I awoke to a cloudy day in Sitka and took off for a four mile run. The town is so small that this distance covered everything. I ran the totem walk and through the woods and ended up on the beach at low tide. At least a dozen eagles were hanging out on the driftwood looking for breakfast. I tried to get close enough to take pictures, but no luck. I didn’t want to harass the birds and I could tell they were not comfortable with my presence.
Totem walk – my morning jog
The driftwood on the beach was loaded with eagles. This is only one piece.
A little closer
Coffee bike cart down on beach. I got to enjoy my walk back with a hot beverage.
We visited the Raptor Center – a rescue center for birds injured in the state. Unlike the bears, if these guys can fly, they are released back into the wild as soon as possible. Some birds are long term tenants because their wings are too damaged to fly. Most of these birds have been shot – a lot of eagles and owls. I didn’t particularly care too much for this center. It seemed slick and robotic, set up to make money. The employees seem to be mostly young males bent on moving people through as quickly as possible (pack them and rack them). If you can only visit one of the animal places in Sitka, go to Fortress of the Bears. We had coffee with Becky from Sitka NHP and talked shop for a short bit.
An eagle with most of its wing gone from a shotgun blast – Raptor Center
We drove to Old Sitka (NHL) at the other end of the road; this means Sitka, Juneau, and Haines are now all thoroughly explored. We ended our day with a walk on the beach and dinner at Ludvig’s Bistro. Oh my goodness – what a wonderful jewel in Sitka! If you can only eat at one place in Sitka, this should be the one!
Halibut and wine at Ludvig’s
We passed gift shops that were actually selling sea salt to the tourists. Now this is better than moose poop, don’t you think? They had many flavors of sea salt.
Flavored salt for sale to tourists
The residents of Sitka definitely have a thing for crosswalks. They want to make sure you cross at the walk, not 15 feet on either side of it or at some random location. They will stop and roll down their windows and tell you that you are not in a crosswalk. This phenomenon occurred numerous times; perhaps because many folks drive worse here than in Anchorage and there is genuine concern for your safety? There was one particular exchange I’m not proud of since I let an individual draw out “Angry Judy.” We were crossing a bank parking lot when, in an attempt to get a prized parking spot, this crazy maniac cut uncomfortably close to us. I got him to go from “buzz off lady” to “fuck you” in ten seconds. I smiled sweetly.
This trip has been a little challenging for the digital photographs. Jaz inadvertently deleted all the photos she took of the Russian cemetery (first on her computer, second on the memory card). Although she must be getting mellower as the years go by because she didn’t swear like a truck driver. I washed and dried my memory card that contained all the totem pole images and my images from my recent Nome trip. I had forgotten it was in my pocket. Luckily, after an overnight dry-out, my photos recovered fine.
We boarded the ferry and headed back to Juneau. It was a nice and easy trip with lots of walking and photo shooting.
Fishing nets
Boats
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