Today is a big day.  Not only is today’s port, Sitka, new to us, but it is also my birthday.  This is the first time we are taking an excursion using an independent operator recommended by the company we book cruises with.  We typically book with the cruise line to ensure that the ship waits for our excursion to get back; you don’t get that guarantee with an independent operator. 

Sitka is an Alaskan city spread over Baranof Island.  (No surprise that our independent tour operator is Baranof Tours.)  It is a traditional home of the indigenous Tlingit people.  In 1799 the Russians tried to establish a stronghold here, only to be defeated by the Tlingits.  The Russian Governor Baranov returned to the island in August 1804 with a larger force, finally defeating the Tlingit people in October of that year.  The Russians governed the island until Alaska was sold to the United States by the Russians in 1867.  Sitka was the site of the Alaska Purchase transfer.  

Although it remained sparsely settled while Russians governed the region, Russian fur traders had almost wiped out the 300,000 sea otters who lived in the area by the 1850s.  The otters were skinned for their valuable fur; they were almost rendered extinct.  Sitka was specifically established by the Russians to support the fur trading industry.

The Russians were struggling financially after the Crimean War and personnel limitations meant it would also be difficult to defend the property against a British invasion via Canada.  The Americans paid 7.2 million dollars, roughly 2 cents an acre, in the purchase.  Overall US citizens supported the transaction although some labeled it “Steward’s Folly” or “Steward’s Icebox”, after US Secretary of State William Steward who brokered the transaction for the United States, because it was viewed as a big block of ice.  Any negative feelings toward the purchase changed when gold was discovered.  Sitka did not experience a massive gold rush itself, but it served as an early supply and administrative hub before major strikes occurred nearby.  By then, most Russians had returned to their home country.  By1873, Sitka’s population had dropped from 2,500 to only a few hundred people.

For the past several years, Vacations To Go (VTG), the company we use to book cruises, has been offering excursions at prices below the cruise lines.  Like the cruise companies, they vet local operators and make recommendations.  This is the first time we are trying it.  If you are looking for a company to book your cruise through, I highly recommend Vacations To Go.  Their representatives are extremely knowledgeable and because they are one of the largest cruise booking companies they offer the best price by giving additional discounts passing on the part of the savings they realize by buying large blocks.  My agent is Kyo Gulch.  We also use Ginger Williams in the River Cruise department when booking those types of cruises. (This is simply a personal recommendation; I have not been compensated.)

When we looked at the Celebrity excursion offerings, the ones we were interested in were already sold out.  When we looked at VTG’s offerings, the Best of Sitka tour stood out.  We purchased the tour and received communication from both VTG and the tour operator.  What we didn’t realize-important to any cruise travelers going to Sitka-is that the ship does not dock near town.  The local authorities operate a courtesy shuttle and recently started requiring reservations.  The operator provided us a link to book our local transfer.  The cruise ship excursion buses come directly to the dock, so that is a plus for booking Sitka tours through the cruise line.  Our operator gave us a link to the shuttle reservation site and it was easy to book a time.  They recommended booking a shuttle at least an hour before the tour started.  The shuttle travel time was less than 20 minutes. The shuttle is free.

When we got to port, we were the only ship at dock.  You could walk right on to the shuttle, no reservation necessary.  We had a 9 am tour and had booked a 7:30 shuttle.  Apparently 9 am-noon is when the shuttle is extremely busy.  They certainly had a huge queue set up to accommodate passengers.  Our cruise director highly recommended going to town before 10 am when a large ship was due to arrive.  Some cruise lines also require you to book a return shuttle.  Celebrity did not.  It is our intent to stay in town for a while after our tour ends anyway.

The main meeting place for tour groups in Sitka is Centennial Hall.  It is also the shuttle drop-off point.  With an hour to tour before our meeting time, Boris and I first took a look at the building (noting the restrooms, always important).   The visitors’ center is exceptionally nice with wonderful artifacts in cases lining the walls and a huge, decorated war canoe on the covered porch outside.

Walking into town a bit we saw the Russian Cathedral with its onion dome.  Unfortunately, it is closed today so we won’t be able to tour the interior.  Not too many people out and about so I was able to stand in the middle of the street and get a picture.  From the front, you don’t even see the onion dome.

After wandering around downtown a bit and then headed in the opposite along the waterfront toward the national park.  We passed by Russian Bishop’s House, one of the oldest surviving buildings of the Russian era.  It was the home and office for the first Bishop of the Orthodox Church and a former orphanage.  The National Park Service now maintains this historic structure.  During the summer months, it is open 9 am-5 pm and there are free ranger-led tours every half hour.

Another beautiful building with an amazing totem pole now serves as a high school for troubled youths.  Further along the street was St. Peter’s By the Sea Episcopal Church.  Built in 1899 of stone and wood, it is the oldest standing church in Sitka.  Behind it is the equally beautiful See House built in 1905 which served as the church rectory.  St. Peter’s is in the Gothic Rival style and features a rose stained glass window with a Star of David, leading to much speculation about the history of the families that built the structure.

Our turn around point was the Sitka Sound Science Center and the Sheldon Jackson State Museum, the oldest museum in Alaska and the state’s first concrete building.  It is next to the Sitka Fine Arts Campus, formerly Sheldon Jackson College founded in 1878.  Sitka hosts its Music Festival from this location.  The 18-building campus offers year-round arts education. 

At this point we were almost to the Sitka National Historic Park and its totem pole walk.  We didn’t have time to tour the park and it is included on our tour, so we headed back on the opposite side of Lincoln Street for a lovely sea walk through the park with Lincoln Street’s historic sites on one side and the Crescent Harbor on the other.  If you didn’t have a tour planned and enjoy history with water, forest, and mountain views, you could easily take the shuttle to Sitka, pick up maps at Centennial Hall, and do a self-guided tour around Sitka.  We covered a lot of ground in our short walk.

It was time to check in for our tour. We met Jim on the exterior porch at Centennial Hall.  Our small group has its own van, and we headed out back down Lincoln Street up to Sawmill Creek Road to the Alaska Raptor Rehabilitation Center.  We could have come here on our own and there are lots of friendly guides, but Jim helped us bypass the crowds and secures us one of the center’s guides who gave us the purpose behind the center and explained the layout.  The Center’s goal is to heal injured birds of prey and, provided they can still hunt, release them back into the wild.  About 200 birds are treated each year at the Alaska Raptor Center.

Since we were with Jim, we got access to a restricted area where one of the recuperating birds was housed.  It was a large area and human interaction is kept to a minimum.  The eagle in the bright enclosure could not see us in the dark hallway through the two-way glass.  It also meant that although I was able to clearly see the beautiful eagle, none of my pictures came out.

The Center has a great film where they describe their work.  The efforts started in 1980 when two individuals took in an injured bald eagle.  There are some permanent residents, birds that are no longer able to fend for themselves in the wild.  These permanent residents become part of the “Avian Ambassador Team.”  After viewing the center, the film, and the rehabilitation facilities, we went outside to see the various enclosures for the permanent residents.  There were some incredible bald and golden eagles as well as owls, peregrines, and other birds of prey.  If you love animals, this center is must-see.  I thought this would be a throwaway stop, but I loved it and the work they are doing.  Great gift shop too, along with one of the best photo ops of the trip.  The Alaska Raptor Center is a nonprofit organization, and its efforts are funded by donations.  

Our next stop, less than 6 miles up Sawmill Road, was Fortress of the Bear.  This sanctuary provides lifelong protection and care to orphaned brown and black bear cubs. The brown bears currently at the sanctuary are Coastal Brown Bears and Alaskan Peninsula Brown Bears.  There are no grizzly bears at the fortress; those are usually found in interior Alaska.  The brown and black bears are kept in separate enclosures.   Another goal of Fortress of the Bears is to reduce human-bear conflict by education and community engagement. There are several sets of siblings at the Fortress.  You can read their stories on the Fortress’ website. 

“In 2003, a determined individual began transforming Sitka’s abandoned pulp mill clarifier tanks into safe, naturalistic habitats for rescued bears. By 2007, the sanctuary received its first permit, and only days later, its first orphaned cub arrived.  Today, Fortress of the Bear is the only bear-exclusive sanctuary in Alaska.”  https://www.fortressofthebear.org/our-mission.  The fact that the bears live in a repurposed, abandoned facility just adds to the allure of the Fortress.

With Jim in the lead, we were able to bypass the standby line and go right inside.  We headed up to the elevated platforms overlooking three very large enclosures.  Two were in the huge tank areas and another in the back looked like an enclosed part of the forest.   The barrel-shaped concrete tanks were once used by the pulp mill for industrial wastewater treatment; these served as the first sanctuary enclosures.  When the facility needed more space, the hillside enclosure was added.  The sanctuary has been enlarged several times.  Feasibility experts were brought in from the Houston Zoo and extensive testing for any toxicity was conducted during the original approval process.  During our visit, he bears were playful.  There are step stools along the wall of the covered and boardwalk viewing platforms if you need to be a little higher to get that great view.  Bald eagles hung out in the trees surrounding the enclosures.

The small group viewing was awesome.  At some point, a bus of visitors from our ship arrived and we headed down to the lower viewing platforms.  I realized Jim was keeping us just ahead of the large tour groups.  Fortress of the Bear also has a wonderful gift shop.  Like the Alaska Raptor Center, it is a nonprofit organization and relies on admission sales and donations to fund its work.

Just outside was a Jim-recommended snack stand with wonderful fresh made popcorn and soft drinks.  Even in Sitka, I found my beloved Dr. Pepper.  I treated myself for my birthday.

Then it was on to our third and final stop, the Sitka National Historic Park that we almost reached on our walk this morning.  You could have probably done with all without the guide, but I loved how Jim got us in ahead of the crowds and into the behind-the-scenes areas.  As a local, he had wonderful insight and practical advice for our visit.  I liked the smaller group format using a van; we had a very positive independent excursion experience.  If there was plenty of time to make it back to ship, allowing for possible delays, I would consider another independent excursion booking on another cruise.

Established in 1890, Sitka National Historic Park is Alaska’s oldest federal cultural and historic park.  It addresses the 1804 battle between the indigenous tribes and the Russians.  There are amazing interior exhibits and artifacts.  Jim recommended checking out the local artisan that demonstrates traditional totem pole making techniques.  He is self-taught.  Not the friendliest guy, but he did answer my questions. The park has wonderful printed materials you can pick up for a self-guided tour and for us as a trail map.

There is a climate controlled interior exhibit featuring some of the oldest Tlingit totem poles from the early 1900s.  A traditional historic park film is featured, and it is very well done.  Perhaps the favorite part of the park is the 1-mile loop trail between the Indian River and the Sitka Sound featuring both old and modern totem poles.  At the far end of the peninsula are the battle site and fort site.  There is no charge to for the visitors’ center or the parklands which feature multiple (easy) hiking trails.

It was a great tour and I would recommend Jim and Barnoff Tours.  After he dropped us back off at Centennial Hall, going the opposite direction on Lincoln Street Boris headed down to Baranof Castle Hill.  Not much is left, but also in the area is Totem Square, several brotherhood houses, and the Sitka Pioneer House.  

We met back at St. Michael’s Cathedral.  The original Orthodox church was built between 1844 and 1848.  It was the oldest Orthodox cathedral in the new world.  The church burned down in an accidental fire in 1966 and rebuilt in the original design.  It is an active parish today.  One of the original bells sits on the sidewalk in front of the church.  The sign from earlier (“Church closed today”) was misleading.  It was actually just not open yet.  Visitors can tour between 10 am and 3 pm.  Donations are accepted.

Since we decided to stay in Sitka for a while, we wanted to grab lunch locally.  We went with one of Jim’s suggestions and ended up at Sitka’s Burger and Crab Snack.  It’s a casual eatery with fabulous food.  I had a King Crab leg-it is my birthday-and freaked Boris out a little when the tab for lunch at a walkup counter was $137+.  It was worth every penny.  The funniest part was I was used to using crackers.  My order came with a crab fork and scissors; no cracker.  Had I known how to use the scissors, they would have been easier.  I didn’t.  So, I tried using them as you would the crackers and sent a shell flying over Boris’ head and then hitting his back.  Since we were outside (inside seating was full).  It was only the people at the table next to us that saw and we shared a laugh.  Or so I thought…

A few minutes later a man came from inside.  His wife had sent him out to show me how to use the scissors.  She had seen me send the shell flying from inside.  Presumably, the whole restaurant saw it.  Getting a year older is tough.  You have to accept that there are somethings you can no longer do…like eating without embarrassing yourself.  The good news is I will never see any of these people again.

After lunch and a little shopping, we took the shuttle back to the Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal.  There were also a few shops there and a bar, probably for cruisers who just want to get off the ship briefly and don’t want to bother with the shuttle.  I loved my day in Sitka

We decided to try out the specialty Italian Steakhouse onboard, The Tuscan Grill, for dinner.  Rather than pick one thing, we ordered half portions of a lot of things-2 appetizers, 1 pasta, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts.  And that was just for me!  It was so disappointing.  I only liked the meatball appetizer.  One couple at the table next to us kept sending things back and the husband complained that the food was inedible.  Usually, the specialty restaurants offer food and service that is a step above the dining room.  Not the case here at all.  And we were paying extra for it.  The food was so mediocre that Boris compensated with a lot to drink.

It was nice that they brought out a small cake with a candle and happy birthday plaque.  Unfortunately, I don’t eat chocolate.  It was not our only poor specialty restaurant experience.  We had tea in the same space on the first sea day, and it was poorly done.  The wrong atmosphere, items came out in the wrong order-desserts first, then sandwiches, and then finally the tea.  There was also a charge for the tea when it is usually complimentary.  The musicians stopped playing 10 minutes after our reservation time.  The desserts, with only one exception, were all chocolate.  The sandwiches were soft on one side and dry as a brick on the other.  After those two bad experiences, we went back to the cabin after dinner and cancelled our third specialty reservation on the last sea day. (We learned later from someone who went to the “Crab Shack” on another ship that it was not good.   We dodged a bullet there.)

The plan was to go see the comedian we liked so much for his late show, but Boris passed out after all his drinking.  Ah well, most of the birthday was great.  I did love Sitka and highly recommend it.