Because it takes all day to get there and back, but you only have a few minutes of time at the destination to get anything done.

We were up at 6:15 to catch the 8 am ferry for Sitka, which is located on a bay on the coast. It was overcast and misty,and the scene departing was something like this:



The MV Fairweather is a modern ferry, put into service in 2004, and really luxurous. It is a catamaran, and travels at 35 knots (cf MV Columbia's 22) through the twisting channels between the coastal islands. It had native art on the walls. This Old Woman mask was carved in 1971 for the now extinct Seattle terminal of the ferry line.



At that speed we were able to land at 12:30 pm, and by 12:45 had secured a cab to take us into town and give us the tour - returning us to the dock by 1:15's deadline for the 1:30 departure. If we missed the boat it would be a day or so before we could catch the next one. We had a great, if short, tour.

Here's a home in the suburbs of Sitka (8000 souls) set in a glaciated valley - note the characteristic rounded shape - right by the ferry dock area - say 5 miles from downtown.



Our driver's family lived thru the Sitka fire of 1967 which burned down the Russian Orthodox Church (now restored, and in very active use) and his family's home. His advice,
with apologies to Leadbelly, "If your house catch on fire, and there ain't no water round, throw your dirty clothes out the window, let the doggone shack burn down" because dirty clothes will fit you whereas those nice clothes hanging in the closet for years probably will not, and you'll need clothes in the next few days. We keep our dirty clothes outside the house, so we're all set.