Sitka - the rest

I can ASSURE you the conference was not all whale watching and going to the P-bar, Sitka's "dive" bar. Ironically, if it was in Kodiak, it would be Kodiak's nicest bar!

 Me with a Bruker Tracer - aka Star Trek tricorder. Mr. Kaiser and his partner spent 17 million developing this machine. It tells you the elemental composition of an object using light!  I learned a lot about photons, electron volts, and the periodic chart.  It was not a trickle of information he shared, but a firehose! What can you do with this you may ask, well duh, how did the Treky's use it?

It was a busy conference. Sessions were back to back and it was a lot to absorb!  For this blog's purpose, pics of people sitting around are not very interesting.  There were some really good sessions. Scott Carrlee's session Strengthening Interpretation through Compelling Stories was amazing - not just a session of presenters presenting. He showed a video, had group exercises, etc.  It was really engaging, and for me taught me a lot about how to interest people in your message.

I also got to see others collections and spaces, which is always a learning experience. This is actually in the NPS managed (Russian) Bishop's house, in which there was a chapel.

This just made my heart ooze - a mother's love for her child.

Funny - we have this same late 19th century bottle in our collections. The above from excavated from the Bishop house site, and ours was recovered (miraculously unbroken) when human remains where being reburied on Afognak a few years ago.  Kentucky whiskey got around!

The Sitka Tribe's Sbeet'ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi community house, which is used for cultural events, community events, guest performances, City and Bor­ough meetings, Tribal Council meetings, Naa Kahidi Dance practices and performances, graduations, weddings, and funerals. The floor where I was sitting is recessed and the floor opens up for a fire.  The ceiling opens for venting.  

Mt Edgecumbe gym - such a nice facility in an old WWII hanger.  Mt. Edgecumbe hosts high school students from all over the state.

I have lots of pictures of a harbor just because I had to walk past it daily to get to the dorm housing I was staying in. The only reason I got to go to the conference was that my benefactor, aka a very generous co-worker donated airline miles, I was awarded a scholarship, work paid for the registration, and I stayed in a $25 a night shared room!

Yep - sculptures in the harbor, covered picnic areas, and restrooms not with transients!