Laura has been living in this adorable cottage in Sitka all summer long; working, having visitors & a bit less time than she had hoped for with Stefan (the handsome fisherman). the cottage is about 2 minutes from her work and was about 1 minute from our hotel. it is super cute and a great location; directly across from the police station which makes this mom feel at ease... a little.
Sitka is a pretty small town... a wee bit bigger than Sisters but other than tourism, that is an obvious industry because of summer cruises they also have a real industry. yep; fish!
just the charm of a true fishing village makes Sitka a quaint lovely town all on it's own. then you add the backdrop that you are in Alaska; seriously it is phenomenal! so beautiful that it is impossible to describe with words (but i will try) so my over 20 pictures will help with that. (hint: if you click the pictures they get bigger and much better (o:)
we spent our first afternoon\evening simply exploring Laura's world\town. i admit i made a checklist for all of the shops i wanted to revisit to pick up a trinket or two.
the next morning we set out on a wildlife cruise, delighted to wake up to no rain and a pretty nice day. we were also delighted to find the boat had inside seats realizing quickly the weather in Alaska is not quite like to weather in Hawaii. Laura choose this cruise saying it was the one thing she really wanted to do before she came back home to Oregon.
well we were not disappointed in the least bit! if i had to pick a favorite thing i suppose this would be it; we saw so much wildlife. it was pretty exciting to feel so close to creation\nature. very cool!
if you look very close at the wall of this island we visited you will see some pretty amazing sea life. look closely at the purple.
the captain quickly caught on that we all saw these guys in the distance and jetted over to them. we were all excited, i admit though... it was very hard to get a picture of them! rocking boat.... then when they did surface it was so hard to predict when they would show some skin! it was exciting to see them so close, we think there were four in the pod and they were beyond magnificent!
we saw thousands of wild birds and learned a lot about each of the different species and why they choose Sitka waters as their home. again they were hard to capture with the camera (next time i am bringing Michael!) i was happy to see i had a pretty decent shot of a Puffin. kinda cute i think.
again hundreds of Sea Otters. wow now these are one adorable animal! they would just poke their heads up and check us out. we learned that they actually tie their self up into the kelp to keep from drifting away. also they are something the Russian's quickly realized they could profit from in Alaska. that fur!
our captain noticed a float plane circling overhead and figured they had spotted a brown bear (grizzly to us) so here Laura & Bill are scanning the shore in hopes of getting a glimpse (Bill's main goal for the weekend). it didn't happen here though.
this guy is keeping watch over his or her nest that is on the island across (they can see amazingly well... like can read a newspaper from across a football field if they could actually read)... so yeah super good eyesight...
watching out for this little guy. a baby eagle still living in his nest. you have to admit you do not run into this every day!
our view driving back, it was just so pretty!
after our cruise, my goal for the weekend... for Laura & I to share a bucket of crab! yummy
next we decided a QUICK and i mean QUICK venture through the woods. they have been having some bear problems all week and this made Laura more than nervous. living there she understands the severity of the warning... on the other hand all her dad wanted was to SEE a real bear... we walked pretty briskly on a trail to go to the Raptor Center to see the birds up close.
on our way we past a stream filled with salmon trying to get back to their place of birth (the creeks\streams are so low) they were so determined but with so little water they were basically stuck )o:
the woods were so beautiful. almost like magic. you could imagine a fairy jumping out at any moment; really!
salmon berries, i ate a lot then drug my family everywhere till i could find jam to purchase. sheesh...
we did find out a the Raptor Center that Laura is basically the same size as an eagle; well maybe a little taller.
this is a great place where injured birds of prey come to be healed and hopefully rehabilitated to go back into the wild. some of the injuries are too severe but they do provide a wonderful home for them here. the habitats are open at the top and separated by the netting to keep them safe from one another.
why oh why do owls look wise; Bill's question of the day....
and yes; here he is! Bill's wish fulfilled! he was down the steam below the Raptor Center (so the netting you see is for the birds not him, he is in the wild) he was having a heyday down there with all that salmon. one happy grizzly (o: grrrr
on our way back we stopped at the local hatchery. these poor guys were trying so hard to return to their place of birth... kind of perplexing because apparently they had found it. the next step was egg harvesting... we all 3 wondered did this mean they were farmed... not sure really because they were right there on the ocean. regardless it was amazing to see.
okay so the one hokie thing we did. the Russian Dancers, i mean it was good and all... just a bit cheesy. you see the Russians took the land from the Natives (Tlinkit's to be exact, Stefan's heritage) so there is a very strong Russian history in Sitka along with the Native. it's actually interesting... well it's history can't really change can it.... Bill really disliked that women danced the men parts. it is what it is...
i never got tired of this view. seriously if you have an opportunity to visit Alaska do it. there is just so much beauty! there was a ship in port every day we were there. i liked it, i would've enjoyed it as a port if i were on a cruise. there was so much to do and see.
we did so much more than i show here... i could only post so many pictures you know!
but really were else can you have....
a 'Reindeer Dog' for lunch (no lie here)
and fly home on a fish!
it was by far one of my favorite trips ever! spending time with my daughter who i adore and miss already and seeing some of God's creation that is by far his finest work!
as always, i am so blessed.
