Beware of the Rug: If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 733

Thursday, October 16, 2025

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 733

Sitka, Alaska, 2025

I picked up several postcards when we took an Alaska cruise in July. This card features a view of small islands near the town of Sitka. The card was purchased on the ship and I sent the original to my friend who lives in Italy. The cards were printed in Canada and part of a set with pictures of Alaska.

The cruise ships do not dock right in the town of Sitka but there are free shuttle buses that go from the dock to the town. The bus ride is about 15 or 20 minutes and passengers are dropped off near the shopping area. There are several buses and they run continuously every few minutes making it convenient to shop, walk, take an excursion, or just meander around.

Last time we were here we walked to the Pioneer Home and the Pioneer Cemetery to find information about Adolph Landaas the younger brother of Maggie Landaas Lorig and Petra Landaas Lee. Adolph had been part of the Alaska Gold Rush. He lived in Fairbanks until his retirement years when he moved to the Pioneer Home in Sitka. We also walked to the National Park but only looked at the things close to the entrance. This time we wanted to walk through the park where there are beautiful totem poles all along a trail through the woods. We did not walk the entire loop but went far enough to see many of the poles. In one case we watched a crew cleaning a pole.

Sign at the entrance to the park

One of the many totem poles in the park

We thought this was interesting. A crew was cleaning one of the totem poles using soap and water. The men were in the cherry picker basket and could be raised or lowered as needed to do the cleaning.

This pole was roped off and either unpainted natural wood or was getting a new coat of paint.

Close up look at one of the carvings

Here and there we found placards similar to this one that provided information about the poles and general history.

When we returned to the area near the bus stop, we looked in a few shops and bought a couple of items. Then we went inside Saint Michael’s church, also known as the Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel. It is a cathedral of the Russian Orthodox church. When we were here before it was closed. We had heard it was amazing inside. And it is. The walls are almost entirely covered with religious icons, there are candles, lots of decorative gold gilt, and is not very large inside. It was relatively crowded when we were there but quiet. Apparently, cookies and cocoa are sometimes sold in the basement of the church but we did not investigate the lower level.

St. Michael's is a cathedral of the Orthodox Church in the America Diocese of Alaska. The church is in the Russian Orthodox architectural style. The old cathedral was built between 1844 and 1848 from logs of native wood and lasted about 100 years. Some of the icons were salvaged from the 1813 wreck of the Neva. After the cathedral was destroyed in an accidental fire in 1966 it was rebuilt. A National Historic Landmark since 1962, it is notable as an important example of the Russian influence in Southeast Alaska. Items retrieved and restored after the fire included treasured icons, a chandelier, the royal doors, and some silk and brocade vestments. The handmade bells and the clock in the bell tower were lost as was a large library with books in Russian, Tlingit, and Aleut languages.