The Shadow of Tourism

Summer usually means dodging tourists downtown, if you're a pedestrian. If you're a driver, you can't dodge them; you must either sit tolerantly as they stand in mid-street snapping photos, or be irate and lean on the car horn to let them know this is actually a very rude (and illegal) thing to do here. It's one of the main reasons some Sitkans avoid downtown altogether, the tourists block the sidewalks AND the streets. If you come to visit, be considerate.

Not everyone is feels indebted to the tourism industry for its shot in the arm to Sitka's economy. Some feel only a handful of businessmen benefit.

Cruisecritic.com's review of Sitka puts a pretty face on tourism; it talks about a Sawmill Cove Industrial Park area in the context of Sitka's ability to rebound from economic slumps.
Many locals see a shady side to the property being GIVEN to a pocketful of millionaires by the city father's who had to find a legal loophole to get away with that -- an operation that hires Russian workers, runs huge trailors back and forth on the rutted highway, and benefits very few Sitkans.

Another industry that gets whitewashed is the Charter Boat operations that deplete our fisheries, is not so well regulated, and of whom most have million dollar houses in Sitka, and take their millions out of state. Many locals believe the charter operators lie and rarely get caught (but some do) on the tickets and reporting. They were SO UP IN ARMS when the city asked for a $10 tax per freezer box shipped out on Alaska Airlines. They said it would hurt their industry. Imagine: people who spend thousands coming to Alaska, and then thousands more to go fishing NOT BEING ABLE TO AFFORD TEN MORE DOLLARS???

So before thinking how big of a favor your tourism dollars are to the locals, realize that some of the locals don't believe they see any benefit. Try to get a view of some of the locals. Ask THEM questions, not just your tour guides who work for that handful of business men.

Sring has Sprung

The temperatures may cause you to believe otherwise, but the plants usually know when spring has sprung in Sitka. Let me tell you, it is a welcome sight!

My wife and I regularly go for evening walks and we revel in the new growth and the spring birds that return with their sweet melodic notes. It is restorative to the spirit. Try it sometime.

One of the returning plants is a the salmonberry bush with the most beautiful fuschia blossoms. You can almost predict whether it will be a good year for salmonberries by the abundance of blossoms, and it looks like this year will be a "salmonberry year." I've started carrying my Nikon Coolpix with me on my belt, since there's so much wished we photographed.


Locals pick salmonberries in the summer months of June/July. The berries look like raspberries, because they are of the same rubus family, related to roses. Thus, they have the same woody thorny stems, trifoliate leaves, with the berries ranging in color from orange to red. Some people believe the orange are better tasting, but I never notice a difference.

Every region on the planet has a method of supporting its inhabitants by providing all the vitamins and minerals in some form or other, and salmonberries was na important source of Vitamin C to the Natives. The berries make excellent jam, but like raspberry jam, it will have plenty of seeds that like to stick in your teeth. The little chickadees and starlings love to eat the seeds, and that's one way they get redistributed. Ain't nature grand?

Tourist Season Begins

Sitka's tour ship season extends from the beginning of May to the first week in September. How do you know when tourist season in Sitka officially begins?

1. You have to start dodging people on the sidewalks.
   
2. Cars have to stop for tourists who think it's fine to stop traffic by standing in the main street to take pictures!
   
3. Museum hours change, and the Park Service starts charging for entry into the Cultural Center.
4. Some specialty shops that were closed all winter open for their special clients.
   
5. The view of the harbor is filled with gigantic floating cities; the ocean cruise ships.
   

Patterns of commerce change once the tourist season starts. Locals avoid downtown shopping because it gets unpleasantly crowded. Drivers avoid downtown because it gets congested, due to tourists standing in the traffic. The economic benefits of tourism come at a cost, anywhere there's tourism.

We get different classes of tourists: the "package tourists" such as cruise ship tourists who buy a tour package and arrive in groups, and the "independant tourist" plan their own itineraries, such as chartering a boat to take them fishing etc. The charter industry is an entire blog story in itself.

Look up in the menu under "How to Get Here" and you'll see that the travel to Sitka is mostly by Alaska Airlines, and the Alaska State Ferry. Cruise ships aren't listed, because that's not a primary source of transportation, like the other methods. Even if you drive to Alaska, you still have to put your car on the State Ferry to get here.

One last way to tell it's tourist season, is the RV parking at Sealing Cove tends to fill up.

Enjoy the summer everyone! Just remember you're visiting our home. Sitkans are generally friendly and welcoming, but visitors should treat their hosts with the same etiquette you would use if you were a stranger invited into their home.

Some interesting visitor statistics from the Alaska Dept. of Commerce and Economic Development.

How I Hate To Be Late

Holy Crapola! Gas at $3.99 is a nice way of saying "Well, it's not $4.00! It cost me a little over $60 to gas up my Ford Explorer this morning. I'm trying to break the habit of hopping in my car just to go short distances.
Odd, yesterday someone was telling me the cost of a 1-month dues at the gym cost $60. Did I misspend my $60? Maybe.
Last month I was exercising twice a day, doing stair climbs and then a 3 mile jog. But I was training for something. Now that the goal is accomplished, I've slacked off. Oh, I'll do an occasional evening walk.
It rains so much here - about 86 in/yr - we have to put on raincoats to go for walks, which makes it a little less enjoyable. You don't see that many pedestrians in Sitka. But you sure see more traffic than you would expect in a town that only has 16 miles of road, and they're all dead ends!
We have 2 traffic lights in Sitka!
Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!
The sound is amplified because of rain on pavement. Are people here really that busy? Or just adverse to walking?
Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!
"Damn this traffic jam. How I hate to be late! Hurts my motor to go so slow." - James Taylor
Where are all the pedestrians? I'm getting a roll of flab around my belly. But I'm not going to document obesity problems in Sitka. I'll let you come here and check that out for yourself.
I don't overeat; I just eat generous portions.

It's Just Doodoo

"When you break wind, you can blame it on the dog. But when a dog poops on the sidewalk, he can blame it on the man." -- ancient proverb

Sitkans love dogs. Take a hike along any of the Sitka trail systems, and you'll invariably run into a dog owner with some happy dogs. We like to think we're living in the last frontier, and are more rustic and back to the land kinda people, right? Our dogs should be allowed to run free, bark all night if they want, and poop wherever they're at.

Oh. Some people don't agree. Apparently the majority of Sitkans don't agree, because we do have an animal ordinance that governs leash laws and sanitary disposal:

8.04.092 Sanitary disposal requirements.

A. No keeper may permit a dog to be in any of the leash law areas unless the keeper has immediately available a container which is intended to be used to remove any fecal matter left by the dog and a suitable container in which the fecal matter is to be stored until properly disposed of.

B. A keeper who permits a dog to be in any of the leash law areas must immediately remove all fecal matter left by the dog on such property.

(Ord. 02-1656 § 4(A), 2002.)

Yet, a few years back, an argument flared up in one of Sitka's forums wherein some animal owners vehemently argued they had the right to allow dogs to poop wherever they wanted-- including in YOUR yard--because, by damn, this is ALASKA!

I don't like cleaning dog shit from my new sneakers, personally. I've seen dog shit accidentally stepped in, tracked through the city sidewalks. Tell me, does this pile of poop juxtaposed against our majestic May snowcapped mountains look natural, or objectionable?