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Sitka, Alaska

Before we get to today’s topic of my visit to Sitka, I present the usual weekly logic puzzle. This one is an old classic. I’ve seen it worded lots of different ways, but always comes down to the same thing.

You're at a fork in the road in which one direction leads to the City of Lies (where everyone always lies) and the other to the City of Truth (where everyone always tells the truth). There's a person at the fork who lives in one of the cities, but you're not sure which one. What question could you ask the person to find out which road leads to the City of Truth?

The answer appears at the end of the newsletter

 
 

Recently I visited Sitka, Alaska for three days. I arrived there after a four-day voyage on the Alaska Ferry from Bellingham, Washington. I wrote about this journey in a three- part series in my newsletters of May 15, May 22 and June 5. Sitka was chosen rather arbitrarily as a place serviced by the ferry that also had an airport. I did a cruise ship stop there in 2004 and liked it and felt it was worthy of a longer visit.

 
Russian Orthodox Church. One of the few buildings still standing, anywhere in North America, from the Russian era.
Russian Orthodox Church. One of the few buildings still standing, anywhere in North America, from the Russian era.

I stayed at a small studio apartment rented through AirBnB. It was a simple but functional place. The location was a mile from the heart of town, but the unit kindly came with bicycles to use. There was a nice park between my rental and the center of town which had lots of totem poles. The rental was conveniently in the same building as the Harbor Mountain Brewing Company, which I highly recommend.

 

Sitka was the former capital of Alaska when it was claimed by Russia. It should be noted that Russia only had several small settlements along the coast of Alaska. The one in Sitka they barely held onto due to off and on wars with the natives. One of the many things that bother me is when people say we purchased Russia for $7.2 million in 1867, a deal known as “Seward’s Folly.” I strongly feel it wasn’t Russia’s to sell and they barely had control over very small parts. The way I would phrase it is we purchased their claims to the land, which were tenuous at best. I could say the same thing about the Louisiana purchase.

 

Sitka has a population of about 8,300 only. Therefore, there isn’t a great deal to do. I was there in early May before the cruise ship season was in full swing. Speaking of which, when I was there signs were everywhere on both sides of a “proposition 1.” I would learn that it proposed limits on cruise ship traffic, putting a cap on the number of cruise visitors per year. Most signs were against it and had a picture of a cruise ship and words to the effect of protecting jobs. In writing this newsletter I see the proposition failed with 73% voting no. For more information on that, I suggest the article Sitkans reject ballot proposition to cap cruise traffic Had I lived there, I would have voted “no” as well. As someone from Las Vegas, we complain about tourists a lot, but the city relies on them economically. You have to take the bad with the good sometimes.

 
My favorite food truck in Sitka
My favorite food truck in Sitka

The one thing I did many times was walk through the Sitka National Historic Park, which was a peaceful wooded area with a large collection of totem poles from other parts of Alaska. If you have time, also visit the visitor center. When I was there, I was the only visitor and the lonely person on staff seemed happy to have someone to talk with. I’m very interested in totem poles and have always wanted to learn more about how to interpret them. My visit improved that ability slightly.

 
One of many totem poles in the Sitka National Historic Park
One of many totem poles in the Sitka National Historic Park

The Fortress of the Bear is one activity I did. This is a bear sanctuary that housed several bears at the time of my visit. There was a biography of each of them. The typical story was a mother bear rummaging through somebody’s trash, which is supposed to be protected from bears, and then got shot by the owner, leaving two orphan cubs. There were two pens dividing the bears between the brown and black varieties. It is the goal of the center to return them to the wild eventually.

 
Fortress of the Bear
Fortress of the Bear

The Alaska Raptor center offers a similar service, but for birds, primarily eagles. For the most injured birds there was a large indoor room. For those closer to being ready to be released there was an outdoor area protected with netting. Fortunately, it isn’t difficult to spot bald eagles in the wild in Alaska now. However, it’s unlikely to spot bears in the wild. If you have time for only the bear or the raptor sanctuary, I would choose the bears. However, the raptor center is much closer to the center of town, if transportation is an issue. Personally, I rode a bike everywhere I went.

 
Alaska Raptor Center
Alaska Raptor Center

 

 

The Russian Bishop’s house is one of the few remaining buildings still standing from the Russian occupation, although I suspect it has been significantly renovated. It’s mostly a museum with items from the Russian era. The second floor was the personal place of the Russian bishop, who was pretty much the most powerful leader. It was roped off when I was there, but I was the only tourist in the building so one of the staff kindly let me up there and gave me my own private tour.

 
Russian Bishop’s House
Russian Bishop’s House
 

Here are some quick mentions of other things I did.

 

 

As I mentioned before, I was there just before the tourist season began. This was good in that I didn’t have to share the city with other tourists. However, I think there would be more to do between June and September. In particular, I really wanted to take a boat to the Goddard Hot Springs, but the boat operators were not operating yet under a regular schedule when I was there.


Bridge to Japonski Island
Bridge to Japonski Island
 

All things considered, I enjoyed my time in Sitka. The people were friendly and I enjoyed being close to the natural beauty of Alaska. On the down side, it was rainy much of the time, there was a lack of things to do and it was rather expensive. I’m happy to have gone once, but returning is not a high priority. I’d like to explore other parts of Alaska.

 

Logic puzzle solution.

 

Point to either path. Then ask, “Are you from this village?” If you get a “yes” answer, you’re pointing to the City of Truth. Otherwise, a “no” answer indicates you’re pointing to the City of Lies.

  1. The Sheldon Jackson museum is a small one-room building that houses lots of Indian objects from the area. If you go, tell Jeffrey I say “hello.”
  2. The Russian Orthodox cemetery is the way cemeteries should be if there must be cemeteries at all. It blends with nature well, the tombstones are modest and scattered in a random manner. My grandparents on my mother’s side are buried in such a cemetery in Germany.
  3. There are some good food trucks in Sitka. I especially recommend the Thai Alaska Kitchen.
  4. Sitka National Cemetery. This is like a mini version of Arlington Cemetery in Washington DC.