Sitka by the Sea

A secret gem sits in a remote area of southeast Alaska. Sitka is a sea side village hugging the coastal islands off the main land of north America. From the locals that I talk to they only get 5-6 inches of snow a year but tons of rain. This I will testify to because in the three months I have been here it might have been sunny twenty days. And those don't come all together

Your can arrive by plane

Land at the airport surrounded by water

Which has one terminal with a great restaurant that services breakfast all day long!

Or you can arrive by boat!

From May to September cruise ships bring thousands of people to shop and take in all the sites of Sitka.

Tourism is one of the main sources of revenue. The downtown streets overflow with people leading the locals to avoid the area unless absolutely necessary. Somehow the tourist always thinks the best place to take a picture is standing right smack in the middle of the road. Then you might take a visit to one of two medical facilities to see me!

SEACRH medical facility

So after you get off the plane or boat you have to cross the only bridge in town.  Sitka is made up of two islands. The smallest of the two houses the airport, SEACRH medical facility, Alaska University Southeast, Coast Guard, and Mt. Edgecomb High School. 

Sitka town sits on the main island with fourteen miles of paved road system. 



The majority of the business district is located on the waterfront with fish packing plants mixed in with all the touristy stores. 

Beyond the town are hundreds of miles of wilderness and oceans of water.  There is much yet to be discovered in this village that has captured my imagination. 

Swimming Upstream

Climbing trails up the mountain or swimming up stream against the current take extra effort and conditioning of the body, mind and spirit.  In the first month (August) of being in Alaska, I navigated up a trail that followed a mountain stream filled with migrating salmon swimming upstream where they will spawn and die. 

A colleague of mine, Wendy, joined me on the hike.

Wendy showed me where to pick wild blueberries while pointing out some interesting creatures along the way.  Below is a slug very fat on blueberries! You can see how blue it is!!  

During the whole hike the stream ran beside the trail overflowing with fish swimming against the current.

Now it is the beginning of October and just a few are still swimming up stream and most have went to meet their maker. The stink on the river is a little better because as the season closes they all die and it starts to smell like rotten fish flesh. Yuck!! The birds love it though!