Seeing the sights in Sitka

August 13th, 2014 Well we were up early today. Fran gets up very early. Usually between 3:30 AM to 4 AM. Bob told him to expect us around 9 AM, and thought we knocked at his door at 9, when in actuality we were knocking at 7 AM! Not to Worry, Fran was up and put on a pot of coffee. He made wonderful pancakes for breakfast as well. After a couple of cups of coffee we headed out. First it was downtown for cash at the Wells Fargo. Across the street was the Old Russian Orthodox Church.

Next it was off to the Sheldon Jackson Museum. This museum features artifacts from all six major native groups in Alaska. 80% of the artifacts were collected by Sheldon Jackson between 1888 and 1900. Very Interesting.

After that we headed over to the Indian River and the Totem Trail. It was very bizarre at the river. Thousands of salmon were lined up like a giant traffic jam on a super highway. The salmon were not moving forward. They seemed to be holding their positions except for a few dominant ones who would jump to another nearby location. Fran thought they may be adjusting to fresh water as they had just left the salty ocean.

We walked the forested trail to the Sitka National Historical Park visitor center. (Another stamp.) The paths led us through old virgin grown rainforest, with ancient Sitka Spruce trees several feet thick, as well as large Western Hemlocks and Red Cedars. (the main wood used in this area for totem poles is the red cedar.)

We saw several totems that were moved to this special site. Beautiful works of art, with various meaning. Some represented historical story telling, some were mortuary poles that held the cremated remains of a family or individuals of a clan, Others were memorials honoring specific groups and such.

After that we were off to lunch at a nearby Mexican restaurant. Good food at a reasonable price. Back at Fran's place we had a beer and relaxed while I made one of my vegetable/miso soups for supper. A nice quiet evening full of story telling and reminiscing.