Alaska Cruise, Part Fore

And so, as our boat sailed silently away from Juneau, we said aloha to the natives, and we began our trip to Skagway.   Yes, here is part four of my recent cruise to Alaska.   If you need an update, you can check out the first three chapters here:
Part Won:  http://joefood.blogspot.com/2012/10/alaskan-trip-part-one.html
Part Too:  http://joefood.blogspot.com/2012/10/alaska-trip-part-too.html
Part Tree:  http://joefood.blogspot.com/2012/11/alaska-trip-part-tree.html

The Chilhoot Trail's infamous "Stairs of Gold."  

Skagway was, to me, the highlight of the trip.  Skagway is a small borough with a population of about 920 people that doubles to about 2,000 in the midst of the tourist season.  It began life as one of two main starting points for miners heading for the Yukon gold fields in the 1890's.  Miners had a choice of taking two routes:  The Chilhoot trail, which started at Dyea, or the White Pass trail, which started in Skagway.  Each route was extremely arduous.  Of the 100,000 people that started out for the Yukon, only about 35,000 made the entire trip.  Of that, only about 15,000 became miners and of that only a handful became rich.
The White Pass Trail eventually became the preferred route of the miners, due to a better port and an avalanche on the Chilhoot trail that killed 60 people.  Another benefit to Skagway was the building of the White Pass and Yukon Railway, which took miners to Lake Bennet (the start of the 500 mile trip down the Yukon river by boat) and eventually to Whitehorse. Skagway became a permanent city, Alaska's largest at the time, while Dyea slowly died and became a ghost town. 
The history of the Klondike Gold Rush is a fascinating one, full of colorful characters, determined prospectors, and lawless towns that were made famous in books by Jack London and others.  A lot of that history has been preserved into the Klondike Gold Rush International Historic park, of which Skagway is a part.   Many buildings in downtown Skagway has been preserved, including the headquarters of Jefferson"Soapy" Smith, who ran the town with a gang of thieves and con men until he was gunned down in 1898.  In Skagway, you can stroll the original saloons, hike the original trails, visit the "Boot Hill" graveyard" and even take a ride on the White Pass railway, still in operation as a tourist attraction.


Skagway, as seen by the miners of 1898 today.

We got off the boat and headed into town.  The town itself is about 5 blocks of original buildings plus some new ones built to match. 

The view as we got off the cruise ship.   As usual, we got the worst parking space, furthest from the town.

Downtown Skagway.   I was amazed that I couldn't find Starbucks.

A side street off the main drag.  I think the Radio Shack is a recent addition.

The Golden North Hotel was built in 1898 and was Alaska's oldest operating hotel until it closed in 2002.  It now houses shops.   It is reputed to be haunted.

Another view down Main Street. 

The original Railroad Building is now a Klondike Gold rush National Park visitor's center.   They have a exhibit with a scaled-down version of the White Pass Trail.   I tried to hike that trail...   they escorted me out.

This is The Artic Brotherhood hall, built in 1900 as a fraternal organization of miners.  Decorated with driftwood, it is Alaska's most photographed building. 

Another city view. 

Soapy Smith's original gambling hall and headquarters, soon to be preserved.  Even though it wasn't open I lost $50 here.

The Mascot is an original saloon from the 1890's.   It is now a museum that houses a replica of...  the Mascot Saloon.  It seems they could've saved some time here...

Our first stop was the White Pass and Klondike Railway, where we would follow in the footsteps of the 1898 miners and travel up to the top of White Pass, the highest spot on the trail and the entry point into Canada.

Here's the train station.  Train leaving on track five, for Anaheim, Azusa, and Cucamunga!

Me on the caboose.  No jokes, please.

One of the original trains was on display in the railyard outside of town.  Someone should give them a ticket for parking next to a fire hydrant.

We're now on the way to White Pass.   Gold fields await!

The scenery was really beautiful, although it would get very foggy at the top of the pass.

George Buchanan was a Detroit businessman who sponsored adventure trips to Alaska for young boys beginning in 1923.  The boys would have to earn 1/3 of the money themselves selling household implements ($81).  The parents would donate another 1/3 and George paid the rest.  The slogan was "On to Alaska with Buchanan."  For 15 years Buchanan brought groups of boys (and later, girls as well) to Alaska.   In commemoration, one group painted the slogan on the side of the mountain, where it remains today, a tribute to early juvenile delinquency.



This guy kept butting in my shots.   If you go to his blog, you'll see the back of MY head in his pictures.

"I tink someone has left de chower running..."

 

In 1901 when this bridge was built, it was the tallest of its kind in the world.   In 1969 it was bypassed by a tunnel, as the bridge could no longer support the weight of the new, heavier engines.

It si now a Ghost Bridge.   I hear it spends time in the Golden North Hotel.

This is the tunnel that replaced the bridge.  The old bridge is to the left.



At long last, we reached the top of the pass, and the border of Canada:  Whitepass.





This was the outpost of the RCMP.   I think Dudley was our rescuing Nell.

Here's how the scene would've looked without the fog. 

Back in town.   The train was designated a International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1994, a distinction it shares with 35 other great engineering feats, such as the Eiffel Tower, the Panama Canal and Donald Trump's hair.

The locals of Skagway keep themselves busy throughout the non-tourist season.   One of the things they do is engage in an exclusively Alaskan sport:  dog sledding.   They have a camp near the remnants of Dyea where they raise dogs for dogs sledding, and they invite the tourists to come out out (for a fee) and visit the camp.   Being a dog person, I decided that we'd pay the camp a visit. 
It was rainy and muddy when we arrived at the camp.  When you see the dogs, it's hard to believe they can pull a cart full of tourists who have engaged in all-you-can-eat midnight buffets for the last three days.   However, the dogs seem willing to pull us around (for a fee) and almost excited to get into the harness and run the route.  Away we go!

Here we are at the camp, where you could sit by the fireplace and enjoy some delicious hot chocolate (for a fee).

I like that the furniture looks like the kind you'd buy at Target if you were trying to turn your backyard into a Yukon outpost.

These are the carts that the dogs pulled.  At the front of the line of dogs is a cat.

I know the dogs are wondering "How much does that one in the Disney sweatshirt weigh???"



It was cold, it was rainy, and I was cranky.   Plus I had stepped in dog poop.

I SWEAR, I think the dogs enjoyed it.

Ah, the smell of the trees, the wind whipping your hair, and the smell of wet dog hitting you right in the face. 

Dog:   "Really, man, did you have to eat at EVERY buffet?"

Here, I was trying to blend in and be one of the team.  But no one would share their kibble with me.

After the ride, the tourists were allowed to hold the new pups, and get their picture taken with them (for a fee). 

My dog seemed interested in what I had to eat.   Whatever it was, there was a fee involved.

With that, it was time to head back to the boat to continue our cruise.   The next day we would begin our tour of Glacier Bay National Park, one of the most beautiful parks my travel partner has ever slept through.   See you there!

On the streets of Skagway.   We never saw the boat coming until it was too late.