timistravels

Home 4 hours and headed south to Wrangell, Alaska

by timistravels

I had been invited to Wrangell to work with their school board on Monday night, Nov. 19th. Only glitch, we landed from Maui at 9:30 that morning! I made it work! Though I was a tad tired by Monday night!

Wrangell is yet another small, isolated community in Southeast Alaska. It is known as the entrance to the mighty Stikine River and their petroglyphs that can be seen on a walk along the shores of Petroglyph Beach. I did not do that this trip, BUT did it several summers ago when I went there with an Elderhostel trip.

The community is quite close-knit and the people are wonderful. I ate at Diamond’s for breakfast and it was like stepping back in time. Next time I hope for more time to explore the town.

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Maui, Hawaii~some relaxation and fun in the sun

by timistravels

After working 8 out of 9 weekends, it was time for some relaxation. To start off the trip, on the fight over we had nobody sitting with us in the emergency row so we get all three seats are self, it sure was a nice bonus. We landed about 10:30 p.m. and went to get out rental car, a ‘compact’ however, when we got there they only had a full size Silverado truck or a Yukon… we figured the Silverado would help us look like a local so we took it! We stayed ‘up hill’ in the town of Haiku where we have stayed before. Our hosts, Kolette and Adam have a sweet apartment above their garage that we have stayed in before. They charge $50/night and it is a great deal. We love it there b/c it is not in the touristy areas, but rather a bit off the beaten path.
First full day we found a new beach it was really nice (in the end we went there many days of the trip). We then hit Savers and Costco, stopped to watch the surfers at “Jaws” then have dinner at the Fishplace in Paia.

Second day Friday we went back to the beach but a little further down where we could go snorkeling in a better spot however it was too windy to snorkel that day so we just relaxed. We went into Kihei and had lunch at a pita place, then went home, showered and went to a movie, Harry and I rarely go to movies, but it sure was a nice treat, we went to see Argo and it was a good movie.

Saturday got up and went to the flea market/swap meet as they call it. Bought a lot of jewelry from my favorite little jeweler, Sandy. She remembered me from last year which was sweet. We then headed back to the beach and stayed until sunset, snorkeled little but it was still pretty cloudy in the water. We went to the Pita place and have the calamari I been craving and then home and where just relaxing around the apartment.

On Sunday we did the typical going to the beach laying out all day finished another book and snorkeling saw first turtle. We just caught a quick dinner at some brewpub and headed home.

Monday we thought we drive to the north end of the island but it was really sunny so we actually went to Makena for the first time of this trip and stayed most of the day. The sun is setting about 5:45 during our vacation, so we’d pack up about 5:30. This morning as we left the house together few miles away and I realized forgot my wallet! But what was funnier is that on the way home, we were 10+ miles away from the beach and Harry remembered he’d forgotten his shoes after he’d showered off… so we turned around and went back, they were still there! A day of forgetting!
On Tuesday we did a normal beach thing saw a lot of turtles while we snorkeled. We had dinner at a traditional Hawaiian place called ‘Da Kitchen.
Wednesday we got up and we decided to drive around the north end of the island! We took a hike at the “8 mile marker”, called Maka Maka Ole. Hiked about 2 miles into the jungle and found a poolwith a waterfall flowing into it. Beautiful. We continued around the N end of the island and hiked down to the blowhole. The other amazing thing on this hike was the remnants of the lava flow. Such amazing formations are made when hot lava hits the ocean water. After the blowhole we went to the Maui Brewery had some good food! Once in Lahaina we ended the night with Skyfall (007), another movie (I don’t think we’ve ever gone to 2 movies in one year let alone one week).
Thursday when we got up it was pouring rain up near our place, so we headed up to Haiku where we had some breakfast which is disappointing and we headed over to our normal beach! It was exceptionally windy but we stay there until the sunset and then we went to dinner at Coconuts, fish taco’s! YUMMY

Friday we opted to go back to Makena for day where Harry boggie boarded most of the day. He loves doing that so much! Once we got home “Lucky” the homeowners cat hung out w us for a while.

Saturday was a slow morning, we returned to the swap meet bought some local coffee a ceramic, a piece of artwork for our travel room. Back to our favorite beach where we saw a lot of turtles and other cool fish while snorkeling. To end the day we had a fun chance to meet up with some Juneau friends, Carrie, Mark and their kids. We ate at Flatbread pizza in Paia.

Sunday was a cloudy morning. Off to Keawakapu Beach for one last day in the sun. Did the full day 10-5, We snorkeled 2 times and saw a lot of turtles. One time there were 5 huge blue fish and a baby turtle all in one eyeshot. So beautiful.

We were sad to pack up and say goodbye to Maui but I am sure that we will get back there again within the next few years. Loved the trip!

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The birds and other interesting things on St. Paul Island! (Part 2)

by timistravels

Sept. 17-20 Trip to St. Paul Island,,, Part 2…

The Pribilof’s are known as the Galapagos of the North due to the fact that there are so many different species of birds on the islands. I would not consider myself adept at birds, but after this day, I have a better appreciate of those that love this ‘activity.’

St. Paul Island is home to millions of seabirds nesting on the steep shores of the island. There are also rare Asiatic birds, blown off course during their migration or dropping in just briefly on their way to other breeding and nesting destinations.

The first birds we saw were both Tufted Puffin and Horned Puffin (white breast). It was amazing how close we were to them and how incredibly beautiful they are.

As we continued our tour on this beautiful fall day, it was so clear that we saw Otter and Walrus Island as well as St. George Island, not always able to be spotted from St. Paul! Harbor Seals breed on Otter Island, several miles southwest of St. Paul Island, but nonetheless are often seen off St. Paul shores. Occasionally, Steller sea lions haul out on St. Paul, but usually take refuge in the rookery at Walrus Island, some 10 miles northeast of St. Paul. On extremely rare occasions, Grey whales, Orcas, and walrus are observed offshore.

We spotted wild celery all over the place, however, it was past its prime for eating.

“Sea Lion Neck” was the next stop on our tour. Currently it is only open to Sea Lion hunters (Native’s only) and this tour! At the end of the road, 11 miles away from town, is Webster lake and a memorial to the old church that once stood at that site. There is also a cabin/house that anyone can rent (for free) if they care to go out there and explore.

Birds we saw on this adventure:

Snow bunting
Sharp tailed sandpiper (Asian Born)
Rock sandpiper
Fox sparrow and goldencrown sparrow both from mainland, AK
Pacific golden plover
Wandering tattler
Ruddy turnstones
Red faced Cormorants
Red legged kittiwake (big eyes, red legs) very rare, ‘chasers’ come here to see these
Common kittiwake (black legs) one of most common gulls in world
Lapland longspur (song bird)
American pipit

We DID NOT SEE but our guide has spotted a White Tailed Eagle (sea Eagle) here this summer. It probably stopped over enroute from Russia. Neither did we see the elusive shrew, which is sometimes spotted under the pieces of plywood out near one of the points.

After the tour we made it back to our little apartment and decided it was time for dinner. The Trident Plant, where million’s of pounds of crab are processed each spring (see March blog) was a bit slower this time of year as they were now processing halibut. For $20 pre paid you can go to the cafeteria and eat, and this time of year, endless halibut is well worth $20! There were very few staff from the plant there and we enjoyed dinner there 2 nights in a row!
We also ran into the store and there photo’s are a reminded of the high cost of living in these remote rural communities, can you believe the price of soup? (cans are heavy!).
So ends my exciting trips to the Pribilof Island’s for this year! All 3 were an adventure and I am blessed to be able to get to these places for WORK.

timi

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St. Paul Island; a 5 hour tour, a 5 hour tour!

by timistravels

I returned to St. Paul Island in the Pribilof’s for a few days to do workshops with the board and work in the schools with my colleague Jenni. If you go back in the blogs you will see I was here in March. I’ll remind you that St. Paul is part of the Pribilof Islands and sit 880 miles W of Anchorage.

It was so different being there in Sept. vs in March. It had a feel of mid-west fall days, though no trees to have leaves that are changing colors, the plants and ground cover are changing to their fall hues.

The first night we walked down to the end of town and watched the seals from a distance as the beaches are all off limits to people. It was a cloudy night but you could see seals playing in the water, swimming and jumping all around as well as 100’s of them on the hillside.

I was to leave on Wed. however a volcano eruption in Russia caused problems with air quality and my plane did not make it out to pick me up, so I had a ‘free’ afternoon after doing some workshops in the morning.

Jenni and I decided to contact St. Paul Island Tours to see if we could go on a tour and thankfully they had an open calendar. Doug, our guide picked us up and stated the adventure.

First stop, Reef Point where there were 1000’s of fur seals. Such a interesting to come upon these seals in their natural habitat and watch them for almost an hour. This is what I learned.

In early May, the males, 5 years or older come to the beaches and ‘mark’ their territory.
These spaces tend to be 12’-15’ from one another.
On June 1, the rookeries are closed and remain off limits until mid-October .
These “Beach Master” males find their spot and wait about a month and a half for the females to arrive in the end of June.
90% of the females give birth immediately, within 24 hours, once they snuggle up with a Beach Master.
mom nursing a baby
Beach Master Males can have anywhere from 40-60 females in ‘their’ space, and the weaker Masters can have as little as 1 or 2 females as they get too old to defend their space.
Males become Beach Masters at around the age of 7, females can get pregnant as young as 5 but usually don’t start having pups until they are 7/8.
Once they give birth, the male impregnate the females immediately.
The females will deliver these pups next June/July.
Hunting for the Aleut Natives begins at the end of July and into early Aug.
About 200 males are killed during the hunt and the 3 year old male seals are targeted, though 2 -4 year olds are taken during the open hunt.
The Beach Master males head back into the waters in late August though a few linger until Sept. They are hungry and in search of food.
Females and pups head into the waters in Nov. and separate shortly after this.
Males live until about 12-15 years of age.
Females live to between 20-21 years of age.
Much like humans you can tell their age by how ‘white’ their whiskers are… the more white, the older the seal!

I will write about the rest of the tour in another blog!

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Taku Glacier; 2 trips in one week, so very different!

by timistravels

Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012

Harry and I had a certificate for a ‘glacier hike’ that we had won, but needed to use it by Sept. 1. We had tried other days over the summer but had not had a lot of luck, BUT our luck changed on a PERFECT beautiful day in Juneau. We arrived at North Star Treking and boarded the helicopter with 3 Canadian’s that were on a cruise ship. We’d been told that b/c it was SO nice out we’d get to go on Taku Glacier vs on Mendenhall Glacier, Taku is only accessible on perfect days, where the Mendenhall is an option on cloudy socked in days.
We flew over Split Thumb and over some hanging glaciers,

off in the distance we could see Canada and Devil’s Peak.

Both had new snow on the tops!!! We continued over the icefield and up and over towards Hole in the Wall Glacier. Taku Falls was right below us, a waterfall that falls 600 vertical feet feeding into the Taku River system!

It was beautiful. Coming around the corner and seeing Taku Glacier from the front was beautiful. Taku Glacier is the only glacier on the Juneau Icefield that is advancing, so you can see trees, rocks and more that are being moved forward with the momentum of the glaciers movements.

Once off the helicopter,

we got to walk around on Taku Glacier for about an hour.

It was breathtaking to say the least… see all the pictures I have included. On the flight home we flew over Norris Glacier,

saw ice dams, and other amazing views,

until finally we were back to the airport in JNU, what a great day.

Sunday/Monday Sept. 2, 3, 2012

Our friends Matt and Kelly have a cabin up the Taku River and invited us to join them for the long weekend. They took their boat up on Sat. but we opted to fly on the ‘dead head’ flight to Taku Lodge on Sunday. The flight was $65 person, to simply be dropped at their dock. On the flight we saw the normal valleys and peaks but one neat view was that of the water below. In this shot you can see where the river water meets the ocean water. The river because it is made by glacial water is gray and made of fine silt (sand like) which is really just fine ground up rock from the ice moving over it.

Matt and Kelly came on their river boat and loaded us for the ride back to their cabin.

Riding on the river was such an amazing sight! There are waterfalls coming down on all the rocks towards the south side of the ride and 3 glaciers on our north side, Hole in the Wall, Taku and Norris.

We got to the cabin, off loaded some gear and took off again for more exploring! This is when the fun began!!!
We got up near Davidson Creek and thought it would be fun to go to the front where it flows into the river/ocean. We were attempting to find the slough that would lead us there but instead we got into the wrong slough and headed towards the opposite direction. Before long, we were stuck!

Stuck in the low tide, mucky, muddy shallow slough of some other falls. Kelly and Harry jumped turn us around, I hopped out to lessen the weight load and Matt stayed in boat to try to get motor back on and drive it out.

It took a good 45 minutes of pushing, pulling, tugging and such to get the boat out of the slough and to high enough water (1 foot was all we needed) to ride the boat back to the cabin.I basically walked out over the mudflats, but it felt more like cross country skiing! I ‘slid’ across this mud.

Each of us was muddy and wet, most of us got water in our boots.

We laughed a lot during the time, and it was not really scary because we knew the tide would eventually go the other way and get higher. The scariest part was probably after we got in deeper water and took off at a good pace, me up front, Harry and Kelly in the middle and Matt in the back driving, and BOOOOMMMM we hit a rock! Harry said my feet went up in the air and the look on my face was priceless. We were all okay, but it was funny.
That evening we had a nice dinner in the cabin, honkered down for a good nights rest, and awoke to a cloudy, socked in Sunday morning.

Bummer, we could not enjoy the view as much as we might have on a good day.

We hiked the property, looked at the old cabin, sat in the hot tub,

YES, I said hot tub, read for a while and headed back to town mid afternoon.
It was a great weekend, but you will notice immediately by looking at these pictures, the difference between a sunny day and a cloudy day in SE Alaska! These maps might begin to show you where we were… you can see downtown Juneau with the A and then the cabin at the B.

You can also see the glaciers that are feeding the River

Here is a great link to some of the history up Taku River!

http://www.history.noaa.gov/stories_tales/taku.html

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Nenana to ‘end’ the school year in June and Ketchikan to begin anew in August

by timistravels

We used to say summer was our slow time at my office but that can not be said any more!

Nenana, Alaska

I did a workshop in Nenana on June 11-13 and then started the new school year off on Aug. 1-2 doing a workshop in Ketchikan.
Here’s a little about each of those communities!
Nenana: To get to Nenana I flew from Juneau to Anchorage then onto Fairbanks. It was a beautiful day when I landed and I got to visit with my friend Gwenn, we met while we were both working for Galena School District but that’s another story! After lunch with Gwenn I drove the 55 miles from FB to Nenana. It was a beautiful day for the drive.

Nenana is known for a few key things:

1) dog mushing; a number of world-class teams train in the area.

2) The Nenana Ice Classic which has become a popular betting/lottery event each year in Alaska. People buy tickets and pick the date and time to the closest minute when they think the ice will break up on the Tanana River. Typically this happens in April or May. This contest was started in 1917 when people working in the area had to waste time waiting for the river ice to break so that boats could get there with the needed supplies. A black and white striped tripod gets set on the ice during the winter and has a timer on it and when the ice begins to melt, the tripod falls into the water. The winner(s) typically win lots of money, this last year was over $300,000.

3) President Harding drove a golden spike into the Mears Bridge which is 700 feet long and goes over the Tanana River. President Harding died a few days after this visit to Alaska.

I spent a lot of time in Nenana when doing the Residence Life grant b/c they built a Student Living Center for kids that choose to come to a residential boarding high school vs staying in their community. It is a beautiful building and about 80 kids a year come to Nenana to go to school.
Ketchikan, Alaska

To fly to Ketchikan I must either get up super early and fly directly or go mid morning and stop in Sitka on the way. When I googled it to see how far it was the directions made me smile! 99% of this would be on the ferry (Alaska Marine Highway) system!
Once in Ketchikan I was thrilled b/c it was not raining. I was instantly reminded of my first step in Alaska in June 1995 when I flew to Ketchikan and spent 2 nights before hopping on the ferry to get to Juneau. Wow, it has changed a lot. After the mills closed tourism became a big part of the community and more cruise ship docks were put in place to house more guests each day! I miss some of the ‘old’ Ketchikan feel.

Ketchikan is known for it’s rain and is one of the wettest spots in Alaska. Ketchikan is actually on Revillagigedo Island. You may have heard of this place during the 2008 elections because Ketchikan airport is located on Gravina Island and you have to take a ferry ($10 RT cash or $11 other wise) back and forth from town to the airport, there was legislation in at one point to build a bridge, latter to be called, “the Bridge to Nowhere”.
Ketchikan also has a branch of University of Alaska Southeast here and I used to come here often to do leadership classes and other such events for UAS.

I love both of these communities and have been to each about a dozen times. Each time I see something new and experience something different.

: for those that were unsure where Ketchikan is, here you go!

: lots of water here in K town

: this is what the tripod looks like sitting on the ice (this is a winter shot, not from JUNE!)

: Nenana and distances

: as I got off the plane before the ferry ride to town I could see the Taku was about to dock in port!

: Nenana in the heart of Alasks

: Ketchikan has a lot of totem poles and there is an entire park full of Tlingit totem poles.

: downtown Ketchikan with tourists all around

: the eagle helps welcome you to town on the sunny days of summer

: here is the Tripod on its summer non working days

: The old bridge that only the train goes over now, there is a different one for cars. But this is the one President Harding put the golden spike in!

: The Clan House in Ketchikan

: Gold creek is where a lot of older buildings stand. this was known as the Red Light District of AK for a long time.

: the cost to go on the ferry

: downtown Nenana on a nice summer day!

: here is the small ferry you ride back and forth to town on and the airport on, it took 3 minutes from one dock to the other, but it runs from each side every 1/2 hour

Here is what popped up when I googled the directions!!

Juneau – Ketchikan
311 mi, 9 hours 20 mins

Ketchikan,Ak – Wrangell,Ak and Petersburg – Juneau

Driving directions to Juneau, AK

3D2D

This route includes a ferry. – more info »

Ketchikan, AK

	1. Head northwest on Main St toward Dock St
		436 ft
	2. Take the 2nd left onto Grant St
		233 ft
	3. Turn right onto Water St
		0.4 mi
	4. Turn left onto Tongass Ave
		1.6 mi
	5. Turn left
		453 ft
	6. Take the Juneau – Ketchikan ferry
		282 mi
	7. Turn right toward Glacier Hwy
		213 ft
	8. Turn right onto Glacier Hwy
		4.0 mi
	9. Continue onto AK-7/Egan Dr
		8.5 mi
	10. Turn left onto W 10th St
		0.1 mi
	11. Take the 2nd right onto Glacier Ave
		240 ft
	12. Turn left onto W 9th St
		374 ft

Juneau, AK

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Special times with special people; CA to WA

by timistravels

This was not a work trip but rather a time for friends and family. However, I did have the opportunity to visit some amazing places that I thought i would share here.

Flew from Juneau to Seattle on Wed. 5/9 spent the night at a hotel then flew from met friends Seneca and Kathleen at the Seattle airport in the morn and flew to Medford, OR. This is the closet airport that AK AIR flies to, so to get to our destination of Ginny’s in Eureka, CA.

It actually was a beautiful drive through Grant’s Pass and then along the coast line. We enjoyed the sites and the warm weather, as we all left cooler days in AK.

On Friday Ginny took us on a drive south and hiked in the Redwoods, they were beautiful and you will see some shots attached. We stopped in small town of Loleta, CA for lunch and a stop at a cheese factory! On Saturday we went to the Arcadia Farmers Market, roamed the streets of town, ate at a crepe place (YUMMY) and ended the day with a hike into Patrick’s Point State Park where we sat for a few hours enjoying the sunshine and the ocean but mostly the company!

Sunday had us heading out early and back towards Medford. It was quite foggy in the morning but once we got away from the coastline the sunshine returned. Katheleen and Seneca hopped on a 2:00 flight back to the Great White North and I began my drive to Seattle.

Next Stop; Eugene for time with my niece, nephew and sister-in-law! It was Mandy’s 20th bday and Matt’s 22 so that was a great time to be there. Also drove to Monmouth for the day on Monday to spend some time with good friend Paula. What an amazingly beautiful home she has! she and her husband re-did an old school house and it is so amazing!

Tuesday I spend with family in Eugene but Wed. headed N to Portland to visit more fam and friends. This time Jennifer and Megan and I met for dinner. Good old laughs with good old friends.

Thursday was full of surprises as I got to visit some of Harry’s family (cousin and 2nd cousins). Morgan and Jason are 8 yr. old twins and I surprised them getting off the school bus, what joy kids bring to each day! We went to a local pub for dinner and Carol (Harry’s cousin, their grandma) joined us which was really special.

Friday I headed on the last leg of the trip, Portland to Seattle. I have done this one a lot, but it is always a nice casual ride. I got to stop this time in Tacoma to have lunch with friend Heather, and her daughter Caroline and husband Kevin. Arrived to good friends Zan and Monica about 4 so a lot of time to play with the girls (Sage 3.5 and Lola 1.5). What energy and what fun!

Spent the later part of the night with my cousin Karen and her family, always fun! Saturday was full of time with them, a visit to the part, Nolan’s ball game and finally a fun night out for me as I took Ruby and Nolan to dinner!

Sunday I was up and going as my flight left at 11 a.m. I got home at 12:30 and was immediately bummed that the May weather that I typically love in JNU was not there and it was cold and drizzly, AND the fact that I had left 80+ weather in Seattle. Oh well, regardless I was glad to be home, AS ALWAYS.

: in front of that uprooted tree

: yet another one, look how big they are

: a bit of information about the tree in the next pic

: an uprooted tree

: Ruby falling into a bed of flowers

: sat looking at this view for a few hours.

: first group shot of the trip and we almost lost ginny

: friends in Portland

: Patrick’s Point state park

: first of many gatherings I assume

: first peek at the redwoods

: Heather and her family in Tacoma

: visiting Paula in Monmouth

: quaint little town where we had lunch

: Nolan enjoying the sunshine

: the Pacific Ocean!

: big surprise for Morgan

: the house that was originally an old school building

: the lighting was beautiful

: the four of us enjoying the walk

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Kake (pronounced cake), Alaska! A beautiful Tlingit Community

by timistravels

This was my third visit to Kake this school year. I went in Sept. (29-30) to work on some community engagement work as well as do a workshop with their school board. It was my first visit to Kake and I really loved the community. Over the years when I worked at the University in Juneau (UAS), I have had a lot of students that were from Kake. They were always very proud of their community and continuously invited me down there to visit Kake and meet their families, I finally made it.

As per most Tlingit communities in SE Alaska Kake is set in a beautiful location. It is tucked into island such that the weather doesn’t beat on the community. The sun shines (a lot more than it was in Juneau as I left) often and it gets less rain than most of SE. The Tlingit people have lived in the area for thousands of years and were known as being strong and powerful individuals and indeed they are.

Kake has a totem pole that is 128-foot tall. At one time it was the largest, carved totem in the world, though there is now one larger. It was carved in 1967. (see photo).

There is a High School/Middle School building and an elementary school building. They are near each other so it is easy to go back and forth between the buildings. The community has a health center, a senior center, fire station, cannery, hatchery, grocery store and more! The Alaska Marine Highway ferry system goes to Kake a few times a month, so many people bring a vehicle to Juneau, fill it with goods and take it back home! Shopping at its best!

This spring during my 2 visits I helped them find a new superintendent, which means I will have one more trip there this fall, hopefully in Aug. I would love to get here in July when they do their Dog Salmon Festival where the community shares and celebrates their long history with fishing!

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: the harbor in kake

: Organized Village of Kake (OVK) office

: the bear

: elementary school

: smoking salmon… YUMMY

: small planes we fly in from JNU, takes about 45 minutes

: the health clinic

: again the bear

: the courthouse in town

: flying into Kake

: one of the largest totem poles in the world

: map of where Kake is on the SE Panhandle

: looking North into town

: here is the hatchery where we saw a bear

: the high school

: funny near the airport

: oh look a bear… a black bear fishes in the river near the hatchery

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Sitka by the Sea, what a beautiful community

by timistravels

I have been to Sitka several times since moving to Alaska in 1996, and even lived there from Jan-May 1997 working for the University of AK Southeast~Sitka for those months. Sitka has a wonderful history and it shines through even today. Sitka sits out on the open coast and is typically 5-10 degrees warmer than Juneau, so spring was really in the air when I was there April 10 and 11 to work with Pacific High School, the alternative HS in town.

The City and Borough of Sitka is located on the west side of Baranof Island and the southern half of Chichagof Island in the Alexander Archipelago of the Pacific Ocean (part of the Alaska Panhandle. There are about 8000 people that live there, and it is one of Alaska’s bigger cities! The borough is the second largest incorporated city by area in the U.S., with a total area of 4,811.5 square miles (12,461.7 km²), with 2,874.0 square miles!

Sitka is a beautiful community on the sea. They have an amazing arts program each summer for youth, the beautiful Totem Park to explore native totems, a raptor center that takes in birds (eagles mostly) that are ill or physically unable to care for themselves, and a large population of fisherman who love the land where they live! Both the US Park Service, US Forest Service, and Coast Guard are in town as well as the UAS campus. Along with the school district, South East Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) is the biggest employers.

One other noteworthy institution in Sitka is Mt. Edgecumbe High School. I worked with staff at MEHS for 6 years and love the school. It is a PUBLIC, statewide, boarding HS and up to 400 youth attend each year. Students come from all across the state to attend the school and the graduates of MEHS (mostly Alaskan Native) go on to many of our states leaders in every imaginable profession! It is a great school. I even got to do the commencement speech there one year!

Some interesting history on Sitka:

The name Sitka comes from the Tlingit word meaning “People on the outside of Shee” and Shee was what the Tlingit’s called Baranof Island.

The Tlingit people have been in the area now known as Sitka for over 10,000 years. However in 1799 Aleandr Baranov the governor of Russia America made this area a colonial trading area. Battles ensued between the Tlingit’s and the Russians in 1802 and many Russians were killed or taken as slaves. I found this about the next attack in 1827:

“The new Russian palisade atop “Castle Hill” that surrounded the Governor’s Residence had three watchtowers, armed with 32 cannons, for defense against Tlingit attacks. Baranov returned to Sitka in 1804 with a large contingent of Russians and Aleuts with the Russian warship Neva. The ship bombarded the Tlingit fort but was not able to cause significant damage. The Russians then launched an attack on the fort and were repelled by Tlingit fighters and marksmen. However, the Tlingit gunpowder reserves had been lost before the Russian assault and the Tlingit were forced to leave the fort.

Following their victory at the Battle of Sitka the Russians established a permanent settlement in the form of a fort, named Novoarkhangelsk (Новоархангельск), or New Archangel, a reference to Arkhangelsk, the largest city in the region where Baranov was born. The Tlingit re-established a fort on the Chatham Strait side of Peril Strait to enforce a trade embargo with the Russian establishment. In 1808, with Baranov still governor, Sitka was designated the capital of Russian America.

Sitka was the site of the ceremony in which the Russian flag was lowered and the United States flag raised after Alaska was purchased by the United States in 1867 after the sea otter pelt trade died out. The flag lowering and raising ceremony is re-enacted in Sitka every October 18, known locally as Alaska Day. Alaska’s first newspaper following the Alaska Purchase, The Sitka Times, was published by Barney O. Ragan on September 19, 1868. Only four issues were published that year, as Ragan cited a lack of resources available at the time. The paper resumed publishing the following year as the Alaska Times. In 1870, it moved to Seattle, where the year following it was renamed the Seattle Times (not to be confused with the modern-day newspaper of the same name). Sitka served as the capital of the Alaska Territory until 1906, when the seat of government was relocated north to Juneau.”

: Showing the year the Pioneer home was built

: The Bishop’s House, right on the main street across from the Harbor

: bigger map of where Sitka is located

: Herring season fishing, combat at best !!!

: Park Service

: Mt. Edgecumbe about 3200 feet above sea level at the top

: Pioneer Home is the home to many elderly in Sitka as well as other communities in the state. One year some of the women at MEHS had to live here b/c their residence halls were being renovated!

: in the pan handle of Alaska

: Russian Orthodox Church sits right in the middle of town, and you put your life on the line to stand in the road and take a picture of it!

: In front of the Pioneer Home

: Totem park run by USFS is a great place to spend a few hours exploring

: The Russian Blockhouse is a fun but somewhat flawed replica (the chainsaw scars are a dead giveaway that 19th century Russians were not involved). The structure does stand on the site of an original blockhouse, however, which was incorporated into a stockade wall surrounding the landward side of Sitka.

: The bridge that goes from town to the airport, the Coast Guard Base, Mt. Edgecume HS, UAS and SEARCH

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Travel

Craig, Alaska on the 3rd largest island in the United States!

by timistravels

March 3&4, 2012

Craig, Alaska is on Prince of Wales Island, the 3^rd biggest island in the United States and the 2^nd biggest in Alaska. (#1 is the big Island of Hawaii and #2 is Kodiak Island in Alaska). The island is 135 miles, 45 miles wide and has an area of 2,577 sq mi slightly larger than the state of Delaware. Approximately 6,000 people live on the island. Craig is the largest town on the island and about 56 miles (40 minute flight) from Ketchikan and 220 miles south of Juneau. I took Alaska Air to Ketchikan and on the way landed in Sitka. Once I was in Ketchikan I took a small flight to Craig. I left Juneau around 10 a.m. and got to Craig about 1:45. It was really, really windy flying from Ketchikan to Craig and I was actually happy I had not eaten lunch!

The plane lands in the community of Klawock where I rode with the superintendent (who was also on my plane) to Craig. About an 8 mile drive. As we landed in Klawock you could see some of the clear-cut areas and the mill, which processes the wood. Craig also relies on the timber industry. Fishing and fish processing are the major industry of Craig. There are about 1400 people that live there year round and many are involved in the fishing industry at some level.

I ran to the Dreamcatcher B & B and checked into my beautiful room then to the school where I met up with the board. We did our workshop and I got back to my place about 8 p.m. where I did a quick walk, even though it was raining a bit. (hence the pictures are dingy).

I got up at 5:30 a.m. so I could catch the 7 a.m. flight to Ketchikan (about 25 minute flight going this way) and then the 8 a.m. flight from Ketchikan to Juneau. There were 2 stops on that flight, Wrangell and Petersburg (with an 11 minute flight between the 2 stops), finally getting to Juneau around noon on Wed.

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