Saturday, May 26 2012
Hoonah AK
Since we left Sitka life has been calmer and thoroughly informative!

But first, our trip through Peril Strait...more specifically through Sergius Narrows was very good  but the current was running at a few knots.  It can run quite fast through there and one must take care.  As our engines were cranking at 2000 rpms we were cruising along at a whopping 2.8 knots!!!  I thought we were going to start moving backwards.  But we made it through nicely.  The channel marker is what fast current looks like as it tries to pull on the buoy.

Mt Edgecomb

Sitka AK

Sitka is quite the wonderful place with a HUGE Russian history.  Stumbled across the grave of some Saint Yacobi...one of the first Russian priests to serve there.  On my circuitous bus ride about town I saw a National Cemetery ( who knew?), Univ of SE AK, USCG station, Mount Edgecomb and the whole of downtown.
I also found out that in Sitka the ER is really the Emergency ROOM!!  One room, two beds.  One ER doc, the rest of the providers are FP with offices who come to the ER when needed....like the VERY OLD DAYS.  Even in my early days we had ER docs.  Granted they were residents in other specialities but they were there in the ER!.  I did get offered a job for next summer.  Problem is that the ER nurses have to take patients on the floor and then swing to the ED (room) when a patient rings the buzzer.   Don't think I want to move backwards in time at this point in my career.

Sitka Harbor

On to Elfin Cove!  What a wonderful little place. It is located on the north coast of Chichagof Island.  There are 12 year round residents and about 100 in the summer with the fishing lodges and summer rentals.  Directly across Icy Strait from Glacier Bay, tucked way back off the strait in a tiny little cove.  Began by a Swede in 1930's.  Grew into a little community which used to have a school.  I met several interesting folks there.  Mary Jo who has lived there 40 years but who began her teaching career in Berkley.  She now has started an Elfin Cove museum which is quite good.  Then there was the 33ft new boat being taken home to Seward from Lopez Island and the guy from Juneau on the beach combing boat who used to live in LaConner.  As I was walking the dog a lady spoke to me and I recognized her as a woman who photo I had taken about 6 years ago while she was rowing to the sea plane to pick up her groceries.  After all this time she has a name....it is Susan.  Elfin Cove is quite the busy place as there were three seaplanes that landed during our afternoon stay. 

 Elfin Cove is a boardwalk town...NO road.  And since the boardwalk is literally their means of transportation it falls under the AK Dept. of Highways and is funded.

Elfin Cove Air terminal and seaplane dock with Glacier Bay across the Strait.
I had heard that there are no black bear on Chichagof...only Griz.  Susan told me that is because the Griz ate the black bears!!  She also told me that she and her hubby have lived at Elfin Cove since '93 but before that they lived in the San Juans for 15 years.  We do indeed live in a small world!
Icy Strait was a little choppy but not too bad coming into Hoonah.  We saw a few whales but nothing like in times past.  We may be a bit early for the humpbacks this year.  Hope our sighting increase in the coming weeks.
We are also so very grateful that we have seen this part of the country under better weather circumstances in the past.  It is so beautiful but this past week has been rainy and dreary with low clouds hiding the magnificent peaks.