2011-34 Skagway, Alaska
Hello All,
Out of Juneau our cruise ship backtracked south via the Gastineau Channel and then entered Lynn Canal which we followed north through the night. At daybreak we turned into Chilkoot Inlet and followed it to our next destination--Skagway, Alaska. This was our first time visiting Skagway so we were excited. However, the weather gods were not looking favorable upon us as it was not a blue sky sunny day. It was a typical Southeast Alaska day--low clouds with intermittent drizzle and rain!
Here are a couple of shots of our ship tied up at the dock behind the Coral Princess at the end of the inlet. These inlets and fiords were carved by glaciers thousands of years ago. They are hundreds and in some cases thousands of feet deep. This allows the ships to tie up very close to shore.
Out of Juneau our cruise ship backtracked south via the Gastineau Channel and then entered Lynn Canal which we followed north through the night. At daybreak we turned into Chilkoot Inlet and followed it to our next destination--Skagway, Alaska. This was our first time visiting Skagway so we were excited. However, the weather gods were not looking favorable upon us as it was not a blue sky sunny day. It was a typical Southeast Alaska day--low clouds with intermittent drizzle and rain!
Here are a couple of shots of our ship tied up at the dock behind the Coral Princess at the end of the inlet. These inlets and fiords were carved by glaciers thousands of years ago. They are hundreds and in some cases thousands of feet deep. This allows the ships to tie up very close to shore.
Alaska’s little berg of
Skagway has a population of 862 folks. However, the population doubles in the
summer tourist season in order to deal with more than 900,000 visitors. Shortly
after our arrival two more cruise ships came in and tied up on the other side
of the inlet. Wow, suddenly there were 20,000 visitors descending on the town,
all at one time!
Historic Skagway saw tens of
thousands of fortune-seeking prospectors during the great Klondike Gold Rush of
1898. Here, the gold seekers piled off steamships, eager to head overland to
the Yukon goldfields either by the White Pass Trail or Chilkoot Trail from
nearby Dyea. But before the lonely men could leave town, they faced the temptations
of 80 saloons, the lure of “painted” women, and the quick fingers of gamblers
and thugs such as the infamous “Soapy Smith” and his ruthless gang.
One of the most popular shore excursions when visiting Skagway is taking a ride on the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad. Built in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush, this narrow gauge railroad is an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. This is a designation shared in popularity with the Panama Canal, the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty. The railway was considered an impossible task but it was literally blasted through the rugged coastal mountains in only 26 months. The 110-mile railroad was completed with the driving of the golden spike on July 29, 1900, in Carcross, Yukon Territory, connecting the deep water port of Skagway to Whitehorse, Canada. It provided the essential infrastructure to handle the freight and passenger requirements of the Yukon’s mining industry. And, it proved to be a successful transportation innovator by pioneering the inter-modal (ship-train-truck) movement of containers. The railroad suspended operations in 1982 when the Yukon’s mining industry collapsed due to low mineral prices. It reopened in 1988 as a seasonal tourism operation utilizing the first 67.5 miles of the original 110-mile line.
One of the most popular shore excursions when visiting Skagway is taking a ride on the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad. Built in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush, this narrow gauge railroad is an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. This is a designation shared in popularity with the Panama Canal, the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty. The railway was considered an impossible task but it was literally blasted through the rugged coastal mountains in only 26 months. The 110-mile railroad was completed with the driving of the golden spike on July 29, 1900, in Carcross, Yukon Territory, connecting the deep water port of Skagway to Whitehorse, Canada. It provided the essential infrastructure to handle the freight and passenger requirements of the Yukon’s mining industry. And, it proved to be a successful transportation innovator by pioneering the inter-modal (ship-train-truck) movement of containers. The railroad suspended operations in 1982 when the Yukon’s mining industry collapsed due to low mineral prices. It reopened in 1988 as a seasonal tourism operation utilizing the first 67.5 miles of the original 110-mile line.
Since this was our first time
in Skagway we decided to walk from the ship into town (only a few blocks) and
do some exploring on our own. After checking the town out we would then
determined what our next adventure would be. Even though the weather was less
than desirable it was fun walking the wood plank sidewalks and checking out the
stores. If walking isn’t your bag, there are lots of other means for exploring
the area. You can rent bicycles, take a motor coach tour, jump on a street car,
or take a horse drawn carriage, just to name a few.
Skagway reminded us of a
booming old western town with paved streets!
With four cruise ships visiting there were folks everywhere in the
colorful little town.
We found the building on the
far right in the following photo to be quite unique. Built in 1899, the siding
on the building is driftwood--8,883 pieces of driftwood to be precise!
Here is a close up of the
building mentioned above.
Yup, that’s a cruise ship at
the far end of the street.
In 1978 Skagway was connected
to the road system via the Klondike Highway. This affords access to the lower
48, Whitehorse, the Yukon, northern British Columbia and the Alaska Highway.
For our next adventure we decided to take a bus tour to the top of White Pass
on the Klondike Highway. We were hoping that we would climb out of the low
clouds and get some good scenic photo opportunities.
Just by luck the bus driver we ended up with for the tour was amazing. He had traveled and worked all over the world in places such as the Arctic, Antarctica and Africa. He was an artist and photographer and had a masters degree. He quoted Robert Service poems for us. And, in a nut shell, he was a real hoot. In his late 40’s he found Skagway, fell in love with it and made it his year round home. He is now married and has a family there.
Just by luck the bus driver we ended up with for the tour was amazing. He had traveled and worked all over the world in places such as the Arctic, Antarctica and Africa. He was an artist and photographer and had a masters degree. He quoted Robert Service poems for us. And, in a nut shell, he was a real hoot. In his late 40’s he found Skagway, fell in love with it and made it his year round home. He is now married and has a family there.
Our plans of driving out of
the clouds didn’t pan out, but the trip was fun anyway. We managed to get some
shots of a White Pass & Yukon train climbing up through White Pass. It
looked like lots of folks were outside the cars taking photos in spite of the
weather.
We could see where on a clear
day the countryside would be absolutely gorgeous with the high mountain lakes, waterfalls,
and rapidly flowing rivers. We may have to plan another trip here someday.
Some of the most beautiful
wild roses we have ever come across were in bloom. Wow, were they every
gorgeous!
There was so much more we
would have liked to share with you about Skagway. But, there just isn’t room in
our little blurb. Glacier Bay National Park will be the next destination on our
cruise itinerary.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns