August 14-19 Sitka to Petersburg
SUN! GLORIOUS SUN!
Upon our arrival in Sitka we found real sunshine & clear skies, & we felt renewed! There were 2 campgrounds located near the ferry terminal so as soon as we got off the ferry we investigated them. However, since the nice US Forest Service campground was dry camping only, but lovely wooded spots, we moved on. Since we were going to be in Sitka for 4 days dry camping would be a little challenging. We drove into town & found a nice small city campground across the O’Connell Bridge that had hook ups & all the spots faced the surrounding bay. This campground was less than a mile from town so it was great for riding our bicycles to town during the days. The O’Connell Bridge connects the town of Sitka to the small Japonski Island. It was the only vehicular cable-stayed bridge in US at the time of its completion in 1972. (We’ll have to research that “cable-stayed” term later. In 2006 AAA named the O’Connell Bridge one of “Seven Remarkable Bridges” of the West. It was lovely & fun to ride our bikes over when going back & forth to Sitka. The Sitka Airport is located on Japonski Island so the 2nd morning in Sitka we rode our bikes to the airport & had breakfast there in their restaurant. We enjoyed watching the small aircraft land & take off as well as the 1 Alaskan Airline plane take off for it’s daily flight to Seattle. 1 plane in & out to Seattle daily & 1 plane in & out to Juneau daily. Other than that the small planes will take you wherever you wish to go.
We enjoyed our stay in Sitka but it turned out that 4 days there was a little lengthy. Most of the town is filled with tourists shops which become a little tedious after a day or two. Most of these towns along the Inner Passage are stopovers for the many cruise ships that visit AK each summer so the towns are filled with cruise visitors during the day time. We did visit the Tlinget Totem Pole Forest, the Raptor Center, & Castle Hill, the site of the Russian Baranof Castle. The castle was located on the top of a hill on the edge of town & it was the location of the transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States on Oct. 18, 1867. Oct. 18th is celebrated each year as Alaska Day! We also celebrate son, Mike’s birthday on that day! The Raptor Center was particularly interesting. It is a hospital & rehabilitation center for injured eagles, falcons, owls, hawks, & other raptors. They also rehabilitate injured ravens but they are not considered raptors. We also walked around the Pioneer House which sat upon a hill on the edge of downtown. It was originally a US Marine Barracks but when the Marines left it was converted to a home for aging pioneers. It was lovely & very well maintained. We attended the local Sitka Farmers’ Market on Saturday morning which was fun. I have really enjoyed going to many local farmers’ markets during this trip.
Prior to being at the ferry terminal on Monday at 3 am we enjoyed a lovely dinner at VanWinkle Restaurant in town. After dinner we parked the BF in a parking area at the Old Sitka Historic Park which was near the ferry to sleep for a few hours prior to going to the terminal. There were no signs saying No Overnight Parking so we just pulled in. One bit of caution that we took is that we didn’t walk Bennie around the area since it was heavily laden with lots of brush & trees & plants. Hence, bears could be nearby!
In the ferry vehicle line the next morning (3:00 am!) we actually witnessed a most SPECTACULAR sight! The Aurora Borealis appeared right overhead! What an amazing & magnificent sight it was! It lasted about 7 minutes & it even “danced” right before our eyes! BEAUTIFUL! It is a little early in the season for the Northern Lights to appear so we were indeed blessed to have had that sighting.
We boarded the M/V Matanuska ferry about 4 am & she quietly left port about 5 am & headed south on the Inner Passage. The Matanuska is about the same size as the 1st ferry were we on, but it didn’t seem to be as newly refurbished as the Malapina. People were sleeping all over the boat – in seats, on the floor, tents on the deck with campers, on the few sofas that were around, etc. Everything is quiet & dark. (No safety announcement on this leg of the journey! Don’t want to disturb the guests, I guess.) Steve & I tried sitting by a window in the bow of the boat to watch the us traverse the waters out of & around Sitka (there are many many teacup islands in that area) & I began “penning” this blog, but eventually we gave way to the sandman & hit the recliner lounge for a little snooze. There were 2 USFS personnel on board who presented several lectures during the day. The mid morning presentation was on whales & miraculously we saw many humpback whales alongside & in front of the boat was she was speaking. The humpback & the orca or killer whales are the most common whales seen in the Inner Passage. We have our eyes peeled to hopefully see an Orca before leaving AK! The afternoon presentation was about the difficulty boats have for navigation the Wrangle Channel & also a brief discussion on the town of Petersburg which was our destination for this ferry trip. We will pass through the Wrangle Channel after leaving Petersburg on the way to Ketchikan.
Our arrivial in Petersburg was interesting. During our 11 hour journey that day we had decided to try to change our ferry tickets so as not to stay in each of these island towns quite as long as we had originally planned. Besides becoming anxious to see our little “grands” in San Diego, we found that we really don’t need multiple days to visit & take in the sights of each town & island. After getting our ferry schedule rearranged we headed into town (1 mile from the terminal) to scope out the campground that was highly acclaimed in some literature we had collected. As we drove up to it I said to Steve “Let’s keep on going!” We did drive on but stopped a block or so passed the campground & looked at one another with the “Go where?” written all over our faces! As we hurriedly tried to find something else in all our books & pamphlets we had with us a car pulled up alongside the BF & a woman said to us “Are you looking for a suitable campground in the area?” “Yes, please!” we answered. She told us to drive 3 miles north & there would be a nice campground that we would like much better than the one we had just passed by. We found it easily & happily pulled in for the next couple of nights. It was rather late in the afternoon (5 pm) & we had little food on board because you have to turn off your propane on the ferries & therefore we carry little fresh food in the refrigerator during these long hauls, & we were now discussing about where to go to get something for dinner. Ah ha! The very nice woman (She & her husband live in the campground we came to find out.) who had rescued us on side streets of Petersburg came up to our camper with a bag full of freshly caught & cooked Dungeness crab for us. Wow! For us? For dinner? Yes, it was caught right in the bay waters off the campground & she wanted us to have it. Now that is what Alaska is all about! Everyone has been so kind & friendly & has reached out to us & to all the visitors who visit their state during the travel season.
After a lovely night’s rest we will explore Petersburg for a day & a half & then head to Ketchikan via ferry on Aug. 20.
