Sitka looks good in the rain (my hair doesn't)

Well, we then took off for our last Alaska destination. It's hard to believe that our trip is ending. Because Juneau was misty and we'd seen everything, we got up early and went to the ferry dock to see if we could change our reservations to Sitka to a day early.

Typical Alaska

The Alaska Marine Highway System is great, but you can't reach them after hours, so an early morning drive-by was the best we could do. No problem. Plus. Scott found a fellow musician (a fiddler) for an impromptu parking lot concert.

He was glad he brought his guitar

What a great call! We left rainy Juneau behind and the sun came out.

Our boat

We were on the M/V Fairweather. It is one of the fast ferries and the journey was spectacular.

We went north from Juneau (retracing some of the trip we had taken to Gustavus) and even passed an active Whale watch (lazy Humpback Whales again).

The scenery was pretty going both ways

Then, we turned and headed through some pretty spectacular narrows.

We were headed for a tight squeeze

At times, the shore was about 50 yards away.

Just scraping by

We searched and were rewarded. We saw some Sitka black-tailed deer and a couple of Black bears, including a sow and two cubs.

Shoreside attractions

We arrived in Sitka at the end of a two-week sunny streak.

Thank you!

Sitka

Sitka is is situated on the west side of Baranof Island and the south half of Chichagof Island in the Alexander Archipelago of the Pacific. Bigger than many places we visited, the population is about 8,000.

Russian explorers settled Old Sitka in 1799, naming it "Fort of Archangel Michael." In 1802, Tlingit warriors destroyed the settlement, killing many Russians, with only a few managing to escape. Russian America Governor Alexander Baranov levied 10,000 rubles in ransom for the safe return of the survivors.

Baranov returned to Sitka in 1804 and, after two days of heavy bombardment, the Tlingits surrendered. The Russians established the settlement "New Archangel," which eventually became the largest city in the region.

Drawing: Frederick Wymper, Harper’s Magazine, 1869

The Tlingit re-established their fort across Peril Strait to enforce a trade embargo with the Russians. In 1808, Sitka was designated the capital of Russian America.

The signing ceremony

After it lost the Crimean War, Russia offered to sell Alaska to the U.S., fulfilling Secretary of State William Seward's "Manifest Destiny" to extend America's reach to the Pacific Ocean. Sitka was the site of the transfer ceremony for the Alaska purchase on Oct. 18, 1867.

Sitka served as the Capital of the Department of Alaska until 1884 and, as capital of the District of Alaska from 1884 to 1906.

Sitka is very swampy

The seat of government was relocated north to Juneau in 1906 due to declining economic importance of Sitka relative to Juneau, which had experienced considerable population gain in the Klondike Gold Rush.

In 1937, the U.S. Navy established the first seaplane base in Alaska on Japonski Island. In 1941, construction began on Fort Ray, an army garrison to protect the Naval air station. Both the Army and Navy remained in Sitka until the end of WWII, when the Army base was put into caretaker status. The naval station in Sitka was deactivated in June 1944.

Our Visit

We found a gorgeous campsite at Starrigavan Recreation Site.

Like heaven!

There was practically no one there and signs saying a brown bear had been seen in the vicinity.

There were lots of berries for the Bears to eat

We never saw the bear, but enjoyed the lush, fairy tale surroundings and (relative) lack of mosquitoes.

Nice to relax at the campsite

We camped, but the campground also has some lovely cabins for $50 a night!

This also looks nice

We toured Sitka and contemplated fishing or kayaking.

Everyone else was fishing!

Damp and dripping

Unfortunately, the weather turned the next day, so we did laundry!

We did stop at several places:

1. Downtown, where we visited St. Michael's Russian Orthodox Cathedral

The Russian influence is still obvious

2. Sitka Harbor

And, the ocean's influence is everywhere, too

3. Japonski Island with great views

Looking back at Sitka

4. Sitka National Historic Preserve with a lovely trail ...

As green and lush as the campsite

... and totems ...

The best collection I have seen

5. The Sitka Visitors Center with a performance by the New Archangel Russian Dancers - a local women's group that performs for tourists (no, they are not Russian - almost all the Russians left when they turned the territory over to the U.S.)

The women dance both male and female roles

6. Sheldon Jackson Museum with a fabulous collection of native art and artifacts.

Photo: Patrick Endres

Photo: Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

7. Fortress of the Bear, an absolutely awful place. Billed as a bear rescue, it has trained grizzlies in muddy, nasty enclosures that look like old water tanks of some kind.

Somehow, watching a male grizzly stand and pose for pictures and beg for food REALLY depressed me. We stayed about five minutes. Very sad. I am not sure the bears are actually rescued.

8. The Baranof Castle site, with lovely views of rainy Sitka.