Eagles & Falcons & Owls...OH MY!

Sunday, 6/24/2013.  ....early to rise at 5:45am to be at ferry terminal 2 hrs before 8:30am departure to Baranof Island.  It's a 4 1/2 hr ride on the high speed catamaran "Fairweather."

SITKA is located on the west side of Baranof Island facing the Pacific Ocean.  It's beauty is renown.  You have to see it to believe it!  The air is clean and the water is clear....open ocean, panorama of mountains, rainforest, and foggy valleys.  An angler's paradise.  In the heart of downtown is St. Michael's Cathedral, an active Russian Orthodox Church.  What a quaint little village! 

Drive over the 1,255-ft-long cable-stayed girder-span bridge to Japonski Island    and find a parking spot for the night at Sitka Harbor.  Need to replace cracked lens and bulb on back trailer.  Leftovers for dinner. 


Monday, 6/24/2013.  Walk historic downtown Sitka.  Hike to Castle Hill where on 10/18/1867, Russia sold Alaska to the US for $7.2 million with a transfer ceremony.  Strong distinguishing feature in Sitka is the cultural fusion of Tlingit intermingled with Russian American influences.

 

In 1841, Bishop Innocent arrived in Sitka to assume leadership of a vast new diocese that included both Alaska and Kamchatka.  The Russian Bishop's House was built as a residence for the bishop.  On the upper floor is a public reception area, private quarters and chapel.  The lower level-- church offices, a school for Creole, Aleut and Tlingit children, and a seminary where native clergy were trained.

The goal of the Alaska Raptor Center is to rehabilitate injured and sick bald eagles and other birds of prey, then release them back into the wild.  A few never recover flight and remain housed at the center's outdoor area. 

This is not your Aunt Millie's parakeet!  It's "Volta" who was found in 1992 after flying into a power line.  He suffered from concussion, electrocution and bone fractures.  Although his injuries healed, Volta cannot be released because of a partially destroyed shoulder bone critical for flight. 


Did you know that a juvenile eagle has mottled brown and white plummage and develops its white (bald) head and tail feathers by its 5th year?  Did you know that an eagle's wing span is 6-8 ft and average weight is 10-13 lbs?  Eagles can fly at 30mph and reach 100mph during a dive.  They can spot a fish over a mile away.  They generally mate for life and live up to 30 yrs.

Eagles have more than 7,000 feathers which weigh more than the rest of the bird.

Relocate RV to Sportsman Assoc. RV Park and take time to wash the rig, including motorcycle and bicycles.  Grilled whole chicken, crispy baked potato, and gourmet beets.  Beachcomb.  Beautiful sunset.

Tuesday, 6/25/2013.  GOOD LUCK MIKE with your knee surgery today.  We're thinking of you! 

A reminder of Sitka's Russian past is a cemetary over 200 years old with many headstones crafted from the ballasts of Russian ships.

Prior to ferry departure, walk the site of the 1804 battlefield at Sitka National Historical Park. 

Waiting for laundry.

Find local fish market and buy these wonderful king crab legs.  Prepare crab salad filling for sandwiches to take on board the ferry.   It is a 20-hr ferry ride to Ketchikan, arrival time 2pm the next day.  On a standby list for a cabin.  This should be an interesting ride!