Sitka Alaska

 Our second  day in Sitka we took a tour on a high speed catamaran to view sea otters. It Was a very nice relaxing cruise once we got into the shelter of the small islands. Before that we had to encounter quite a high swell. In spite of having been on the ship in some relatively rough seas at times, being on a small boat is quite a different story and many of us started to feel just a little queasy. Lucky for me it passed and was relieved by standing up while we were sailing.

 The boat was able to get in very close to the shore where we got a good look at the rock formations and bush. A seam of deposit along the rock on the tide line looked like gold but it was something in the water to make it so colourful and we never did find out it what it was but the water around that area was quite brown. One thing for sure it was never going to be gold!!!

 We loved the low mist that would come down and cover everything so quickly. Gave a very mystical effect.

 Eventually we came across the group of sea otters that the captain was hoping he would find today.
Very cute little creatures. Some with pups. They were a group of at least 40.

 In Sitka town we called into a small hippie-ish coffee cafe with a  wonderful atmosphere although no housework had been done for more than a few months. The coffee was awful. All the cups and mugs were mis matched. Some chipped, like the one they gave me below and the logo matched perfectly.
The light switches were all painted with designs. Thats a first. Never seen that before.

 The Pioneers Retirement Home where the residents make handcrafted items and sell them in a shop inside the building. A lovely old building but on closer inspection it needed a lot of maintenance doing on it.

 A street in the small town on Sunday morning.

 A stuffed halibut in the entrance to the sports shop. They are huge and difficult to bring in once they are caught on a line from a boat. They are a very deep water fish and its a hard, long slow haul up to the top but when they are near the surface they put up a huge fight and often need to be killed before they can get them on board so they are stunned or shot. Horrible.

 St Michaels Cathedral built in 1848 and is a cultural representation of the earlier  Russian culture.

 The salmon trap at the entrance to the the Sitka National Historical Park. It was full of salmon.

 The fresh water stream going out into the saltwater bay where they have installed a net barrier to keep the sea otters out. The otters eat the salmon.

 A Fairly typical house in Sitka.

 Entrance to the Totem pole walk in the forest.

 There were numerous totem poles along the trail in the 107 acre park.

 This hat in the museum was completely made of small beads. Part of the native Tlingit peoples national dress.

 A piece of artwork also using small beads hanging from the salmon.

 More beadwork in a rug.

 On the way back to town we walked past this old shed with the flashest sign advertising a science centre gift shop and chowder. Somehow they didn't go together. You see it all here.

 We called this the house of the rising sun due to the sun painting on the gable.

 They use timber for everything and it was amazing to see the plant life still growing on the tops of these poles along the jetty

This one somehow slipped out of sequence from the earlier photos.
Well now its goodbye to Alaska and back to the USA. Its been a fantastic country to visit.

Sitka, Tongas Rainforest

Sitka in Alaska was where we did a very memorable hike in the rain forest. It was so interesting and beautiful and our guides gave us an interesting account of the plant and insect life  as well as the forest vegetation. We had already done a few forest walks on our travels in Alaska but this one was quite special and I just never get tired of the beauty of the forests Above is a banana slug. Our guide told us that if you hold one for long enough it will slowly anaesthetise that part of your hand. I didn't try but they are huge.

 We walked a mile and a half up over a hill and down into Mosquito Cove. No mosquitos though, thank goodness.

 There were lots of little barnacles on pieces of rocks on the shore. Very pretty.

 A bit of an obstacle course in parts. This side of the island gets very high winds at times and takes out many of the shallow rooting trees.

 There were plenty of wild berries for the bears to eat. Many are edible and we tried some that the guides told us were safe.

 A huge black Arion slug which is a very invasive species. We were advised to try and avoid stepping on them as their mucus is nasty and sticks to your shoes. The only way to remove it is to use paint thinners.

 These are Huckleberries and very nice to eat. Juicy and sweet.

 Had more than our share of rain over the last two weeks. Will be pleased to put my raincoat away.

 Lots of moss and lichen carpets. Beautiful.

Then finally over the next hill and down onto another beach.

 Fresh water was coming down between the rocks and through the windblown sand making it fan out like a river and making braided patterns. It was like watching a sand timer.

 The crevices in the rocks once the tide was out, showed plenty of coloured stones covered in the tiny barnacles.

 It was exciting to sea a beautiful green sea anemone. Richard walked out to a rocky point where there was a very large rock pool with dozens of anemones

 Many of the trees were laden with lichen. Everywhere there are so many very intense shades of green.

 Another banana slug.

 On the way back to town we sailed through this narrow gap into another beautiful bay. I just can't get enough of all this scenery. Its stunning.

Devils Club plant from which they use the berries to make a salve to help relieve  joint pain especially arthritis. We  bought some in Sitka and Richard has been rubbing it on his arthritic fingers and says it is definitely helping.