Sitka

Greetings from Sitka, the cultural capital of Alaska. This is the place where native Indians and Russian fur traders clashed for territory in the early 1800s. It's also the place where Russia signed over Alaska to the USA for 7.2 million dollars in 1867.

Sitka overall was pretty cool. I have learned lots about the 'Raven' and 'Eagle' divisions within the local Native Indian Tlingit tribe which are shown on the poles.

The other great thing about Sitka (read: not so great) is that it is one of the few places in Alaska where there are no black bears .. just grizzlies. This in a place where the hostel had unexpectedly closed down so the only option was to go camping by a lake..