July 7-8, 2008 -- Sitka

We had to be in the line at 4:00 AM to catch the ferry to Sitka.  It was another night on the ferry, but we slept inside on this trip.  (We donated our tent to the last ferry's crew.)  Gordon (our 67 year old motorcyclist) joined us on this leg of the trip.  While we were waiting at the terminal, the Ketchikan Harley Davidson owner came over to talk with Ed and Gordon about riding boots.  Then on the ferry there were 5 more riders -- a couple from Seattle and 3 gals.  The Seattle wife was introduced as the couple's GPS, which is what I am by telling Ed which roads to take.  One of the gals retired from BMW Motorcycles and had her motorcycle shipped to Seattle from Boston so she could take this trip.  We had more fun with non-riders stopping and talking to us about where we had come from and the motorcycle rides.

We arrived in Sitka at 5:15 AM (sleeping a few hours on the floor of the lounge on the ferry).  The scenery was beautiful through this area.  One of the advantages of going on the ferry is that you get to travel through the Wrangell Narrows.  It is a waterway where it appears almost as a river.  It is about 21 miles long, and there are channel markers along the way.  Someone from the captain's crew needs to stand at the front of the boat and give hand signals to the captain.  We did it in the daylight.  Sounds quite interesting at night, however, because the channel markers flash green and red, it gives almost an optical illusion as you are looking down the channel.  Another advantage of the ferry is we

got to stop at Wrangell, Petersburg and Kake (which are not normal stops for the cruise line).  These towns are part of the fishing industry.  We were able to see a couple of more whales and some otters -- but, of course, I wasn't ready with the camera.

A little history of Sitka -- it used to be the capital of Russia-America prior to the United States purchasing it.  There wasn't much open when we got off the ferry, so we had breakfast and then did some touring in the rain.  St Michael's Cathedral (Russian Orthodox) is beautiful.  Across the street is the first Lutheran Church on the west coast of North America (established by the Finns).  We climbed Castle Hill where on Oct 18, 1867, it was the site of the transfer of Alaska to the United States as a territory.  The view was beautiful from what we could see.  It is strange seeing a fishing wharf on the ocean, with a volcanic mountain in the background covered with snow.  It took Ed to see the New Archangel Dancers -- although none of the performers are Russian, they have continued the tradition of learning Russian dances and performing for many Sitka visitors.  (Visitors included passengers from of the cruise ships that was in port that day.)  We also visited the historic museum and learned so much more about Alaska's involvement in World War II. 

After not being able to check into the hotel right away, and having to walk around in our riding boots, Ed had to fit our boots with cushioned insoles.  We then took a motorcycle ride around the island and saw the Coast Guard base and the University of Alaska-Sitka.  We were also able to visit the Sitka National Historic Park, which houses the history of the Tlingit Indians and their takeover by the Russians.  The park was full of about 25 totem poles.