Sitka National Historical Park Is Lousy With Totems

That is NOT Mr. Peanut on top of that totem.
And it's culturally insensitive of you to have even suggested it.

At the end of the road of my stroll through downtown Sitka was this.

Sitka National Historical Park.  You wanna see totems?

This place has got 'em by the score.

This is not just the totem capital of Southeastern Alaska.  It has the largest concentration of totem poles in the known universe.

Or so I was told.  I believe.

There are a lot.  And if there is a place with more, I'm not sure I could handle it.  Sitka National Historical Park is absolutely lousy with totems.

But the whole of the park cannot be accessed due to a bridge closure.  I'm guessing I was cheated out of a dozen or so more totem.

This is a shot that I was able to take while keeping all known totems out of view.

It was tough to be able to snap a pic totem-free, seeing as the park is lousy with them.

They're everywhere.

This one is a rather weak example of the totem arts:

It's just an eagle carved out at the top of a post.  I only took this picture because of the cool shot of Mount Edgecumbe visible in the distance.

The raven atop this totem looks a bit penguin-like.  But at least it's all handsomely-carved imagery the full length of the pole.

This one is almost camouflaged.

You're right on top of it before you notice it.  As is true with this one.

They even have totems in open fields, for those having trouble finding them all in the thick forest.

As far as the totem below, if I remember correctly, upside down people = childbirth metaphor, at least in the pre-Colombian South America statuary that I've seen.  Don't know if the Tlingit people of this region drew from the same book of symbolism.

 There figures are not totem figures.

Just fishermen in the river.  I'm guessing they're fishing for salmon, since it's the time of the season.

Morning Stroll Through Sitka

This picture taken from within Sitka National Historical Park has it all:
a clear view of Mount Edgecumbe, the O'Connell Bridge, and St, Michael's Orthodox Cathedral

Circumstances dictated a truncated visit to Sitka.  And that meant I had to squeeze out maximum Sitka in a minimum time.  So the day started with a stroll to Sitka National Historical Park through the heart of the city.  Town.

It is a small town, so I was only about two blocks from the Super 8 when I saw this nice view of Saint Michael's Orthodox Cathedral.  It looked nicer lit by actual real tangible sunlight.  And without that party-trolley-bus-thing being pushed around it,

One more block and I was at the harbor.

Boats in a harbor are very photogenic.

They make those us wholly unskilled in photography look like we know what we're doing.

Here's framing the boats with evergreens.

Here's framing them with purple flowers.

But Sitka is more than boats in a harbor.  There's the Bishop's House.

This is the oldest standing structure in Sitka.  This is a high school along the harbor.

Sitka is lousy with totems.  So lousy with totems that even a high school rates a totem.

Here's whale statuary along the harbor walk.

This is St. Peter's By The Sea Episcopal Church.  Normally I wouldn't be photographing episcopal churches, especially when there is a Catholic church just about next door (St. Gregory's).

St. Peter's By The Sea is a beautiful historic structure.  Built in 1899.  (The Catholic church was not photographed out of respect.  It's a boring modern building.)

Oh and don't be nervous about this street name in Sitka, at the far eastern end of the downtown.

It's not named for THAT Jefferson Davis.  It's named for General Jefferson Davis who did a lot of work in the 1890's developing Sitka.

And we reach the end of this particular trail with some beachcombing, Sitka style.