Yukon Have it!

This summer I made my semi-annual trip to Alaska.  Last year, we rode the White Pass railway, which took the path the sourdoughs followed when making the trek into the gold fields of the Yukon.  The ride ended at the border to Canada, stopping short of the wonders of the Yukon.  This year, we took a trek into the Yukon to experience the granduer of Canada's least-populated province.
The tour bus picked us up promptly at 0800 AM at the Skagway shipyards.  Once aboard the bus took a trip through town, then joined up with the Klondike Highway to start the trip to the Yukon.   This road winded through the mountains that once challenged then fortitude of the goldseekers (and my stomach), and the fog made driving difficult.   But once we reached the top and began the trip into Canada, the fog cleared and the weather cooperated for the rest of the trip.



Driving along the Klondike Highway.  Nary a Stuckey's to be found.

Welcome to the Yukon!   I immediately took on the nickname of "Yukon Joe" and insisted that everyone on the bus address me by that name.  For some reason, after that no one would tell me when it was time to get on the bus.   I assume they wanted me to have the most time to enjoy the scenery.

This is Bove Island, located in Taglish Lake.   I wish I was a better photographer, because this really was a beautiful site. 

Our lunch stop was at Spirit Lake Wilderness Resort, where we were treated to a lunch of soup, sandwiches and what was billed as the best pie in the Yukon.   All I can say is, someone could make a fortune opening a Marie Callendar's up here.

 After making a brief stop at what was billed as "The Worst Restroom in Canada" we eventually made it to Carcross.  Carcross, originally known as Caribou Crossing, was a popular stopping point for prospectors heading towards Dawson City or Whitehorse, and continues to be to this day.   Tourism is the #1 economy for this population of about 200.  It's conveniently located at the intersection of the Klondike Highway and Tagish Road, between Lake Bennet and Nares Lake.  It's also a stop on the White Pass Railway.

 

Here's the train station at Carcross.  Train service resumed in 2007. 

The Matthew Watson General Store is the oldest operating store in the Yukon.  They don't take supermarket coupons, as I soon found out.

Inside the General Store, catering to all your moose-related needs.



Another view of the train station.   To the left is one of the original locomotives.  I asked someone where I could find an old caboose.  I didn't like his answer.

Beautiful downtown Carcross.  There was a bakery on the right that served some great rolls. 

This was the Carcross visitor's center.  Next to it was a small assemblage of shops catering to the tourist.   They DID take coupons, all of which could be found in the travel guides in the visitor's center.   A very symbiotic relationship.

The Shoppes of Carcross.  Not exactly Westside Pavilion, but the fish and chips were excellent.

Now this is a sad story.   The S.S. Tutshi was the largest excursion boats built at the time, and catered to first class-passengers with such novelties as room service.  Built in 1917, she took pleasure-seeking tourists to Ben-My-Chree (a interesting story in itself that you should seek out later) and up the river until she was retired in 1956.  She sat unused until the people of Carcross decided to buy her and restore her to her formal glory as a tourist draw.   Work began in 1972.  Painting was completed in 1977 and the restoration work began in earnest in 1984.   By 1990 work was almost completed when an early morning fire destroyed most of the ship, except for a small part of the bow.  It now sits just as you see it, a testament to early tourism in the area.

Lake Bennet.   You can almost imagine the sourdoughs piloting their boats towards Whitehorse.

Who said there are no beaches in the Yukon?  Probably no one.   But, in case you are curious, here's the beach at Carcross.

There was an annoying photographer on our bus that was constantly taking pictures of everything.  However, annoying as he was, he really could take a good picture, even with my cheap camera.

Outside of Carcross was Emerald Lake.  It was the color of an emerald.   Hey, maybe that's where the name came from...

Another view of Emerald Lake.  Yukon Joe like!

This is everyone getting on the Tourbus.   As usual, no one told me they were leaving.  

Carcross Dessert is really not a desert at all, but a small area of sand dunes leftover from a dried-up lake.  However, the populace bills it as the "World's Smallest Desert."  It's popular for sandboarding and off-roading.

This is Yukon Joe, making his perilous trip across the Carcross Desert.  The desert consists on one square mile of rugged, unrelenting hardships.   Will he make it?   Or will the elements get the best of him??

Yeah, the bus tried to leave me here as well.

Heading back into Alaska, we  crossed back over the mountains and beyond the timber line, where tress can't grow.  The landscape looks like something out of a Hobbit movie.

At this point, we re-entered Alaska and made our way back to Skagway. I was going to take pictures of the customs area, but our driver warned us that our cameras would be confiscated by Homeland Security if we did.  Seriously.

Just another thing for my "Bucket List"...   One day I may drive up here.   It seems like a beautiful way to see this area without getting seasick.

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.