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.