Alaska: Sitka

Alaska! As magnificent a destination as any we have reached, we were instantly smitten with this land of ravens and raptors and mountains meeting the sea.

Sitka, a town of 10,000, has a large fishing industry and is a cruise ship stop due to its beauty, safe harbor, and cultural heritage (Tlingit clans, Russian traders and American prospectors). With no cruise ships operating due to COVID-19, the place was calm and quiet--just hardy fishermen and women going about their business. Local clothing has gone from shorts and flip-flops to corduroys tucked into knee-length rubber boots, usually accompanied by one or two large dogs.

Sitka receives 11 feet of rainfall annually, hence the gray skies in these photos...

Streams, islets, mountains...
the scenery is stunning

The main downtown street, charming and now empty

St. Michael's Cathedral,
the first Orthodox church in the Americas

Not much Russian influence remains,
but there are some buildings and shops with Russian flavor
(the shops were closed, so unfortunately this was taken through a reflective window)

Five harbor areas are each full of fishing vessels

The supermarket has no seafood section.
Locals catch their own, or pick up a meal on the fly if they are out and about.
(Yes, everyone is masked.)

A modern totem pole
commemorating the battle in which
the Tlingit ceded the Sitka area to the Russians

Many totem poles line a trail through the rainforest 

A merganser family on a river through the town

Other local residents: bears!
(We were there on 6/20)

The museums are outstanding!
This ingenious waterproof parka made of seal gut is one of the myriad ingenious ways
the people who have lived here for 10,000 years adapted and flourished

And on our last day in Sitka,
SUNSHINE!