Mt. Edgecomb wearing a very becoming hat. Sitka had very
little snow last winter, so she is missing her usual covering.
We arrived in Sitka early in the late afternoon on June 20th, ahead of a “weather system”* and settled in to wait for my Medical Tourism appointment on July 2nd, as well as the arrival via Alaska Air of our friend, Julie, from Bainbridge on July 3rd.
Late evening...about 10:30
*Weather System: in Southeast, a short, polite way of describing an event in nature that dictates that any sane person stay inside by their fire until it blows over. The FCC does not allow the use of adjectives that actually describe such an event.
(Disclaimer: The formatting on the blog has gone wiggy-wiggy here. The type changes are not for emphasis. I have no idea what they’re for.)
(If you know anyone who would love to be owned by a wooded boat, check her out: http://www.wells-gray.com/MV_Wells_Gray/Welcome.html)
Albert was not the only one looking for weather windows to complete projects. The city was in the process of paving Halibut Point Road, the only road leading north out of town. The June weather had forced work to a standstill. One night, when Allie and I were out for our evening doggie potty walk, we saw that work had resumed at 9:00 at night. That still gives you almost two hours….
DOG PARK!!! Right next to the boat harbor parking lot (where I get to graze for bumper stickers) is what is may be the only dog park in Southeast. The skate board park next door has a new cover since we were here in 2012. Kids (big and little) and parents are coming and going all day long.
There WAS such a thing as a Free Lunch. The trees bordering the harbor next to the dog park are home to eagles and ravens. The eagles eagerly await the daily return of the sports fishers staying at The Wild Strawberry Lodge. Sitka Harbor has a recently enacted no-fish-waste-dumping ordinance, but I think stories of the good old days when fish heads and innards were flung about still live in Eagle Legend. The ravens apparently just enjoy hopping, perching, flapping, flying around, and talkingtalkingtalking. I tried to phonetically transcribe what we heard each day, (auwlk, greum, awka) but, as with all languages, without the inflection and cadence, you lose most of the meaning.
I went to the Farmer’s Market without Doug or Dog.
These ladies, representing the Sitka Cancer Survivors Society, were
raffling off this lovely quilt. The money raised will provide
grants for people living with cancer.
grants for people living with cancer.
A few days later, Allie and I found the Path of Hope, created by the Sitka Cancer Society, just a ten minute walk from the boat basin. Benches and metal “pages” engraved with words of encouragement and solace are scattered along the well-maintained paths with the Flame of Hope overlooking Swan Lake.
This new seine boat was getting its “beard”. The owner said that he got a quote of $1800 to have one made. Possessing strong hands, net remnants, and old line, he was making his own.
...and this is why the seine boats needs a beard.
....working boat
......home
......travelers
Wayfinder’s quote was appropriate, eh?
I do enjoy watching other people work.
Very satisfying.
I asked Splice’s owner about the name. The former owner
had cut the boat in half and added six or eight feet to her length.
Yep. That would be a splice.
Talking to boat owners and crew about their work, their travels, and, of course, their boats can make the walk to shore very long. Just ask Allie. Walking into town took us by the fuel dock and two other boat basins. It doesn’t get much better than that.
We didn’t have to walk everywhere. Albert loaned us
his car on several occasions.
Allie asked for assistance. Not forthcoming.
A girl always feels frisky after a visit to the groomer...
Extra eyes....always a good idea.
This home on its wonderful peninsula is downtown, right next to the library.
Doug decided that if he lived in Sitka, he’d spend most of the
winter hours reading in the lounge in the public library.
Canada Day! Allie honored her country of birth on July 1st by wearing her new "I’m a Canine-dian" kerchief. It no doubt helped her scare away the sea creature she spied. It is illegal (Federal law) to: use deterrence measures…including the use of water hoses, noise making devices (poodle?) to scared away sea lions. No one reported us.
Medical Tourism Report (Skip this part if you already know the outcome.)
The SEARHC (Southeast Alaska Region Health Consortium) hospital in Sitka gets high marks from these now-seasoned users of the medical system. The staff was friendly, efficient, and competent. Sue, the tech who administered the long-sought-after ultra sound, listened to our story with interest and and then told us that come August, SEARHC Sitka would also be without an ultrasound tech. She is a “traveling tech” and her tour was about to come to an end. On a bulletin board in the lobby of the hospital were job postings for everything from custodians to surgeons: five pages, double spaced.
Sue’s little ultrasound wand look long and hard for the presumed pesky gall stones. No gall stones. Even with me almost standing on my head (Sue said the stones sometimes hide) the procedure found nothing.
The doctor recommended continuing a low fat diet. Having once thought, when I was seven, that I might like to be a doctor when I grew up, I prescribed occasional doses of hard ice cream. We happily drove back to Greywolf, free of the specter of surgery.
She doesn’t bite, but she does jump.
Purchasing the postcard was less expensive than a ride in a float
plane to get an aerial photo of the town. Ellison Harbor, where we stayed,
is out of the photo on the right.
Bridge to Japonski Island
The airport, hospital, University of Alaska Southeast and
one more boat basin
are on the island.
4th of July. It did not rain on our parade.
Baseball!!!
Last year, the Sitka Fine Arts Camp drew kids, K-12 grades, from 37 Alaskan communities, 27 states and 5 foreign countries. The high school
camp was in session over the 4th, so these happy campers got to
represent this amazing program.
The Camp is located on the campus of the former
Sheldon Jackson College campus that closed in 2007.
http://sitkafineartscamp.org/about-the-campus/
Allie and I met DiAnne one evening while waiting to cross the street. Playing with Allie, she mentioned that she loved dogs and worked with them all day. Mushing for Minors, the organization that she works or volunteers for, uses dogs to motive and encourage kids who have reading problems. Of course, I was very interested. We talked much longer than Allie thought necessary.
.......the Public Radio Station provided music, free root beer floats,
and a place to gather.
We toasted Jolie’s wedding to Nate Luther on the 4th of July.
On the Snake River!
Julie and Allie on Castle Hill, where Russia transferred its Alaska
Claims to the United Stated in 1867.
Doug and I brought a number of books with us on the trip and are buying more along the way, creating a two-person book club. On Doug’s recommendation I started reading Astoria by Peter Stark. While in Sitka, I enjoyed reading the account of Wilson Price Hunt, the leader of John Jacob Astor’s overland party and the head of his West Coast operations, coming the Alaska. Hunt sailed aboard the Beaver in 1813 to negotiate fur trading with Russia’s Count Baranoff in New Archangel, now Sitka. Negations were difficult: He (Baranoff) is continually giving entertainment by way of parade and if you do not drink raw rum, and boiling punch strong as sulfur, he will insult you as soon as he gets drink which is very shortly after sitting down at the table. Hunt was able to eventually strike a deal.
It was fun to realize that Hunt had sailed these waters and walked this land and survived the rum (I would have bet on vodka) to make history. We recommend the book, even if you can’t be in Sitka or Astoria.
Chelan Produce comes to town every other weekend during the summer.
They also set up shop in Petersburg where we have enjoyed their
fresh fruit and veggies.
Allie is picking out potatoes. I’m sure the owners love that.
Allie is picking out potatoes. I’m sure the owners love that.
While Julie was visiting, the weather wasn’t nice enough to entice Greywolf to go anchor in a nearby cove. We borrowed Albert’s car, and took Julie to our favorite spots: The Alaska Rapture Center and the Sitka National Historic Park.
| At the Rapture Center, birds who can be rehabilitated are moved to a huge enclose after they are healed and given time to “try their wings” until they are strong enough to be released. .  |
| This guy can’t fly anymore. But doesn’t he look wise?  Add your caption of choice. |
The smallest of the falcon family.
What is she saying???
He has lived here for years. The office mascot.
At the National Historic Park, we learned that the most important figure on
a totem pole is on the bottom. Poor Raven has to hold up everyone.
But we know he’s up to it.
However, knowing his reputation, I’m not sure he wouldn’t be
inclined to play some tricks on the others.
We have never visited the Fortress of the Bear because we have mixed feelings about the concept of keeping bears in a small area. The Fortress, that opened in 2007, in situated in old pulp mill settling ponds a few miles south of town. It is home to eight orphaned bears. Three black bears, two siblings and a single cub, about a year and a half old are in one area. The other two areas host two sets of brown bear siblings.
...but the rain chased Julie back to sunny Bainbridge.
Sitka’s Pioneer Home
Pioneer Homes were established in Alaska to provide a home for aging sourdoughs, most of whom had few resources since mining, logging, and
fishing don’t usually result in strong 401K's. I believe
this stately building was originally a Marine barracks.
Since Locks by the Docks in Petersburg was gone, I had to find a new place to get my hair cut in Southeast. Hair Play was my choice …not the Pioneer Home. When I arrived for my appointment, Patty, the stylist, was carefully maneuvering a wheel chair and its occupant out the door of the small salon. “I’ll be right back. I just have to take Grandma back to the Pioneer Home.”
The certifiably elderly lady with her new coiffure actually was Patty’s grandma and, from the stories Patty told, was quite the Alaskan character.
Albert’s car took us to Halibut Point Park to look for a totem pole that we saw being craved at the Sitka National Historic Park when we were here in 2008.
The totem pole is in honor of Michio Hoshino, a well-known Japanese photographer who traveled Alaska looking for the Spirit Bear, a rare white bear. Michio was killed by a brown bear in Russia while on a photography mission. He never did find Alaska’s Spirit Bear. We had read The Blue Bear, written by one of the fishermen who helped Michio in his Alaska search.
We were delighted to talk with the carver about the emerging pole. He explained how he choose the tree for the pole and the various images he was creating.
Michio’s family did not want his image on
the pole, so the carver created a man holding a Leica camera lens.
The carver did put Michio’s face in the blowhole of the whale. The top figure is a bear.
We had difficulty finding the pole in the park and asked a lady walking in the park if she knew where it was was: right around the next bend in the path. She lives in Sitka, but did not know the pole’s story. She was pleased to have tourists tell her something new about her town.
Leaving Sitka on July 14th
If you had to chose between going through these islands into the Gulf of Alaska or turning right into a body of water called Peril Strait, what would you do?
(Helpful hint: the weather is worse than it looks here.)
We turned right.
