booked and it was worth it! Pouring down rain, free ponchos, and an experience we'll talk about for a long time! We saw a number of mama and baby bears, learned all about their habitats, there's a fish hatchery nearby, plus the sanctuary had a bald eagle, red tailed Hawk and a great horned owl. There's also totem poles and a craftsman there to talk about design, building, and the totem pole lore. Coffee and souvenir shop as well. Our guides were personable, fun, and made the tour informative. read more

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This was a wonderful experience for our kids. They got to see several bears and meet a beautiful eagle and a hawk. It's nature's wonderland. The sounds and the flora are amazing. We have gone here three times with all our family and they all loved it. This was the best bear viewing experience that we had in Alaska. The employees are amazing and we will all return on our next trip read more

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Ben was an amazing guide!! We learned so much from him about the plant life, wild life and local tribes and totem history from him and Kevin (carver). We saw birds of prey that live at the sanctuary permanently and we were not expecting to see bears but we got to see 2 and at close view. Thank you so much to the staff and everything being done to preserve this sanctuary. Ben, you and my husband talked for awhile about extracurricular activities and we are the family that lives next to the Shenandoah National park with bears that visit our home. Feel free to touch base and get more first hand knowledge on those experiences we take pride in teaching and we respect. read more

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Patrick was our guide and he was extremely knowledgeable and spoke well. His pace was perfect and I learned a lot from him. 1) There's no soil in this rainforest. Vegetation grow from dead vegetation. 2) There are basically 4 trees in there. 3) Beer poop galore! 4) Don't eat the berries even though they're edible. I don't want to spoil any more surprises, I'll leave the rest to Patrick. Bring water with you because the walk itself is about an hour or so. and please don't touch the slugs! read more

Emily was our tour guide. She did such a great job. She is very knowledgeable of the native plants and animals. My husband and I are from Arizona and loved seeing all the trees and beautiful plants. Emily was great!! read more

Dreamy views and unreal nature experiences. Be prepared for rain and don't forget to tip your guide! read more

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Our guide Kristen shared not only information, but peace and joy as she led us through the forest sanctuary. The slow, reflective pace was perfect for my parents (in their 80s) and very refreshing as we enjoyed the forest beauty, fresh air, and wildlife. Psalm 96 summarizes the experience well. One-on-one time at the end with authentic totem pole carvers was once in a lifetime. This was the highlight of our trip to Alaska. read more

Visited: September 7, 2019 We booked the "Rainforest Wildlife Sanctuary, Eagles & Totems" excursion through Expedia and met up with the driver at berth 2 next to the Visitors Center and in front of the large bronze statue in downtown Ketchikan. The meet-up location was super convenient as it's a couple minutes walk from the cruise terminal. The drive from the pier to sanctuary wasn't long, about around 20 minutes. Our driver was narrating general tidbits of Ketchikan and pointing out spots of interests throughout our drive. Once we've arrived at the sanctuary, we were greeted by "Red" who was our guide for the excursion. For the next 1.5 hours or so, we were on a nature walk and Red was very energetic in sharing information and providing knowledge in all the plant/wild life in the area. Our walk was very relaxing and fun; there were tons of salmon swimming in the river and we spotted a couple of black bears as well. One was just meandering through the open field and another one was just going to town with all the salmon. We were also lucky enough to see some sea otters and a couple of rescued reindeer! At the end of the nature walk, we entered the raptor center where was a hawk and a bald eagle. The birds were so majestic and it was wonderful to see them up close. We were also provided with a lot of information as well on the rescued birds and how they rehabilitate them in the center. There was also a small gift shop exiting the raptor center where they provide you with complimentary tea/coffee and some snacks. It was lovely and a pleasant surprise. Highly recommended for families and nature lovers. read more

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We had a great tour while we were in port on a cruise. The company picked us up at the Ward Cove terminal and we had a private tour for the 4 of us. Megan was our driver and gave us some great facts as we drove down the the Sanctuary. Amy was our tour guide and she did a great job. She was fun, informative and engaging. While on the tour we were lucky enough to see several wild eagles We stopped by the Raptor Center and got an up close look at a Bald Eagle, Red Tail Hawk and a Peregrine Falcon, while learning more about the work of the sanctuary. We ended the tour speaking with a local craftsman continuing the heritage and culture of hand carving totem poles. After the tour we had the option to return to the dock or get dropped off in town. Luanne was our return drive and was equally friendly and informative. This is a great operation run by a friendly team. Thanks to all, especially Amy! read more

Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary - Sitka the Bald Eagle in the Raptor Center. - Tours Near Me - Ketchikan, Alaska

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This was our last stop in Alaska on the cruise. Our tour guide took us through this beautiful rainforest. It was rainy and cool, but made the experience better. We got to see baby bears with the mama, and their den. We were so close to them in their natural habitat. We got to see some eagles as well and an owl! They even had reindeer, which we got to pet and feed! At the end of the tour, we met a man who was carving giant totem poles. We got to watch him work on one and look at some he had already made. read more

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We rented a car and drove there on our own. The tour guide who we ran into in the parking lot was friendly and told us what tours they still had open and available that day. She told us to feel free to walk around and if we want to book a tour to inquire with the lady inside. Well the lady inside was too busy to greet us, we asked her about your options and she was very curt and rude. We saw a bear from the window of the store and got excited, she scolded us not to run after it when we didn't even move from her register. We wanted to buy souvenirs to take home but put them back and just bought one hat instead. We were grateful to find a locally shop in town where we bought gifts for our 'ohana back home. The tours and guides seem great but the blonde lady at the register could give a smile and at least try to fake being nice and polite to people who want to spend money there. read more

Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary - Tours Near Me - Ketchikan, Alaska

I wanted to see bears and lucky for me the Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary provided me with the opportunity to see plenty! Walking up and down the elevated wooden platforms was fun. Trying to be quiet and spot bears while trying to be fast enough to get to their locations was a fun game. Some of the bears would pop up and then quickly disappear but others would stick around for a long time, providing us opportunity to watch, observe, and follow them as they tried to catch fish. The river was full of fish but somehow the bears still had trouble catching them. On the far side of the walkway we also spotted eagles and seals. We then went to check out the amazing totem poles, a bunch already completed and standing and one in the process of being carved. There were also a few birds of prey on site as well as a gift shop with some souvenirs and snacks. read more

Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary - Tours Near Me - Ketchikan, Alaska

I did a naturalist tour with Kawanti Adventures and Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary on July 2019. We walked in a trail inside the forest with a naturalist - the lady really knew about the surroundings! No bear sighting was promised since it was the start of the salmon season, but we saw a juvenile bear full of energy walking in the river, very (VERY) close to us. Our guide knew a lot about the surrounding forest,fauna, flora and the history of the place. We saw lots of eagles, kingfisher, red cedars, a huge salmon going up the river... We also stopped at the old wood mill and we talked with a native that was carving a totem pole. After our tour we stopped by the raptors rehabilitation center where they take care of wounded birds we saw a red tail hawk and an injured bald eagle. All the staff was friendly and in a very good mood. The forest is located 20 minutes from the port, and we went by Van from Port to the o the ARS headquarters. The headquarter/store has excellent restrooms and very cool merchandise for an affordable price. Our driver was Sandy and our guide was Amanda - very nice ladies. I reserved my adventure when the ship was arriving at the Port and I paid around $ 80. Negative point: There is a zipline with people screaming very close to the trail. What an amazing idea... :-( I would recommend booking an excursion through this company. read more

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This was a great stop on our tour of Alaska. My family took a Disney cruise to Alaska in August 2018. This was our only excursion in Ketchikan. I loved the natural outdoor beauty at this location. We saw two bears within the forrest and they were amazing. We also saw the salmon jumping up the steps of a nearby hatchery - in some ways I enjoyed that more than the bears because there was more activity. The bears kind of just walked around a little. After the bear walk, we went into a saw mill and learned about totem polls. That was really amazing. I enjoyed that and the gift shop a lot! read more

AKA "Alaska Canopy Adventures" or "Rainforest Canopy & Zipline Adventure" Avoid Ketchikan if you want an Alaskan experience--its mostly geared around selling you STUFF; Glittery STUFF, Fake Alaskan STUFF really made overseas, chachkies, and canned/smoked salmon. If you like that kind of thing, great, but we really wanted an experience and this MADE THE TRIP! Ziplining (You Tube tags: zipline ketchikan) is fast, fun, and safe; I had complete faith in the harness and the great guides. If you do this, you will have a BLAST even if it's raining, which it was for us. We saw bald eagles and even a black bear from our tree stand perches. And we had plenty of laughs, and felt like heros when we made it back down to the gift shop (of course) for (1) complementary hot chocolate & cookies and (2) a digital picture of us on the zipline for $15 [yeah it's steep, but what are you going to do?] A must do! read more

Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary - Our Ride to the Top...a Benz 4WD - Tours Near Me - Ketchikan, Alaska

Gravity, pulleys & great heights, oh my!!! Zip-lining also known as flying fox, zip wire, death slide?? Double U, Tee, Eff I say. But the brave little soldiers that we are kept on at it. With great confidence at our side we were nothing but sure to have fun on this particular excursion. Here at the Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary the guides were really informative as to what we were to expect. Prepped us well with the necessary safety equipment needed and adjusted straps along our bodies that needed tightening or loosening. Even one of our guides helped rescue one of our friends who got stuck in the middle of the line. It was quite entertaining pretending it was a scene from Cliffhanger. Oh, the memories. So as you're soaring through the lush green trees at a height you'd rather not imagine you will take only but a second after the initial fear to let the "Wow-I-must-be-crazy-but-by-golly-this-is-so-much-fun!" thought sink in. You'll realize that this was one adventure you're glad you took. With many lines and different ways for you to maneuver to and from each tree it's like a grown up's very own large scaled playground. Have fun with it. Let go and sky rocket right on through those trees. So exhilarating, so much fun, worth the amount of money spent, Zip-lining...a sport that definitely gets an A in my book! One not to miss especially while you're here in Ketchikan. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4/5 Ambiance - The mood, character, quality, tone, atmosphere. 4/5 Service - Helpful, accommodating, efficient, delivery and speed? 4/5 Food / Merchandise - Quality, taste, presentation. 3/5 Price - Reasonable, inexpensive, high priced? (Based on Irma's review rating rubric - http://static.px.yelp.com/photo/evXt-5kyL-guqoCwxaAxtQ/l read more

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What an amazing and one of a kind experience. I couldn't imagine a more exciting way to view the beauty of Kitchikan. Connor and Kale have an amazing tour. The conversation was easy and fun, the tour felt safe yet still thrilling and they always had wonderful stories and anecdotes to share. A friend who grew up here recommended this and I will now recommend this to anyone I know going. read more

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Sooo cool! Ryleee is super knowledgeable and very friendly. Enjoyed our tour, rain and all. I highly recommend this excursion. They took really good care of us and shared their wealth of knowledge. At the end of the tour we had our fill of the best crab leges we've ever had. read more

Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary - Tours Near Me - Ketchikan, Alaska

The staff is super knowledgable of the surrounding forest and clearly cares about the local ecosystem. Our tour guide was Morgan and she was wonderful! All the staff are friendly and helpful. We went during a heat wave when there wasn't a ton of salmon and still got to see a black bear! (It was uncomfortably close actually, but black bears are pretty chill dudes from what I learned). The spot is absolutely gorgeous and a 20 min drive outside of Ketchikan. If you have the Uber app, there is one driver in the town (when we were there) and her name is Jeri. She was absolutely wonderful and very informative on the towns history. I definitely would recommend booking an excursion through this company. And if you decide to go zip-lining, be sure to ask for Will (tall blonde guy) to be your guide. He is the coolest dude in Ketchikan. read more

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I'm really glad I went on this tour, it just so happened that we got to see bears and eagles both during our excursion. The tour guide (Conner) was excellent AMD I would highly recommend this experience to anyone looking to capture the heart of ketchiken. read more

Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary - Conner!! He was a stellar tour guide and he made for an excellent experience. He was friendly and personable all around a good guy - Tours Near Me - Ketchikan, Alaska

Good times! Some of my family and I went on a zip lining adventure here. So much fun! Highly recommend doing this. Unless you're terrified of heights. The views from each platform that you arrive at has amazing views to enjoy before you zip line your way to the next one. Woo hoo! read more

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Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary was the one dark spot on our otherwise incredible 7-night cruise through Alaska. All along our trip, we encountered friendly, knowledgable people who went the extra mile to share the splendor of the Inner Passage with us, but the "Wildlife Sanctuary & Eagle Center" tour was a complete bust. It started with our driver being 30 minutes late to pick us up from the dock. He was talkative enough driving us to the sanctuary, telling us about things were were driving by, so we thought that we just had a rough start. Arriving, our "naturalist" Jan greeted us asking how we were and I responded "Ready to see bears!" (which is really all we wanted) and she went deadpan, shook her head and said "Oh, not on THIS tour..." Sure enough, our tour was a very short walk through a patch of woods smaller than I have at home and the closest we came to seeing bears was a pile of scat. While I understand the chances of seeing wildlife is hit and miss, the guide's comment and short time in the woods on in a tiny stand of trees guaranteed it. She spent all her time pointing out trees and bushes, many that we have back home, making it awkward by wrapping her legs around trees making a gyrating motion talking about how much she loved them. Ew. In fact, we saw no wildlife at all other than birds feasting on dead and dying salmon in the creek along a guano pasted boardwalk on the other side of a cannery as we were rushed along. Getting back to the "Eagle Center", we first saw a mill that wasn't being operated and a totem pole carver who didn't do any actual carving but rather just stared at the totem every once in a while flicking a pencil stroke on the wood while standing in front of an obnoxious sign listing questions he didn't want you ask him. We were then shuffled to the "Eagle Center" where we saw rehabilitated eagles and a snow owl who were too injured to be released back to the wild. While it was neat to see them up close and I'm glad they're getting care, we had seen eagles all over our trip without trying, so it wasn't anything special. All of the rush seemed to be to get us to the gift shop which had absolutely nothing we were interested in with music blaring we didn't want to hear. When we tried to tell a staff member how disappointed we were in the excursion, she went on a rant blaming the cruise line saying that they write descriptions that give people wrong expectations. For all the rushing we then waited, and waited, and waited some more for our driver who besides being late again had fallen mute as we made our way to our next stop (which luckily was night and day better than the sanctuary). When we got back to the ship, we told them about our experience and they said they use the descriptions provided by the operators as is, only editing them for length if need be. Given the quality of the other excursions and our experience on board, coupled with the unprofessionalism of the driver, naturalist, carver and manager, I tend to believe the cruise line. Perhaps the "bear country" tour and zip line experiences are better, but stay away from the "Wildlife Sanctuary & Eagle Center" tour as it tries to cram walk in the woods and along a creek in with a mill tour, craving demo, rehabilitation demo and shopping all into 45 minutes or so. Instead of trying to do too much in too little time, I wish they had just given us all the time we had in the woods and if the driver had been punctual perhaps we would have had more. read more

If I were ever lost in the Alaskan Rainforest Nick is the guide I would want with me. He knew everything about all the olanta... from which you could eat, to which ones you could use as medicine. He explained all the plant life and talked about how the forest regrows on top of itself when trees fall. On top of that we saw a bear up close... It happened to be aeound a corner when we came around. And the birds in the Raptor center.., particularly the Bald Eagle were stunning. This was easily my favorite adventure on our cruise... read more

Zip-lining in Alaska was one of the most fun i had on the whole trip. You go from tree to tree with a harness and a helmet. The instructors were funny and really help you out. The best way to zip-line was cannonball style because you go a lot faster, rather than a normal sitting position. If your ever in Ketchikan, AK, you gotta try this out. We saw one bald eagle from the trees, but i didn't get a really good picture... There is two courses to choose from, i forgot which one i went on, but i think it had more "zip-lines." read more

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My family and I had a wonderful visit here. We visited the Rainforest Sanctuary as a shore excursion for our Alaskan cruise, and I'm very glad we did. While they have to say they can't guarantee bear sightings, we saw plenty from our perch above the river. We were transfixed watching mama bears and their cubs hunt for salmon that we barely noticed how cold and rainy it was (it's a rainforest, after all). Our guide, Krystal, was friendly and knowledgeable and more than willing to answer all the zany questions that came from our group. After the bear watching, we got to see some bald eagles up close. The sanctuary was nursing these injured eagles back to health and it was amazing finally seeing some in person for the first time. The tour ended with a trip to the gift shop, which offers complimentary coffee and hot cocoa. It was an ideal way to warm up before heading back to the cruise ship. I would highly recommend this stop for any visitor to Ketchikan looking for an authentic Alaskan experience. read more

Blair took us on a hike along a very well maintained trail. She found us some banana slugs, which most of us declined to hold. We had some nice photo ops. The highlight was silently viewing a young bear from the relative safety of a raised walkway. We also saw some eagles in the wild before ending at the Sitka Raptor Center. There was a good souvenir shop with some good hot chocolate. read more

Booked this through Princess Cruises. Our guided Rylee and Morgan where fantastic. They both were very knowledgeable. Didn't feel rushed at all. We seen a mama bear and two cubs along with a bear by itself feeding on fish. At the end of the tour we went to the Raptor Sanctuary and seen hawks and a bald eagle, along with a couple reindeer. My wife and I had an incredible time. read more

Major disappointment. $225 a person to walk through the forest for 2 hours. We did see 1 bear the last few minutes there and 1 bald eagle but not worth the money. read more

This was an incredible time! Our guides Hailey & Andrew were awesome and made it such a fun day! We did the 7 zip lines & 3 suspension bridges and it was so fun! Very well run excursion from the Norwegian Pearl ship from start to finish. The only down side, to me, was that the pictures taken by the photographer (although great) are $20 each, so since we had a family of 4 there, we spent a LOT on photos. Granted, it was our choice, but we just felt that a group deal on pics for a whole family would have been greatly appreciated. read more