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It was a another gorgeous day with just some misty clouds enshrouding
the mountains as we sailed into Sitka.
The mudflats include some neon green seaweed or algae of some type.
What we didn't notice until we looked at these photos that there was
an eagle in the middle of the photo--see below.
Harbor seals were active in the harbor as we sailed in.
This was a tender port so, again, we were happy not to have to wait
to board a tender.
We walked along the waterfront toward the visitors center.
 
 
The featured church in town is St. Michael's, another Russian
Orthodox Church.
 
The Lutheran church across the street from the much more ornate and
well known Russian Orthodox church, St. Michael's.
 
The 3 crosses on the drab Lutheran church next door share the airspace
with those of St. Michael's.
Fishing nets were being prepared or repaired in this shed.
Again we see the power wheel at work.
 
It seems that every high school in Alaska has a totem.
 
This Tibetan mastiff was the sweetest baby.
A naturally placed bench with a bee busily scraping wood for its
nest.
Tidal flats several miles out of town were recommended in the travel
books, but these would do nicely...
 
And then we saw stars...
The neon green seaweed is amazingly bright.
We liked the two colors of seaweed lines on the beach.
Headed in from the beach, our eyes (and cameras) had to adjust to
the darkness.
 
 
I pose next to the base of a forest totem for scale. We thought
it was interesting that the backs of many totems are hollow.
 
We were enticed back out to the beach by the eagles. Wow look at
those talons!
We were worried about this eagle--obviously it was molting, but the
way the wing stuck out, it looked hurt.
A fresh break and an ancient one with new trees emerging from the
old trunk.
Solomon's seal & columbine grace the trails and the beds at the
visitors center.
 
In the visitors center, more totems. Some of them were historic. We
found a ranger who was going to be headed out to where we saw the
injured eagle and she said she'd look for it and report it if she
thought it needed attention.
A look back into town from the walkway along the beach.
It's warmer here than some of our other ports where the dandelion
was
in full bloom--here it's gone by.
A classic vegetable garden is growing in the front yard of this
historic building with peas and some other cool-weather veggies
already growing, but the garden is poorly placed because the big
tree will hinder the
crops in the center, both with its shade and its wide-spreading
roots.
Before the Russians came, the native Americans used this hill as a
vantage point for hundreds of years. After the Russians won control
of this area, they built the Baranof Castle and it served as a gathering spot for
government functions. Later the US flag was raised here first when
Alaska became a state. There is no building here how--just a nice look out.
We loved the call sign for this radio station--how appropriate!
Now back to the tender dock. We have a day
at sea tomorrow and then to Victoria, BC, our only foreign port.
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