August 9, 2013 Friday Day 33 Got up at 4am, so early, but so excited. Big Blue Fishing Charters is handling everything except pulling in the fish. G. Loomis rods and Shimano reels, Gamagatszu hooks and Izorline - whatever all that means, but it sure worked! They provided breakfast for us, got our fishing licenses, rain gear and boots all squared away. At 6ish we set off on the boat out to the Pacific Ocean to catch us some fish! Our captain, Ben was a bit gru...

August 8, 2013 Thursday Day 32 Rainy, rainy day. We hung out at camp until 2pm. Made our way into town to see the Russian Bishop House, watched their movie and took their guided tour. The Russian Bishop House, completed in 1843 was built as the residence for Bishop Innocent, a man beloved by the natives. He allowed them to preserve their traditions and he honored them by learning their language. He did not try to force them to give up their culture, like missio...

August 7, 2013 Wednesday Day 31 This morning we went to the Sitka Historical Museum to view elements from Sitka's Tlingit, Russian and American Pioneer history. As the story goes, in 1741 the Russians "discovered" Alaska, even though the Tlingit and other natives had been here for centuries. Sitka, known then as New Archangel, is located on Baranof Island, and became the capital of Russian America in 1804. In 1867, once the Russians had exhausted the sea otter...

August 6, 2013 Tuesday Day 30 We made ourselves get up at 4:30am, yawn. It was beginning to get light and we wanted to watch the ferry navigate through the narrow Peril Strait as we approached Sitka. Pretty spectacular to watch. We walked a few brisk laps around the ship's deck, while watching the beautiful morning light change colors as the sun rose behind snow-capped mountains. Glorious way to start the day. Arrived in Sitka at 6:45am, set up camp at Sportsm...