Quick trip to Sitka

I took a quick work trip to Sitka this week.  The survey went smoothly so I ended up with a half a day to be a tourist.  Sightseeing in Sitka is fun; there is lots of history because Sitka was an important and early city for the Russians in Alaska.  Of course the Tlingit people had been in the Sitka area for thousands of years prior to Russian contact.

The weather cooperated and I was lucky to have chartered a good boat with a great captain for the project.  The survey site was actually about an hour boat ride west of Sitka at Biorka Island. We got to see a bit of Sitka Sound on the transit there and back.  The captain also showed us his house which is on a small private island only minutes from Sitka.  Surprisingly this is actually a common around Sitka as there are dozens of small beautiful islands.

On final approach for Sitka

Bridge to the airport (i.e. an Alaska bridge to Somewhere!)

Historic building that served as the living quarters for the staff of the first permanent geomagnetic observatory in Alaska

Our chartered survey boat

The island and house owned by our boat captain