Sitka
Sitka, a Tlingit Indian name that means “on the spot by the edge of the sea,” was “New Archangel” when it was the Russian capitol of Alaska.
Here, the double-headed Imperial eagle of Tsarist Russia was lowered on Castle Hill and replaced by the Stars and Stripes with the 1867 purchase of Alaska.
A bronze cannon, cast so long ago in Petersburg, Russia, boomed its final salute for that historic transfer. We visited Castle Hill, a short climb above our anchorage. The cannon still stands guard in mute testimony to Sitka’s preeminence as the most civilized outpost on the North Pacific Coast, long before there was a San Franciso, Portland, Seattle or Vancouver.
Baroness Wrangel, who came with her husband to govern the Russian American Company domain in 1835, “civilized” this capitol with theatre, music, a library and museum and added a cupola with a guiding harbor light atop the castle. Massive logs painted bright yellow and a red sheet iron roof formed the castle. Until it burned, the castle was also the Alaskan seat of government for America.
On route to Sitka we bucked tide and swirl and felt the Pacific swell where Peril Straight joins Salisbury Sound. Sea otters who provided the “soft gold” pelts on which the Russians built their North American empire have been restored to these waters. Black-tailed-deer browsed along the open beach shore lined with beach rye grass.
We boarded buses on arrival and saw main street highlights—the Russian Bishop’s House built in 1843, The Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel with its collection of icons, shops that specialize in Russian import gifts and native crafts, and the Sitka National Historic Park with its premier collection of totem poles raised beside the old growth Sitka spruce from which they are carved. Indian River flowing through the park was awash with hordes of milling splashing pink or humpback salmon at the peak of spawning.
Next we were guided through Sitka’s Raptor Rehabilitation Center. Hawks, owls and eagles from all across the nation are flown here as guests of Alaska Airlines and then returned with handlers for release into the wild. The bald eagles recovering at the center are the most regal of all the raptors.
