The highlight of the 17th Sitka WhaleFest was whale watching. November is when Humpback Whales gather in Sitka Sound to bulk up, either before they make their swim to Hawaii to mate or give birth, or as a prelude to … Continue reading Sitka WhaleFest 2013, The Whale Watch Cruise
I’ve never before been to Sitka’s WhaleFest, even though it has been run by old friends. I have missed 16 of them. I’ve always been out on assignment in early November and never thought to rearrange my schedule to be … Continue reading Sitka WhaleFest, 2013.
This has been a wonderful weekend in Sitka. While we see snow on our mountains all year, those closest to the sea are bare in the summer. We had a lot of rain at sea level during the week; in the mountains it was snow. On Saturday it cleared and the near peaks and our volcano got their white snow caps back. “Termination Dust” is what Alaskans call it, the snow that means summer jobs are over. Some of these are shots taken on the water this weekend on a whale watch sponsored by Sitka WhaleFest (the whales I will … Continue reading Termination Dust, Sitka Alaska, November 2, 2013
Alaska Day in Sitka Alaska Day commemorates the day in 1867 when the United States took possession of Alaska from the Russians. It’s Sitka’s day. Up until that time Sitka ran on the Julian calendar and was west of the International Date Line. Sitka jumped ahead about two weeks in an instant when the American flag hit the top of the pole on Castle Hill. In most Alaska communities Alaska Day is just a substitute for Columbus Day, which is a federal but not a State holiday. In 1980 when I worked at KTOO in Juneau, we did a vox … Continue reading Alaska Day in Sitka, Alaska, 2013
The weather obliged with rain during “Running of the Boots” this morning but the clouds broke and the sun broke through a dramatic sky mid-afternoon. Suzi and I decided to run up to the top of Harbor Mountain for much of the afternoon. The autumn has progressed, the colors are a little more vivid than they were earlier in the week when I posted. Continue reading Harbor Mountain Redux, Sept 2013
Today Sitka celebrated the “End of the Season” with 19th annual “The Running of the Boots.” Why not? San Fermin, Spain has its running of the bulls. We don’t have bulls on our island, or even bull moose, but we … Continue reading Running of the Boots, Sitka, Alaska, Sept, 2013
Our trees do not turn to the colors of the hardwood forests in the East, but alder leaves do turn yellow and the alpine tundra in the mountains above Sitka turns red, gold and brown while the spruce, hemlock and cedar lower on the slopes retain their different shades of green. On Tuesday the skies unexpectedly cleared, the weather bureau was caught off guard, and we had sun through Wednesday afternoon. I got in the jeep and drove 2,000 feet up Harbor Mountain both to watch the new weather front come in from the Gulf of Alaska and walk through … Continue reading Harbor Mountain, Autumn 2013
Fall has come to Sitka. I arrived in a storm, typical for the season. Holland America canceled the last two cruise ships of the season because winds and seas made it difficult to put a pilot on or take a … Continue reading Fall in Sitka, 2013
This year Sitka hosted its second annual Highland Games as part of the Sitka Seafood Festival. The festival had a parade, marathon and booths selling fresh seafood and local crafts on the Sitka Fine Arts Camp Campus (former Sheldon Jackson College.) Continue reading Sitka Highland Games, August, 2013
St. Lazaria is a volcanic island off of Cape Edgecumbe. Mt. Edgecumbe forms the backdrop for this island. Some historians day the island is the top of Edgecumbe when it exploded several thousand years ago. The island is now … Continue reading St Lazaria National Wildlife Refuge, Sitka, Alaska, August 1997
2013 may be a record year for pink (humpback) salmon. On August 1 Thousands of Salmon wait for the tide to turn at the mouth of Starigavan Creek before they begin their final fatal swim that holds the promise for the … Continue reading Pink Salmon Run, Sitka, Alaska, August 2013
This is a sequence of a whale sounding in Sitka Sound, August, 2013. Continue reading Whale Sounding, August, 2013, Sitka Alaska
This year is shaping up to be a good year for Pink Salmon. Seiners, Trollers and other creatures are enjoying the abundance of Sitka Sound. Continue reading On the Fishing Grounds, Sitka, Alaska, August, 2013
I have posted a lot of photo blog pages from Sitka this summer and wrote a letter for family and friends. This letter is the best way to introduce you to my home town and guide you to the picture pages in this blog. August 19, 2013 Sitka, Alaska Dear Friends, Such a summer! It is hard to believe that the “Back to School” section of The Sentinel is out. But the days are getting shorter. Sunrise today was at 5:38 and sunset will be at 8:31, just under 15 hours. We are losing 4 minutes a day. I’m sitting … Continue reading Sitka, Alaska, Home Base
The Harbor Mountain road takes you to the 2,000 foot level of Harbor Mountain and connects with trails. The road was recently rebuilt. It was originally built by the military in World War II. At the top of the mountain sat a super secret radar site which scanned the seas for Japanese ships. For more on Harbor Mountain, please see Harbor Mountain, Autumn 2013 and Harbor Mountain Redux, Sept 2013 Continue reading Harbor Mountain, Sitka, Alaska
Several of you have sent me emails or even called asking if Suzi and I are ok. We are more than ok. When home I don’t write, I am just too busy enjoying the best Sitka has to offer, in both activities and weather. The Sitka Summer Music Festival, the Sitka Fine Arts Camp, Jazz on the Waterfront, the Alaska Raptor rehabilitation center, walks in the National Park and the Starigavan Estuary, visits to the cathedral (father Michael opened the iconostas so we can see the beautifully carved altar, the glorious change bell ringing at the cathedral, a series of … Continue reading Sitka, Alaska, June 2013
One of the great joys being home in June is just sitting by my window and watching. Ships pull into my front yard, fish start jumping and the eagles come in for the kill, fishermen make their evening set outside my window, storms roll in, as does the fog. In the morning we often hear the fog horns of a ship making for anchor. This is an active months, the Fine Arts Camp, the Music Festival, boats to ride, hikes to take, meals with friends, but I always leave enough time to sit by my window and watch. I have … Continue reading Sitting by my window, June, 2013
One of the reasons to come home to Sitka every June is the Sitka Summer Music Festival. Every Summer for 42 years it has graced our town. Suzi and I have attended since 1981. The Festival presents chamber music in … Continue reading Sitka Summer Music Festival, June 2013
One of the delights of the Sitka in June is the Sitka Summer Music Festival. We have wonderful performances and we can sit in on some open rehearsals. Here Natasha Paremski and Navah Perlman Schubert’s Fantasy for Four Hand Piano. It was fascinating watching them work out body movements so that they don’t collide because they are both very active and expressive players. They marked up the score as they went and practiced until Natasha cried out “Nailed it!” And in performance they did. Continue reading Piano Four Hands, Sitka Summer Music Festival, June 2013
One of the joys of living in Sitka is getting out on the water. We were out twice in June, once on a cruise sponsored by the Sitka Summer Music Festival, where we listened to Schubert while anchored in a … Continue reading Crusin’ Sitka Sound, June 2013
Today I watched as an immature bald eagle went fishing in front of my window. You can tell an immature eagle by the fact that its head is not yet white, however, this eagle seems to be ready to mature as its tail feathers are white. Continue reading Eagle Fishing, Series 2, Sitka, June, 2013
The wind brought down the top of an old Sitka Spruce in Sitka National Park. The Tree was named Methuselah. It stood when the Jamestown was founded, the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, and when Bering and Cherenkov sailed from Russia to the new world. The tree was two centuries old when our nation declared independence. It was two and a half centuries old when Baranof fought the battle of Sitka with the Tlingit near where the tree stood. Because of the danger the tree posed the National Park Service cut the rest of it down. An old friend is … Continue reading A 460 Year Old Tree Comes Down, June 2013
I took this sequence of pics from my living room deck. It shows two eagles in the hunt, an juvenile who does not yet have the white head and tail, and an adult. But it shows the sequence pretty well, sitting in a tree, flying up for a look, spotting something and the power dive. There is a second series of eagle fishing photos here. Continue reading Sitka, Eagles Hunting, June 2003
At noontime we were heading for an organ recital at the Lutheran Church. We were stopped in our tracks when the bell tower of St. Michael’s erupted in glorious change bell ringing. I had not heard the bells in years, mostly because we have been out of Sitka for years. The Lutherans had to wait while we enjoyed the joyous sound. We arrived at the recital late. After the recital we noticed a sign on St. Michael’s Cathedral saying that for the first time we could see the altar. Each time in the past when I had been in the … Continue reading St. Michael’s Cathedral, Sitka, Alaska, June 2013