Sitka

When we arrived in Sitka on July 1st, we told the Harbor Master we wanted to stay at least until the 5th.  After three days, we called and told him we wanted to stay another week, and he moved us to our moorage with the panoramic view.  We continued to postpone our departure date.  I called occasionally, asking for permission to stay two days, a week. a day.  We “decided” leave Tuesday July 24th.  (I am searching for another verb here.  Decide gives the impression that something will happen.)

When we went to to moorage office on the July 23rd, to pay our bill, they charged us for a month, since that was less expensive than the daily rate.  We were paid though the end of the month.  You think you know where this is going, eh?  But no.  We really will leave on.....Thursday....unless...

Why did we stay so long?  Lethargy?  Dog Park? Interesting people?  Short walk to a good grocery store?  Murray Pacific Marine Store close by?  Nice walk into town?  The Raptor Center?  The National Totem Pole Park?  The Southeast Alaskan Indian Cultural Center? Cheap moorage? Yep.  And, in reality, small isolated coves to anchor in are just not as interesting when the weather is punky.

And the weather was punky.  Not cold.  Not stormy.  There was not pattern to the days, but we never got more than one day of sunshine at a time.  Most of the other days were broken clouds, a little rain, very little wind.  But it wasn’t unpleasant and we only got a few hours or Wrangell Rain.

The day we met Duchie and Blue and Belle at the dog park, the dog owners agreed to try to come the next day for Canine Craziness.  Wrangell Rain.  We headed out anyway, not knowing if anyone else would appear.  All three dogs were there.  Belle’s dad even used his lunch hour to bring her.  Sitka dogs and their owners know how to live with the weather.

Isn’t this a sweet boat?  She goes our almost every day, fishing, I’m sure.

Picnic tables at McDonalds.  I was sure I would make it through all eight flavors of
Tillamook ice cream, but some goals just go unmet. 

Every other Friday night in the summer, a Very Large Truck rolls off the Alaska Ferry and Saturday
morning at 7:30, Chelan Produce opens shop.  Sunday afternoon, they pack up the remaining two watermelons head for the ferry.  They duplicate the process in Petersburg on the weekends they are not in Sitka.  Sitka’s Farmers’ Market is held on the alternating Saturdays.  We have no idea if the food is fresher or less expensive, but we went home with our watermelon, corn, and avocados.

Walking through the harbor parking lot one afternoon,  Doug and I  listened to one raven carrying on a conversation with himself.  We heard over a dozen different vocalizations.  Ravens and the eagles are everywhere, but groups of both like to hang out near the harbor.  Doug counted 17 eagles in the trees one afternoon.  

I never saw the person who live on this boat, but there was often smoke coming out of his stove pipe.  Moored behind his boat is  The boat behind him, the Evita is 120 feet long and costs millions of dollar to build.

Two old men.  One meticulously restoreed old boat.  One well-travelsed, well-loved decade-old boat One not-so-well groomed young dog.

For those of you who know Albert and the Wells Gray, they arrived in Sitka about ten days ago.  He just moved the boat to the slip across from us on the night before we left.   

Alas,the boats and skippers will not be able to trade stories.

We have more Sitka stories to share, but are leaving at O’dark hundred tomorrow morning to make slack water at Surgis Narrows.  We’ll be away from cyberspace connections for some days, possibly until late August.

Sitka and the 4th of July

Mt. Edgecomb has many personalities and countless ways to wear clouds.

We were told that if you want to be in Sitka for the Fourth of July, you should get there a week ahead of time.  We arrived on July first, knowing that the first was a salmon opening; many of fish boats would be out chasing a living.  There might be room for a 40-footer.

Parking lot attendants.

You check the cars near the water.  I’ll get the second row.

In front of Sitka’s Pioneer Home, the first facility in AK to offer a home
to aging Sourdoughs

Sunset from Greywolf’s stern.

I have an ability to cut off the tops of trees  people’s heads totem poles, and buildings with my camera.  After I took this photo of  St. Michael’s Russian Orthodox Church, a gentleman asked me,

“Did you get the eagles on top?” 
I didn’t even get the top....

The top. And the eagles.

Tourists and resident bear.

View from bow early in the evening, July 2nd.

On the July 3rd, the fireworks started at 11:30.  From Greywolf’s bow, the explosions  were centered precisely over moon.  After a few minutes, the moon became irritated and moved to the south. Allie became frightened and moved to the west.  She sat in the pilot house and began the paper work to file a pet-abuse complaint.  After the city’s display ended at midnight, individual displays continued into the morning hours.  Allie slept with us, under the covers.  She chewed up the complaint forms in the morning.

Of course, we went to the Fourth of July parade. Two cruise ships were in town, so that added about 2,500 people to Sitka’s 9,000 residents.   

First parade entry --  Raven Radio celebrating 30 years of community support.

When we walked into town on our first day in Sitka, our second stop (after the Murray Pacific marine store) was the handsome house where Raven Radio has their broadcast studio.  In 2008, we had gone there to buy a hat with their raven logo.  Raven Radio's call letters are CKAW, pronounced KAY CAW, hence the raven.  We are now enjoying a new hat, a coffee mug, and Raven Radio’s uniquely Alaskan personalities and programing including the “muskeg messages” designed to get news to people who do not have telephones or to send out lost cat (good luck with that) announcements.

                             Sitka Fine Arts Camp attacts kids and instructors from all over the US.

Unfortunately, the Alaska Festival participants  had black powder muskets that sounded exactly like fireworks to a poodle that had slept with us the night before. 
She tried to escape, but there was a fence behind us.

We appreciated this.  Our 50th Franklin High School Reunion is in September.
We read in the paper that Sitka’s reunion (with any and all graduates invited..that why the “more or less” on the banner) consisted of a picnic and a breakfast.

But where will the women wear their hoochie dresses?  Doug found this dress and heels 
for me at Murray Pacific.

  

They were having fun!!!

We went the the Farmer’s Market the following Saturday.  Rhubarb seems
to be the vegetable of choice this year.

 After the parade,we followed the crowd to the elementary school playground 
where Filipino  and Native food was being sold.  

Fire engines and sirens followed Peanut, but we though she was a fitting end to the parade.

Important Information:

chronicle |ˈkränikəl|  noun

• a factual written account of important or historical events in the order of their occurrence.

• a work of fiction or nonfiction that describes a particular series of events.

We are using the second definition...no order.

Murray Pacific is a pet-friendly marine supply store.  In addition to the
usual dog cookie, Allie got pizza crust on her second visit.  After that, she
pulled and tugged to cross the street every time we walked past the store.
Sorry, honey.

Why not?

Andre was creating and selling signed original finger crayon art on the dock.  For some reason, the picture that I bought downloaded sideways.  Tilt your head for the full effect.

Andre gave permission for me to use a photograph of him on the blog.

Sitka Photos

Random pictures of our time in Sitka.  All of the scenery photos were taken from the boat.  See why we hung around for so long?

                          Sitka fashion

His owner said he is part lab, part collie: one ear from
each parent.  The ears are always like that.  It is not a facial
expression.

                                                                             The Farmer’s Market is held every other week

                                                                            starting in July.

Farmers’ Market footwear....

 A woman I bought preserves from said that last summer

it never rained on Market Saturday.  Part of the Market is held in the

Native Brotherhood building, so some vendors were dry.

                                                                Dog Park!  The park is about a 10 minute walk from the boat.

Some dog moms are more conscientious than others.  Allie

 got to share Belle’s water.

Gunner was only 10 weeks old the first time we met.

When we saw him two weeks later, he was almost as 

tall as Allie.  Gunner lives on a boat....’hope it is big.

Dutchie!

King Neptune

                          The Elliason Harbor parking lot offers a treasure- trove of bumper stickers.

At McDonald's where they serve Tiilamook ice cream.
And it’s across the street from the Laundromat.
What could be better?