THE ALASKAN ADVENTURE Day 78 & 79 August 1 & 2, 2009 Sitka, AK

Saturday, August 1, 2009 finds us in Sitka, Alaska and it was a hang day. We hung around the camper in the morning. We then went to the Sitka Farmers Market and hung around there for awhile. The next spot was downtown where we had a bite to eat and hung around down there for awhile. We then returned to camper and hung around there for the rest of day. It was a good day for hanging.

We woke up on Sunday to a windy day but that did not deter us as today was bike day. After a leisurely breakfast we jumped on the bikes and headed to the Sitka National Historical Park. However on the way we passed the Sheldon Jackson Museum and decided to stop in. The museum hosts a collection of artifacts from different native groups that lived throughout Alaska. Most of the artifacts were collected between 1888 and 1900 and the museum actually opened in 1890. It was pretty amazing to see what these people could do with so little. They lived a life of subsistence and used what was at hand to make clothes, tools, cooking implements and methods of transportation. I cannot even begin to imagine what it was to live in that time. In reflecting on what we observed the first thought that came to mind was. We just do not realize or probably appreciate how easy and comfortable our lives are.

The second part of the museum is an aquarium and salmon hatchery. The museum part of it was closed but the hatchery was open. In the hatchery you could see all the fry that were in large vats ready to be released into the ocean. Pretty nice gig, harvest the eggs, release them into the ocean, wait 5 years for them to return.

We carried on to the park, locked up the bikes, and headed into the forest. We were told to make sure we stayed on the paths as there was quite a bit of bear activity. My first thought was: Here we go again. However we didn’t see any on our walk. The significance of the park is two fold. It hosts the battle site where the Russians defeated the Klingit for the last time and building the fort where the town now sits. The second feature of the park is the totem poles that are on display throughout the park. These totem poles were mostly carved in the 1800’s with a few replica’s done in 2007.

There are 4 different types of poles. One was an ancestral pole which represented their clan and their history. Another was for burial where they would cremate the honored one, put the ashes in a blanket and then put the blanket in the pole. Another one was a ridicule pole where they would make a pole to embarrass someone into paying a dept, etc. The last one was a story or legend tale pole. A lot of the totem poles in Alaska were destroyed by the missionaries because they incorrectly thought they were considered religious icons.

After leaving the park we headed back and it was a little tougher than the ride out. The wind had picked up and we were heading straight into it. We rode around town for awhile and then headed back to the camper.

Another good day in the great state of Alaska.