Rare Species Found

We boarded the Fairweather, our fast catamaran ferry, at 7:30 a.m.  Made it Sitka in 4 1/2 hours.  The change in landscape was remarkable--no more glaciers or towering mountains.  It looked more like the Pacific Northwest or the Canadian Maritime Provinces to us.

Took a drive to familiarize ourselves with the area.  Happened onto Fortress of the Bear, another non-profit with a mission to rescue orphaned bears and, if possible, find homes for them.  At present, the facility is home to five brown bears.

Our next stop was Whale Park.  Didn't see any whales, but were introduced by a local to this handsome specimen, a banana slug, found only in Alaska.  This one was medium length, about six inches.

Our source informed us that if you squint and have really good eyes, you can see Japan at the horizon.

We have a lot more of Sitka exploring to do tomorrow.