Deadwood

This summer I've been watching the HBO series Deadwood.  Although this represents gold rush Dakota Territory during the 1870s--which is more reminiscent of Alaskan boom towns of the turn of the twentieth century--it still reminds me of the Independence Mine.

Snow in August (Termination Dust)

Well, summer is winding down here in Alaska.  August is generally the beginning of fall, a time when it’s more rainy than usual, you see the first frost, and blue berries appear.  The continual sunshine is over, each day we lose about 5-6 minutes of sunshine.  So far, sunset is around 10:30 pm, and it is actually getting dark.  Hopefully I will see the Northern Lights before I leave.

For the past few days we’ve gotten a dusting of snow in the Talketna Mts (called Termination Dust as it predicts the end of summer).  Since we are at 3,500 feet, the temps are cooler here than in the Mat-Su Valley (home to the towns of Palmer and its unattractive neighbor Wasilla).  There in the Valley, high temps are only in the upper 50s, low 60s, whereas at the Independence Mine we’ve experienced flurries and freezing rain.  The snow is more substantial near the peaks at 5,000-6,000 ft.  I’m still doing some hiking, but getting wetter and colder.  

My Beard

After two months, I couldn't stand it any more!  I did feel somewhat sad as I shaved...all that time invested in growing it.

Good bye Sitka

Tonight is my last night in Sitka.  Despite all the walking and the rain, I've had a great time: visiting museums, churches, forests, a national park, and a bear refuge.  What a great town, it was fun playing tourist!

Sitka

Today I arrived in Sitka, a town located in SE Alaska, on the Alaskan panhandle.

For years I have wanted to visit Sitka, formerly Novo Arkhangel'sk (New Archangel), as the town appeared heavily in my dissertation.  By the 1840s this capital of Russian America had a population of 2,000 people: a combination of Russian subjects (Russians, Finns), Creoles, Tlingit, and Aleuts. 

Today Sitka is a vibrant community of 8,600 with a compact downtown area and quite walkable.  (Think of a cross between Mackinac Island and Seattle...mild climate, but very wet.)  The city is on an Baranof Island, completely isolated, with roads that only run about seven miles from downtown north and south before ending.  The houses and buildings are nestled between the Pacific Ocean to the west, and mountains and rainforest to the east.

Grizzly Attack

On Sunday, June 24th a mama grizzly attacked some teenage hikers in the Talketna Mountains.  Read the article here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/25/sam-gottsegen-alaska-bear-attack_n_909195.html