AUGUST 19, 20, and 21ST, SKAGWAY, ALASKA

Our first day in Skagway started slow and picked up steam from there. Around 10AM, we car-pooled to the historic town of Dyea and the Chilkoot Trail. For those who haven’t read James Michener’s book Alaska, I hardily endorse it before visiting Alaska and especially the towns along the inside passage. In 1898, Skagway and Dyea (9 miles from Skagway) were booming towns where gold rushers who had come up to Alaska by steamers, came to make their way across the Chilkoot trail to Whitehorse and on to Dawson City where they would make their fortunes in the gold fields. Skagway had a population of 20,000 and Dyea had app. 10,000. The Chilkoot trail started at Dyea and went straight up and over to Lake Bennett. I believe it was around 35 miles. Each man had to bring into Canada 2000 lbs. or enough supplies to last him a year. This meant several trips back and forth over the trail.

We climbed 500’ and decided we weren’t that gold hungry. It was narrow, straight up, full of tree roots and rocks. Did I mention bears? These men and women had to be desperate to perform such a feat. Many lost their lives. On the other side, they had to build boats or sleds (depending on the time of year) to get to Whitehorse via the Yukon River.

After huffing and puffing up the trail a ways, we visited where the town of Dyea stood. Nothing left but a few boards from old buildings. If you didn’t see the pictures, you couldn’t believe what a thriving town it was for a couple of years before the gold fever rush went bust.

Back in town, we canvassed the shops for our main shopping day on Friday, had a light dinner in town and went back to the RV’s for the night to rest our weary bones.

Thursday morning, we were up at 5:30 to board the boat for our trip to Juneau. It was cold and rainy and so we had a lot of clothes on. Dress in layers is the fashion up here. On the way, we were served the best blueberry muffins any of us had while here and hot chocolate. Our captain was a girl and so was the deck hand. She said she had done this for 16 years. She didn’t look much older than that. We traveled thru a deep fjord that was carved by glaciers thousands of years ago. Where the water meets the trees is 300’ deep and the water gets to a depth of 2000’. I didn’t really need to know that. It is called Glacier Bay because you are surrounded on both sides with mountains and glaciers. Breathtakingly beautiful. Pictures just can’t do it justice. When we arrived at Juneau, a gray line bus took us around the city, which is very hilly with tight roads and bustling. A couple of cruise ships were in port so that added to the crowd and the fun. We had a great lunch at the Hangar and then did some serious shopping before boarding the bus and heading out to the Mendenhall Glacier. On the way, we passed by the governor’s mansion.

At the glacier, they had a wooden nature trail that was built up several feet off the ground. From it you could view salmon (Sockeye and Coho’s) spawning in the creek below. Bears frequently come there to feed and quite a few of our group got to see one. It was a smaller black bear that are more common in this area. Back on the bus, we headed back to our boar and the trip home. We did look for whales but of course none were to be found. The high light of the trip home was the smoked salmon chowder we were served. It was cold and raining and the hot chowder was perfect.

Our day lasted 12.5 hrs. and when we got back to the RV everyone silently went back to their rv’s, pulled the curtains and collapsed. Very tiring but another great day. This being a tourist is not for sissies!!!

Friday morning-guess what? Rain!!! Denny and I had the day off as we had done the White Pass and Yukon railroad when we were here in 1994. It was an unforgettable experience, but not one we needed to do again. The group said they couldn’t see a lot because of the fog and rain clouds but still enjoyed it.

Denny and I cleaned the RV, washed clothes, went to the grocery store and did some last minute souvenir shopping. We finished the afternoon off at the Red Onion Saloon. An authentic 1898 saloon and bordello. Oh the stories it could tell. We had drinks and appetizers and went back to the RV for an ice cream social and drivers meeting. Its sad to think our trip will be over in less than a week, but we are also looking forward to being home and seeing everyone. Tomorrow is 308 miles. Whew! Lights out!