As we pulled into Sitka, I was up on the recliner lounge getting some work done and studying a book by James Michener. Since I was making progress on the work, I decided I wouldn't go ashore in Sitka, but instead stay onboard. As we moored to the pier, I read a note in Michener's book where he said, "so while I wrote the novel 'Alaska' I sequestered myself in a log cabin for three years in the town of Sitka, AK." Well, I thought, that's quite a coincidence, so I decided to go ashore and try to find Michener's cabin. The main portion of the town was several miles away, but with no roads in or out, I figured if he wanted seclusion, his cabin would be somewhere outside of town. So I traveled through some historic sites and along a trail through muskegs and woods and found several small cabins, but no resident I spoke to had ever heard of him, so I couldn't verify the cabin's location. I only had an hour before the ferry got underway again, so I went back aboard and decided I'd try to search the internet later when off the ferry to see if I could get more info on where his cabin was. The historic site of Redoubt St. Michael was very neat (where the Tlingit natives fought back against the cruelty of the Russian fur traders led by Baranov) - and the scenery of Sitka is amazing. I can see why Michener would have chose this spot to write his novel.
Edit: Found out that he stayed at a cabin at the college in the main part of town. But the college has since been shut down. Not sure if the cabin still stands or not. Will have to check it out the next time I move through Sitka.
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