Sitka

This is a small, picturesque town on Baranof Island (about halfway up/down the Panhandle) that was first settled by Russians in 1799. Sitka was the site of the transfer ceremony of Alaska from Russia to the US in 1867 - remember “Seward’s Folly” from your US History? Even though it was overcast while we were there, we reveled in the fact that it wasn’t raining!

view from our hotel window

view from our hotel window

Small town Alaska:

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The Russian Orthodox church, St. Michael’s Cathedral, is a distinctive building in downtown:

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As we walked along the harbor, I loved the juxtaposition of boats, spruce and mountains.

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The variety of plants blooming just blew me away. My idea of spring is a gradually changing landscape featuring different flowers blooming in orderly succession.

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Not surprisingly, with a shorter season here, many different flowers bloom all at once - azaleas, rhododendrons, irises, poppies, lupines, day lilies and columbines, along with many others I couldn’t identify.

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We spent a long time walking through the Sitka National Historic Park, reveling in the hushed “greenness” all around.

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Again, it was sure nice to walk through a rain forest and not get soaked.

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I remember seeing hanging moss like this coating the trees when we were exploring the Oregon coast -

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It was so interesting to see and hear bald eagles as common as blue jays in our woods.

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I’m sure that won’t be the last bald eagle picture I’ll bore you with!

Saying goodbye to Sitka -

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…we’re headed north to Glacier Bay and tiny Gustavus.

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