Skagway - Gateway to the Klondike

Wednesday, July 9^th – Skagway Alaska

Up until now we have been having excellent weather.  Not too cold and bright sunny days.  But today, as we pulled into the port, it was a little drizzly and mostly cloudy.  

Skagway is a quaint little town with many souvenir shops and even more jewelry shops selling everything you might want, which is good cause Vi wants an Alaska charm for her Pandora bracelet and LeRoy is excited to take a look at the Ulu knives that are so popular here.

Our excursion today takes us up the White Pass and out to the Yukon on a narrow-gauge train.  The train operates on a narrow gauge because the path takes us up mountains and sheer cliffs that did not leave a lot of room to have a full-size track system in place.  

The spruce trees are towering over us in places and unfortunately, there is a blight going on as the Spruce Beatle is killing thousands of trees with no real end in sight and not much that can be done. 

 

As you get above the tree line, the terrain changes drastically.  It becomes rocky and grassy with blue lupines everywhere.  If the lakes and rivers have a green tint to them then they are most likely fish free as the silt from the glaciers is deposited and the fish cannot tolerate it as it clogs up their gills and they cannot breathe.   Another reason no fish live in a lot of the lakes is that they are too shallow and completely freeze over during the winters. 

The White Pass train was built in 1898 and this narrow track is perfect for use here and offers breathtaking vistas and photo opportunities around every bend.  This was actually the first time any of us had been to Canada, and the visit did not disappoint.  The Canadians are very nice and kind, but not too enthused to become the 51st state!

Along the way, we had a few stops where we could take some pictures, get a snack (the best blueberry fritter ever!) or pick up a souvenir.  On the stop at Carcross, Jet Plane and Melba Jean were both late and the last ones back to the bus and of course they got a smattering of boos from the older folks.  I might have been the impetus behind this but don’t tell anyone.

Skagway is thought to be the birthplace of the gold rush when the few flakes found in Bonanza Creek triggered the impending Stampede.  George Carmack and two First Nations' companions, Skookum Jim and Dawson Charlie were the first ones to “hit it rich” but what they found could barely fill up a spent cartridge of a Winchester rifle.  (See below for photo of Jet Plane with his pal, Shookum Jim!)  There was actually no gold found in the Skagway valley.  It was mostly located about 600 miles to the north.  But still, Skagway gets the credit.

Our next stop was at a lodge where we had a nice lunch of barbeque chicken and LeRoy had his beer of the day from Yukon Brewing.  

We got to tour a wonderful museum of taxidermy animals, Canadian Mounties, mushers and hearty Yukon pioneers!  We got to pet mountain sheep and goats, and we even got to see some mush dogs take people on sled rides!  We heard some people say they saw Marty Moose, too!

After lunch, we made our way back down to Skagway via more winding roads.  Around every corner was literally a postcard view!  

As we were about to roam the streets a bit, Jet Plane's stellar GPS led us directly to the nearest brewery called Klondike Brewing Co.  Imagine that!  There we had a flight of their local brews, and then we did a little shopping and sight-seeing. 

 

LeRoy found a nice shop where he found the much talked about and highly regarded Ulu knife.   Had to have one so we picked out a nice one and had the store wrap it up good and secure.   Upon boarding the big boat, they very nicely reminded me to keep it locked up in the room safe and not to get it out. 

Over-all we all loved the train ride and the beautiful scenery we experienced.   Great choice of excursion for the time at Skagway.  Stay tuned tomorrow for Juneau, you know!

 

LeRoy and Vi