Sitka, AK 6/16-18/2009
It was rainy on the ferry to Sitka and it has been somewhat rainy and chilly since we got here. The sun comes out and then disappears. We are told that the weather changes fairly rapidly here.
We had problems shutting our camper door during setup that occupied Fred’s attention for several hours. Once Fred decided to finish setting up, the door shut – the problem went away. We hope that it was just a leveling issue.
Sitka is a very beautiful place. The views of other islands are seen from most positions on island.
There are far more tourists here than in Wrangell and Petersburg. There always seem to be 2 or 3 cruise ships in harbor with shuttle boats running back and forth.
The weather so far has limited our activity to short hikes and visits to attractions and museums. We were fortunate to experience very good weather on inside passage so far. This wet and damp weather is more typical of the area.
Our campsite at Starrigavan Creek National Recreation area was outstanding. We were located right next to a creek that was running with a noticeable, quiet, peacefull roar. We were told that two brown bear families were currently in the area.
The estuary meadows trail to one side of campground was closed because the brown bear and her 2 year old cubs were occupying the estuary area and the risk of the bears using the boarded trail was high if they were disturbed. We were able to observe the these bears feeding in the meadows several times. We were too far away for good pictures. We also saw deer in the estuary.
The other bear family lives on other side of the campground. We have not seen or heard them so far.
It is interesting. When going out after dark ( after midnight and before 4 am), you are conscious of not straying , you make noise and carry a flashlight. You realize that these bears are there, not just maybe.
We also have hiked some very interesting trails right from our campsite – mosquito cove trail. We didn’t encounter any bugs.
Pictures around our campground.
We visited Fortress of the Bears that houses rescued bear cubs and the Alaskan Raptor Center that treats injured Eagles. The Q & A with the bear manager and the Raptor handlers was very interesting.
The Russian Bishops house tour was excellent. It is a National Park run place so we all got in free with Fred’s Senior Pass for National Parks instead of $4 per person fee. Senior pass also gives you half price in national park campgrounds and free admittance to parks.
Other Tidbits:
WIFI in Sitka is available for a price. A lot of companies offer WEB sites with daily, weekly and monthly fees to connect. Some work on many stops on inside passage. It is somewhat confusing as to what will work for you. Some are run with codes available for x minutes of access when you purchase something. Each morning, I head at 7 am to to a coffee house, get a coffee and 90 minutes of access time.
We had a campfire the first full Sitka night we were here. It was difficult to keep going since the wood we purchased from the camp host seemed green. Due to weather, we decided after dinner to watch a DVD Movie the next two nights. We are in a no frills campground but we are able to run generator since no one is around us.
Tommorrow is our last full day in Sitka. We have a 16 hour ferry ride to Juneau after that and no cabins are available on the ferry! They moved us from fast ferry when it needed repairs.
Tags: Sitka