Alaska's Inside Passage —
Day 1: Boarding the "Sea Lion" in Sitka
Sunrise: 0419 Sunset: 2153 Low tide: 1319 2.2 ft. High tide: 1953 9.8 ft
Sunday, July 8, 2007
After a day in Seattle, indulging ourselves in fresh and smoked wild salmon, our voyage begins in Sitka, Alaska.
Sitka is Alaska's original capital. Inhabited for centuries by the Kiksadi clan of the Tlingit Indians, Sitka was occupied by Alexander Baranof of the Russian-American Company in 1804. Originally called Shee Atika by the Tlingits, and renamed New Archangel by the Russians, Sitka was the capital of both Russian America and the Territory of Alaska until 1906.
Highlight of the day: The Bald Eagle  The Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is a bird of prey found in North America that is most recognizable as the national bird and symbol of the United States. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle. Its range includes most of Canada and Alaska, all of the contiguous United States, and northern Mexico. It is found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting.
The Bald Eagle is a large bird, with a body length of 71–96 centimeters (28–38 in), a wingspan of 168–244 centimeters (66–88 in), and a weight of 3–6.3 kilograms (6.6–14 lb); females are about 25 percent larger than males. Its diet consists mainly of fish, but it is an opportunistic feeder. It hunts fish by swooping down and snatching the fish out of the water with its talons. It is sexually mature at four years to five years of age. The Bald Eagle builds the largest nest of any North American bird, up to 4 meters (13 ft) deep, 2.5 meters (8 ft) wide, and one ton in weight. |
Before boarding the MS Sea Lion, we visited the St. Michael’s of the Archangel of God Orthodox Cathedral, the Sitka Alaska Totem Park and the Alaska Raptor Center.
All of above: Different views of St. Michael’s of the Archangel of God Orthodox Cathedral, the first Orthodox Church in North America.
Many gift stores with beautiful crafts made by natives.
At the Alaska Raptor Center, a dedicated staff nurses injured birds of prey back to health. Most of them are freed and released after the wounds are healed. More about the Alaska Raptor Center...
Before boarding, we had a chance to stroll through the Sitka Alaska Totem Park with a small exhibition/museum and many beautiful totems along a path in the woods.
Captain Mark Graves and the expedition staff and crew of the M/V Sea Lion welcome us to Southeast Alaska. As we learn, our voyage will cover over 500 nautical miles, taking us from historic coastal communities to the faces of towering tidewater glaciers and into the heart of this ancient temperate rainforest.
Leaving the harbor we cannot withstand to take this all-American picture.
Soaring high: Soon we see that we do not have to search the skies for Bald Eagles - they are everywhere, awaiting the return of the Salmon.
Successful catch: Bald Eagle with salmon.
A little further we meet a brown bear mom with three adventurous cubs.
Did you know?
Alaska is the United State's largest state and is over twice the size of Texas. Measuring from north to south the state is approximately 1,400 miles long and measuring from east to west it is 2,700 miles wide.