Alaska adventure, Mid-September 2019 – SE Alaska, Sitka, Ketchikan, Juneau, AK

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Sitka

Misty Fjords NP

We leave for the airport early preparing for traffic and long TSA lines.  The camper will stay at the Juneau airport for the next 4 days while we visit Sitka and Ketchikan before returning to Juneau.  Once through the lines we notice an earlier flight to Sitka is still boarding.  We take a shot asking if we can move to the earlier flight. The attendant responds with a yes allowing us to continue right on the plane.  The plane is more empty than full.

Sitka

Our flight takes us over a multitude of tree covered islands.  The sea is a dark blue.  Traveling light allows us to make the 30 minute walk from the terminal to Sitka.  There is little traffic, certainly more boat traffic passing under the bridge than vehicle traffic on the bridge.  No cruise ships in sight.  Stopping at the visitor center we find the cruise ship port is out of town, a shuttle is needed to ferry passengers to town; the town is quiet.  Our Airbnb is only two blocks from main street, downtown Sitka. 

A large church verifies the Russian presence in Sitka.  Russians started arriving in the 1780’s.  They were looking for natural resources much the same as everybody else has been doing since.  At first they worked with the native Tlingit people but as time went on tensions rose with battles ensuing in the early 1800’s.   Russian presence officially ended in 1867 when the US bought the land from the Russians ‘Sewards Folly’.  Sitka was Alaska’s first capitol in the early days of Alaska’s history.

Sitka Historical National Park sits on the water between historical sites of the Russian and native Tlingit peoples.  Trails winding through the forest take us past many totems.  A small museum in the Park’s visitor center gives us more information about the history of the Russian and Tlingit lives.

Hiking the cross town trail takes us along the edge of the forest abutting the town.  The several mile trail leads us to the Indian River.  Like all the other rivers we have visited we see many salmon heading upstream to spawn.

Russian cemetery

Famished, we loop back to Sitka along the port luckily finding a line of people waiting outside a food truck.  A line waiting for food is a good sign so we join the line ordering rockfish tacos, delicious.

During a brief respite at the port we notice fish jumping out of the water.  Only a few at first so we are not certain what’s going on.  Staying a while longer, more fish join the frenzy.  Then it subsides for a bit only to start over again.  A local passing by says they are coho salmon, ‘silvers’.  We head on to the pier taking the challenge of photographing one of them flying through the air.  After 20 minutes of mixed results we head on to our next adventure certain the cohos were watching us, jumping just outside of where our cameras were pointed.

 

 

Ketchikan

Creek Street

We enjoy a short 45 minute flight to Ketchikan.  The airport is on a small island. A 10 minute ferry ride takes us to main island where we catch the hotel shuttle for the ride to downtown Ketchikan.  During our ride we pass 5 docked cruise ships, dispersing passengers.  The going is slow with several thousand tourists wandering the streets.

We are staying at Inn at Creek Street, an old fashion hotel with antique furniture, overlooking main street. Creek Street, a former red-light district, is a historic boardwalk along the Ketchikan Creek housing many tourist shops.   

We arrive at Ketchikan with no real tour plans.  We get several recommendations for a boat tour of the Misty Fjords but following up on it we find none are available.  The person working the desk suggests we go down to the visitor center.  It is filled with friendly people each expounding the wonders of their tours.  After listening to a few describing their boat tours we decide to check out float plane tours of the Misty Fjords National Monument.  We haven’t been on a float plane – yet.  After a few questions, and the swipe of the credit card we are booked on a float plane tour of the Misty Fjords.

The Saxman Native Village is on our list of places to go.  It has an indigenous peoples museum, and an open park with 20+ totems on display.  A city bus takes us the few miles down the road to the park entrance.  Unfortunately the museum closes at 5, just as we arrive.  We are able wander through the park reading descriptions and viewing the totems.  After seeing the totems we plan to visit the museum tomorrow.

Ketchikan

Returning, we notice very few restaurants are open at 7 PM. We have dinner at the restaurant attached to the hotel.  We talk with the waitress about Ketchikan.  I mention noticing the large number of jewelry shops in town.  She informs us that the cruise lines actually own many of the jewelry shops in the immediate area where the cruise ships dock.  This also explains other shops with ‘locally owned’ signs posted at their main entrance.  Returning to our room we notice it’s already dark outside and it’s only 8 PM.

Our runway

Walking to the visitor center the next morning we notice only two cruise ships.   We meet the woman that sold us the tickets for the flight-see tour.  She scurries back and forth gathering all of us for the van ride to the dock where our plane is waiting.  The plane is full; six people.  The day is clear with little wind; no waves on our ‘runway’.  Our takeoff is smooth, smoother than I have experienced taking off from land.

The scenery is astounding.  Deep lakes, tall waterfalls, miles of trackless forest.  Our pilot tells us there are a handful of cabins within Misty Fjords, one gets to them either by float plane or boat.  Mountain goats hang out on the tops of some of the mountains we fly by.  We land on one of the lakes, quiet and peaceful.

Once back in town we visit the Misty Fjords Discovery Center.  We see displays on natural history, mining, lumber, and the indigenous people of the area.  We stop at one of the dockside restaurants for another meal featuring seafood; crab mac and cheese, we savor every bite.

Finished with lunch we notice the town starting to close down.  The cruise ships are preparing to leave – no cruise ships - no tourists – no reason for the shops to stay open.  We contact the Saxman Native Village; they are already closed.  We spend the afternoon wandering the empty streets window shopping; stopping in the one or two shops that are still open.  For dinner we find a pizza place that delivers, we enjoy dinner in our room.

The next morning we are up at 5 for the ride back through town, the ferry ride to the airport, then the flight back to Juneau.  Our first flights to Sitka and Ketchikan were short, 45 – 60 minutes each.  This one make up for that by stopping at the town of Wrangell and Petersburg before arriving at Juneau.  These are the same stops we will be making on our ferry trip between Juneau and Prince Rupert, the start of our trip back to NM.

We wander around downtown Juneau on our last day in Alaska.  We find our last souvenirs.  We pick out a campsite close to the port where the ferry departs.  We grill some burgers and chicken for dinners on our drive back to NM.  Tomorrow we have an early start for our ferry ride to Prince Rupert.

Next, our trip back home.

Thank you for stopping by,

Mark