Towards the end of our time in Sitka, hubby and I went on The Estuary Life Walk at Starrigavan Recreation Area. It was a drippy, drizzly grey sort of day, a little chilly but oh so beautiful. The whole experience made my heart sing in ways that the whales and otters also made it sing. Being immersed in a tunnel of lush green, walking on a boardwalk that wound its way over small streams with glimpses of views tantalisingly there one moment and gone the next, only to be found again when you rounded a corner to a little seating nook. Feeling like we were the only people there, well I'm pretty sure we actually were!
Even for this gammy kneed menopausal mumma, the walk was easy, walking stick in one hand, camera in the other, stopping often to take photos of signs and views and moss and boardwalk, it was just serene.
Hubby's wondering if we can claim this bit of our trip on my tax, you see I am the Coordinator of a Design Studio for a Government Department in Perth that produces signs and panels for our national parks. So one thing I regularly do when we travel is look at what other agencies are doing and take photos to show the guys I work with. Hence this post is peppered with the signs we found along the walk, but I'm sure you will find them interesting, they are well done and I like their graphic style.
So here we go, come with me along The Boardwalk ....
 |
| At the start of the trail there is a bird hide and this carving is on the right as you enter |
 |
| And this carving is on the left, beautiful pieces of work |
 |
| Sign within the birdhide |
 |
| Another sign in the birdhide |
 |
| The only bird around while we were there was this gorgeous heron |
 |
| View from the birdhide |
 |
| The other view from the birdhide with the heron that little dot you can see there |
 |
| The start of the boardwalk |
 |
| And what's that, yep more moss this time on the branches of the trees!! |
 |
| Welcome to the lush green tunnel, who wouldn't want to walk down here? |
 |
| Looking up into one of the trees, just mossy gardens everywhere |
 |
| Yep more moss, I'm just in love with the different colour, textures and styles of moss you can find in Alaska |
 |
| Little tufts of moss ground on the trunk of this tree |
 |
| The first sign we found along the boardwalk, looking back towards the boardwalk we had just left |
 |
| Okay, I admit, I'm obsessed with moss |
 |
| Next sign we found |
 |
| And yet another invitation to keep walking |
 |
| What's that we spy ahead, a small seating area over the stream |
 |
| Somewhere to take a seat, read a sign and enjoy the view |
 |
| Sign at seating nook with dead salmon too if you look closely enough! |
 |
| Looking back towards the boardwalk, love the colours and architecture here |
 |
| The next sign we found |
 |
| Another glimpse back to where we started, the birdhide nestled in the forest |
 |
| The next sign deals with logging |
 |
| So peaceful and calm it is hard to imagine loggers once being here |
 |
| Lush and green |
 |
| Deep dark shadows |
 |
| And moss growing on fallen limbs |
 |
| Another seating spot, another sign |
 |
| And yet another glimpse back to the start |
 |
| Hubby carrying my bag, he is such a sweetie |
 |
| Perfect views with wisps of low clouds |
 |
| Another invitation to enter the deep dark shadows, divine |
 |
| The final curve, before the bridge over the river at the end |
 |
| Walks end, standing on the bridge and looking back towards the Sound |
 |
And right at the end we find the Brown Bear seen sign, thankfully months before we were here.
It did make me more cautious on the return walk though!! |
I hope you enjoyed the walk as much as I did, I'm sure hubby thinks I'm daft sometimes for taking photos of signs and boardwalks, but I just loved this walk and the invitations I found along the boardwalk.
Thanks for popping by xxxx
