Is Sitka on your Alaskan cruise itinerary? Lucky you! You might want to read this post before you go.
Read this post Cruising: A Budget Friendly Vacation if you are still on the fence about going on a cruise.
We didn't need to book an excursion in Sitka as we could easily get to Sitka National Historical Park on our own. All we had to do was find the free shuttle at the cruise port that would take us to downtown Sitka and then it would be a short walk to the park from Harrigan Centennial Hall where the shuttle would drop us off. The walk through this small town was definitely a highlight of our time in Sitka.
We passed this cute house and then looked again and realized it was a high school. It was the tiniest school any of us had ever seen.
Frank looks like the talented trainers we see at SeaWorld who ride on top of the whales. It definitely is safer to do this on a cement one.
We passed this playground along the way. It was so different from the playgrounds we are used to and all of us wished we had our grandkids with us so they could enjoy it. We also loved the Alaskan art and, even though we were not sure why this fish and sign were here, we liked this too! (It might be an advertisement for a restaurant? I'm still not sure lol!)
Part of our walk to Sitka National Historical Park was near the Sitka Sound and we definitely enjoyed the views.
It was a gorgeous, sunny day and we were in no hurry so we just took our time and took it all in.
Before we knew it we were at Sitka National Historical Park.
We went into the Visitors Center to get all the information we needed to explore the park and headed in to find the Beach View Trail.
We saw a number of totem poles, all carved by Alaska Native carvers.
This one was called Yaadaas Crest. It was one of the more colorful works of art here.
The trail took us, for a stretch, along the Indian River. The views were gorgeous!
We sat a couple of times and relaxed and enjoyed the peacefulness of the area.
We headed back into town after our walk. We passed by St. Peter's by the Sea Episcopal Church on our way to the park.
We passed the Russian Bishop's House, a National Historic Landmark, but we didn't stop in. We were starting to run out of time. Too much relaxing in the park.
Downtown Sitka seemed to be the place you performed whether you are a solo performer or sing with a band.
These performers were sitting in the back of St. Michael Archangel Orthodox Cathedral, another National Historic Landmark.
We didn't realize that visiting hours for the church was only from 12-2 so it was closed for the day. We were so disappointed that we decided to go shopping instead of touring the church first.
We did find lots of things to buy though and the guys found a husband bench so they were happy.
Then we really started to run out of time, the ship was leaving at 4:00, and we still had to ride the shuttle back. Luckily when we got to the shuttle stop people were just starting to board one and we jumped on line behind them.
Back on the ship, we took one last look at Sitka before we sailed away.
We all really enjoyed our day in Sitka. It would have been nice if Sitka was on mine and Soko's back-to-back Alaskan cruise itinerary. We definitely would have made sure we got to see St. Michael Archangel Orthodox Cathedral. Maybe we will just have to plan a third Alaskan cruise!
Read about Port 1 of our Alaskan Cruise.
And Port 2.
Have you been to Sitka? Did you get a chance to tour St. Michael Archangel Orthodox Cathedral? Please let us know in comments!
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