Sitka, Alaska is about as far west as most of us will ever go while remaining in Alaska. I was going to say “United States” but then would have had to go back and edit to say “continental United States” which would then open up the door to discussions about islands since Hawaii (as a collection of islands) is the most recent US state and certainly falls west of Alaska.

Oh, never mind. Let’s just play with local history going back about 11000 years of so. Tlingit peoples first and still. Then the random trapper and fisherman. Than the Russians who sold the area to the US in the 1860s or so for $7.5M|US. The name of Baranof Island has remained.

Anyway – Sitka is about 8,000 inhabitants. The harbor where we docked was a couple of miles out of the town center. I counted seven different churches on the way in + a couple more in town, elementary and high schools, and more boats than I could count. If you want to know a lot more about Sitka – the Wiki article is extensive and includes a lot of tourist information.

I went to the Museum,

wandered through town,

bought very little (not counting some fudge), hiked up Baranof Castle Hill,

and ignored the rain.

Jurassic Perk is finished!

And I will be off line till tomorrow after sundown due to Yom Kippur