Sitka

Only in Alaska. 

Sitka is the oldest settled city in the state.  It was Tlingit, Haida, Russian, British, Russian, and then the site of the purchase agreement to the USA from Russia but you still can't get there directly from anywhere and it is the size of a medium high school in the lower 48.  I think 17 miles of road and then you get the sign, end of the road and forest.  

Sitka Spruce in this case, tall, stately trees and the big, Brown Bears.  Bears that grow 1500 lbs. and 12 feet at the shoulder.  Bears that take the dumpsters up in the woods not just your trash cans.

Bear playing with a stump 

Larry and I just passed our 36 year anniversary and he promised me an adventure trip on the Alaska Marine Highway (ferry system)   It has been an adventure.  So far we ferried to Ketchikan, ferried to Wrangell, and ferried to Sitka.  

We were here for Memorial Weekend and it was lovely.  Everyone thanked us for bringing the sunshine.  Sitka is our on the open Pacific and takes all the rainstorms first.  Their longest stretch of no rain in recorded history was 9 days.  But we had a cookout and got a little sunburn.

Sitka has its own volcano, Mt, Edgecombe.  It is a fine looking cauldron luming over the harbor.  If it ever blows again, good by Sitka.  Their harbor is too small for cruise ships but they anchor off shore and the passengers are water taxied in to spend their $$.

The cauldron of Mt. Edgecombe

Russia left it's mark on the city.  There is a Russian Orthodox church built of wood.  It is filled with silver and gold icons, just amazing.

 

The Russian cemetery too was fascinating.  Headstones were carved from ship ballast stones and the Russians were here in the 1700s.

There was a need for a cemetery because some one was always fighting over this island.  There is even a modern National Cemetery here.  This structure is called the Blockhouse.  It seems to have been a guard house from the days of the Russian/Tlingit conflict days.

Yes, we are loving the city so much and our friends, Joe and Debbie are making us so comfortable (They have grass and running hot water!) that we decided to stay here another round on the ferry schedule.  Not only is it tricky to get here, you can only leave when a ship comes to port.

We will post more from some of the other attractions of Sitka.  Here is one last picture of Mt. Edgecombe and the harbor.