04 – Life in Sitka – Berries, bears, sea planes and general walkabout

It’s a berry wonderland here in Sitka. Everywhere you go outside of town you find berries. There are salmon berries, blueberries and raspberries among others. All are delicious.

Fortress of the Bear is a sanctuary that gives orphaned cubs a forever home. Presently there are seven in residence: four brown and three black. Since its inception in 2007 they have rescued 14 cubs.

First crab meal at what can only be described as a cafe. The place was basic but the Alaskan King crab leg excellent. Note the beautiful yellow house in the background with the Russian styled ornamental shutters. Sitka has some beautiful properties.
Phil’s idea of heaven.
This is Casey and he keeps his seaplane on the public dock. I met him hauling aviation fuel down from the road in the plastic bags, one of which you can see in the foreground. With so much of Alaska only accessible by sea and air seaplanes are a common form of transport for people and supplies.
We were challenged to figure out what this place was. It looks like a junkyard but is a bar and fish fry. Not sure we will get the opportunity to try out their experience.

Sitka National Historic Park is located where Indian River flows into the bay. There are dozens of totem poles from around this area of Alaska that were collected over 100 years ago mostly by the first governor. This area is the native homeland of the Tlingit (pronounced ‘Clingit’) who have lived here for thousands of years.

the carved detail on these totem poles is remarkable. Each tells a separate story and consists of symbols or figures. They are carved out of single tree trunks and commemorate ancestors, cultural beliefs or may embody a historical narrative of significance.
The salmon are just starting to swim upstream. There should be thousands of these, maybe tens of thousands, that follow the weeks ahead.
Sitka gets extremely busy when large or multiple cruise ships come in. The place bizarrely goes from being a very quiet place in the early morning to being absolutely teeming from say 11-3pm. They close off the Main Street to traffic to accommodate the swarm of cruise tourists.
On the “Cross Trail” which runs along a contour above Sitka for a few miles.
Getting in some exercise we used this trail to cycle from the town to the bear sanctuary.

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Phil Shatz
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