Sitka - Part 6

Yesterday morning I left the Hostel and decided to walk to Sitka National Historical Park, which is one of the oldest national parks in Alaska.

Rather than describe all of the amazing history that is tied to both the town and to this park, here is a link for more information:

http://www.nps.gov/sitk/index.htm

I had no idea how far of a walk it was to the park, but it did not really matter.

The temperature was mild outside, it was not raining or snowing, and I was greatly looking forward to getting away from town for a while and having the opportunity to perhaps walk on some trails.

I got only a few hundred yards from the end of my road before I felt compelled to stop and look and picture take.

I unexpectedly found this fish hatchery so close to the boat harbor that I have passed many times since my arrival here in Sitka...............

A much larger fish ladder than the ones that I am used to seeing in Juneau..............

I never get tired of discovering new things.

I cannot descrbie how exciting it was when I was an adventure racer to find a little orange and white flag in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the mountains in the middle of the night.

And I cannot describe how exciting it is to walk past a beautiful boat harbor many times a day for five days straight, and then walk only a few hundred yards in the opposite direction and unexpectedly find the scenes I found above.

The spirit of an adventurer..............

Once I walked back to the road I saw the sign for the national park and walked along the road prepared for either a long walk or a short walk, and either one was OK..............

After only another very short while I came across this old and very beat up building.

I read some of the signs on the outside of the building as I was passing by and saw that it was related to the fish hatchery and also contained an aquarium.

The outside of the building was very.........humble.

And although I was curious to see if the building was actually open and actually contained information and exhibits related to fish hatching (?) and aquarium stuff (?) I was much more interested in being outside, walking on trails, communing quietly with nature.

Nature was calling to me.  It was silently screaming at me.

And so I kept walking - away from fish hatcheries and away from Sitka and away from people............

People I know in Juneau wondered aloud before I left to come here, whether I would be bored spending so much time in such a small SE Alaskan fishing town.

Because I have been travelling on foot and therefore moving slowly enough to see and take in EVERYTHING, and because there are so many things to see and feel about this town, I have not been bored for even one moment that I have been here.

Part of the reason is because of this...............

I am not sure if water and mountain and pine tree pictures all look the same to everyone who is reading this blog.

My oldest son Sean down in Tennessee told me that they all look the same to him.

But my child is a young, upwardly mobile, urbanite who does not see what I see when I look at these pictures.

Maybe he will one day when he is older, or maybe they will all still look the same and his interests and passions will continue to be different.

Regardless, the water looks different to me in Sitka compared to Juneau compared to Ketchikan compared to Petersburg compared to Haines.

And so do the mountains and so does the sky..............

A hugely interesting.......something........resting on the rocks by the edge of the water...........

Found on my walk along the side of the road parallelling the water, while heading to the park............

Surprisingly, and somewhat disappointingly, my walk was very short.

There were a couple of vehicles parked in the parking lot, but as I stood outside the Visitors Center trying to decide if I wanted to walk inside first or walk outside on the trail first, I saw no-one around.

The first of many totem poles that I saw yesterday............

I walked inside the empty building, quickly looked around for a moment to get the lay of the place, and then turned to the front desk and spoke to a smiling and very cute park ranger.

He told me that I was welcome to watch a 12 minute video on the history of the battles and eventual Russian conquest of the area, and even though I was the only person in the movie theater I did indeed watch a great movie that helped to put the park, what I was about to see on my walk, and the history of Sitka into context.

Since he was closing the center to go to lunch for an hour I decided to walk on the trails and then make my way back to the Visitors Center after I was through.

With handy-dandy trail map in hand, that I took a cursory look at before shoving into my pocket, I headed onto very open, well groomed and easy-to-walk trails....................

The first thing that I found was a building that housed original totem poles that were in various stages of disrepair, but were now being housed in an effort to preserve them.

I had been told by the way-cute park ranger that all of the totems on the trail were reproductions that were carved and erected during the Depression Era (CCC workers).

These totems on the trail are repaired and repainted on a regular basis...........

The totem poles in this building were of various lengths from approximately 10 feet to approximately 40 or 50 feet, and were only visible through lit cages.

They were all laying sideways and separated on individual stands. 

They were obviously worn, obviously weathered, obviously old, and all absolutely stunningly beautiful.

One small piece of one of the original totem poles............

All of the trails were well maintained and wide open.

Easy and quiet walking on an easy and quiet day.............

Only one bridge in the entire park, and a view of the river.

A river for catching salmon at other times of the year............

A small monument dedicated to Russian sailors that died at this place................

And the view of the water from the Russian monument............

Picture taking and blogging fools take pictures of just about anything.

When I was in Haines I took pictures of some kid and his ratty worn out shoes.

When I am in Sitka I take pictures of..........wood.

There was obviously a lot of tree trimming and cutting and trail maintenance that had taken place recently, and along one trail there were huge amounts of wood that looked just like this.

I saw the artistry in the rings and shot the picture............

And then I found a large rock by the river to sit on for a while...........

Rather than simply following the Totem Pole Trail I (of course) wandered all over the place while I was out there.

I took various trail off-shoots just to see where they led.

Because this is a relatively small park I quickly learned that all the side trails eventually hooked up with the main trails.

I was in absolutely no hurry to be done with my trail walking, and I know that I double backed onto trails very often as I wandered.

I found all kinds of things that ridiculously kept me entertained while I was out there - interesting tree roots, the trailer park that bordered the park, the river, the mountains, the information signs along the way, the odd ravens and eagles that I saw flying from one tree to another, the odd person or young family that walked by, the really funny bulldog who ran up to me and obviously thought that I was funny looking as well because he stood there staring at me curiously for at least two minutes before his owners called him back................

After wandering around for a couple of hours I did eventually and finally happen upon the Totem Pole Trail.

I wanted to see all the totems, but I also knew that once I hit that trail I was heading back towards the Visitors Center, so kept the best for last..........

A very zoomed in picture of the bridge I crossed the other day.........

A view of the city from the shoreline at the park............

Yet more of the many many islands that dot this waterway..........

When I was close to the Visitors Center I came across these young boys with their plastic bags, noisily and happily picking up trash.

There was not a lot to pick up, but it was nice to see them out there anyway, happily and willingly volunteering their time and enjoying the day..........

Some pictures taken inside the Visitors Center.

I did not spend a lot of time there, but greatly enjoyed the colorful displays and exhibits describing both native Alaskan and Russian history in this part of the world...........

After leaving the state park I headed back towards town, and unexpectedly saw this hand painted sign for the first time.

I am going to have to check it out before I leave.............

I spent a lot of time walking yesterday - at the boat harbor close to town, along the water and road heading back and forth to the national park, and on trails while out at the park.

Being outside is when things manage to make a little sense for me.

Being outside on trails, in the woods, on the water in my kayak (and the last time I did that - or rode my bike - was quite a while ago. Why is that???).  And then things make a little sense..............

Yesterday evening I went to the downtown library to listen to a couple tell about their mountain bike adventure.

She was in her mid-50s and he was in his mid-60's and this past summer they spent 2 1/2 months riding the Continental Divide - from Montana to the Mexican border.

About 150 enthusiastic people crowded into a section of the library to hear this very interesting couple share stories and pictures of their wonderful adventure.

It was a great way to spend an hour last night, and I am very glad I was here in Sitka to hear them speak..........

One last picture of a young family and their dog taken out on the beach near the national park.......