Day 9 - 6/10/08

We arrived in Skagway (originally caalled "Skaguay" but changed due to a mistake when the post office was founded). The weather was damp and cold.

Alongside the dock we saw these "billboards" advertising ships that had docked there before.

Throughout the trip there were photographers who took pictures to sell passengers as souveniers of their trip. This enterprising young man wore a funny hat to gain attention.

Here's something you don't see in Central Illinois!

We took the White Pass & Yukon railway to the summit of White Pass--one of the two trails used by old rushers to reach the Yukon. Guides dressed in period costumes to add to the fun.

Prior to the railroad prospectors made the trip on foot. The Alaska centennial licenseplate depicts miners going up the Chilkoot trail.

George Brackett operated a 12-mile toll road up the canyon of White Pass. Prospectors ignored the toll gates, so the road was a failure.

This cross marks the spot where two railroad

workers were killed in 1888 when a blasting

accident caused a 100-ton granite rock to fall

on them.

The White Pass & Yukon Railway is the highest railroad in the Northern Hemisphere.

It was originally built to transport prospectors during the gold rush. It follows the White Pass trail out of Skagway. The other trail used by miners was the Chilkoot trail that began nearby in Dyea.

After the gold rush, the railroad continued to be used to carry supplies to mining operations and transport ore to Skagway. During WWII the railroad was the chief supplier to the US Army during construction of the Alaska Highway.

The railway was closed in 1982 but reopened in 1988 as an excursion railroad.

This cemetary goes back to the gold rush days when many lost their lives on the trail seeking gold. We were told that more than 3,000 horses and mules died in one gulch alone.

One of 2 tunnels and 4 trestles along the route to the Summit

We saw beautiful scenery all along the way

As the train (steam engine) climbed higher, we got up into the clouds. The summit is only 2300 ft, but the day was overcast, so coulds were handing low.

The summit itself is actually in Canada and there is a Northwest Mounted Police headquarters there. We were not allowed to leave the train due to all the hassle of clearing Customs and Security with that many people. Notice the snow? It had snowed heavily just 2 weeks before our visit.

This glacial lake was beside the railroad tracks. It was interesting to see one up close. The lake will not thaw during the summer.

Back down in Skagway ...

Housing is so expensive--$800/month for a one-room efficiency—many people live in tents and campers during the summer. They still pay $400-$600 and have few utilities or showers.

Dredges like this one were used to mine gold from gravel—faster than panning, and easier than digging through rock. Dredging was so destructive to the land it was finally outlawed. We panned for gold here.

Real gold nuggets, worth about $1,500 at current prices. Cheryl's was worth a little over $11 and mine was worth just under that. Sure is fun to be working the pan and see the gold flakes start showing.

The people running the operation have set up replicas of tents and buildings that would have been used by miners. They also walked us through the dredge, explaining its operation.

Afterward Cheryl and I stayed downtown to look for a letterbox hidden in a nearby park. We found the spot but instead of the box we were seeking, we found a hitchhiker. I'm betting whoever left the hitchhiker exchanged it for the real box. I wrote to both the planter and the originator of the hitchhiker to let him/her know. The park was built in honor of a woman who came to Alaska during the gold rush and ran a cook tent. She was only about 33 when she was murdered by her estranged husband.

Views of downtown Skagway

Next Cheryl and I hiked out to another community park to see a place where sea lions congregate. Unfortunately they were not present today.

On the way back to the ship Cheryl was harried by an artic tern--apparently protecting a nest nearby. Wouldn't you know it...I was taking pictures of other terns and missed all the action. She said she wondered why I didn't try to help.

We also saw this statue erected to commemorate the "stampeders" who passed through Skagway on their way to the Yukon. All started with high hopes and endured great hardships but very few found the riches they sought.

All in all we walked 4-5 miles and were sore and exhausted by the time we got back to the ship.

Each time passengers come back to the ship after being ashore, they are required to present their identification card and go through security. Their persons and all their parcels are scanned by x-ray. It's inconvenient, but I was glad the ship was so security-conscious.