Sitka

Hard to choose a favorite, but Sitka may have been it for us. It’s such a cute, historic, scenic, little town and we enjoyed our day there. We woke early and were amongst the first to get off the ship. We tendered in to the land and got started on our adventures.


First up, the Fortress of the Bear. Because orphaned cubs are routinely shot by the Department of Fish and Game, this place’s mission is to rescue cubs, bring them back to health and provide an enriching home for the bears. The center opened in 2007, has shipped some of its bears out to zoos and currently houses 8 bears. They eventually hope to release the bears back into the wild, but Alaska currently prohibits it.

Below is the owner. He came out and told us about the bears, threw fish to them, showed us how the bald eagles in the nearby trees like to swoop in and steal the fish, etc. The grizzlies were super cute and had learned how to beg in a very endearing manner. They’d sit upright on their bums, and then clap their hands; reminded us of the bears from Brave.

 

Here, a worker came into the black bear enclosure and fed three little baby bears grapes, lettuce and the likes. They ate right out of her hands, climbed the trees to get the food, etc. Cutest darned things ever!

This is Dave’s favorite pic from the day:

Two males

 

Right after the bears we caught the bus to the Raptor Center. This place has a similar mission. Here, they rescue injured birds, hope to rehabilitate them and release back to the wild, and if not, provide a safe home for the birds.

 

This tiny, feathered friend was our favorite bird there. Her name is Tootsie and was some type of owl. She is like 3 ounces in weight and is absolutely edible. She actually hangs out in the office with the secretaries, and is often taken out for walks on a little leash.

The bird on the far right below is a hawk from Ogden, Utah. I thought that was cool:

 

Something you didn’t know about Alaska (or at least the parts we visited) is that it’s a rainforest. They usually only gets about 1-2 feet of snow each year; instead, they get about 10 feet of rain. Everywhere you look is lush, green and mossy. This little trail was part of the Raptor Center and it was fun to walk around see the forest. See…it’s totally like an enchanted forest.

 

From here, we walked over to Sitka National Historical Park. It’s a little forest where invading Russian traders and the indigenous Tlingit tribe battled. It’s got a little visitor’s center and several totum poles, but nothing too neat to see otherwise.

 

Below, I’m standing on Castle Hill. This is one of the most historically significant sites in Alaska. Tlingit natives originally inhabited this area and built a strategic fortification at this site. (Can you tell I’m copying and pasting here?) Between 1804-1867 Russians took over. During this time,  several Russian buildings were erected on this site. The last one, known as "Baranof's Castle", was erected in 1837, and perished in a fire 1898.   In 1867, on top of Castle Hill, Alaska was officially transferred from Russia to the United States. Interesting and sad to learn about all of the bloodshed the native people experienced here in years past.

This is a restored Russian Orthodox church here in town. We went inside and just about passed out at the smell of the incense that was burning. One lady turned to me and said, “Isn’t this just the most beautiful place?” I said yes. But it was a lie. It was not much to see…or smell;)

We explored the Russian Bishop’s House. This place is special because it’s one of the few surviving examples of Russian colonial architecture in North America.

I liked this little token unearthed several years back:

It’s a little iron plate that had been buried in the ground stating, “This land belongs to Russia.”

 

And now for our most delicious stop of the day: Ludvig’s Bistro. It’s a little clam chowder shop housed in a crappy shed, but has been featured in all sorts of magazines/food reviews. It served up the only clam chowder I have ever enjoyed.  It was expensive, but so darn tasty!!! And fun to eat while we perused the town.

We souvenir shopped a little, bought some treats from the local Ben Franklin, and called it a day.