ALASKA FERRY

Day two, Alaska Ferry trip

I was disappointed with the weather as I wanted to get some nice scenery photos along the way.  After a very good nights sleep, rocking like a baby in my bunk, I awoke to find the second day was sunny and fairly warm.  It was a glorious day and I took lots of photos.  Definitely better than driving.

                             That evening, about 4 p.m. we stopped at the town of Sitka for three hours.  I took the opportunity to get off the ship and take a taxi into town.  Sitka was the capital of Alaska when it was part of Russia.  The Russians sold it to the Untied States in 1867.  I went to the place where the Russian flag was taken down for the last time and the American flag was hoisted for the first time in Alaska.  Later, the Americans moved the capital to Juneau.  The Russians wanted Alaska for the valuable Sea Otter pelts.  After they decimated the Sea Otter population, they lost interest in Alaska and offered it for sale to the United States.  The church in the photo is the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Michael.

Also in Sitka I saw the Edgecumbe volcano.  It is a dormant volcano; named by Captain Cook in 1778 after a place in England or perhaps a person in England.

About two hours before arriving at Sitka, the ship has to pass down a narrow channel where it is close to shore on both sides.  Here I got a brief glimpse of a Humpback Whale and some type of dolphin or porpoise.  They did not brake the surface very much and therefore could not see them very well.

Also, in the narrows I saw many birds including Bald Eagles, Common Mergansers, Glaucous-winged Gulls, White-winged Scoter, Surf Scoter, North-west Crow and some Common Murres.  The North-west crow looks identical to the American crow in the lower 48 states except for the different call and the different range.

At Sitka I saw 19 Trumpeter Swans very close to the edge of the road.  They were quite tame and did not fly away when we stopped the taxi and got out to take a photo.

Day three, Juneau, Alaska

After another good nights sleep, we arrived in Juneau at 6.45 a.m.  I got off the ship and spent 24 hours there.  A couple that I met on the ship graciously invited me to get some sleep at their house. Sometimes I meet such nice people when I travel.  There are so many evil people in the world, it is good to know that there are also some very nice ones.  While in Juneau I went to see the Mendenhall Glacier which is just on the edge of town.