Skagway was our most Northern port of call. It was one of the ports where gold rush miners started their overland trek to the Klondike. They would bring all their supplies by boat and then carry them all over the pass via the "Trail of '98". As time went on, they put in a train line to make the trek a heck of a lot easier and they provide scenic rail tours on that track to entertain us cruisers. Of the cities we visited, this was the only one that you could access by road. It was also the only one where we had wonderful weather.
William and I walking along the train to find a car for ourselves. They had to leave the train split to not block the road. When they were ready to go, they backed the train up to pick up the other cars and then headed out.
The train wound it's way along the mountain side going over trestles and through tunnels. This might not look like a tall trestle, but...
...this was the view from below!
One of the trestles had been retired from service 45 years ago. I'm kinda glad they did so.
The pass is just on the other side of the Canadian border. We didn't need our passports since we were considered a "Closed Container" since none of us were getting off the train.
At the top, we exchanged places with the train that went up before us (they can service up to 4 cruise ship's worth of passengers with these trains. Two trains twice a day.)
On the way down, you get a peak down the valley. If you click on the picture and open it up large, you can just make out our ship in the bay.
Once we got back from the train ride, we took a self guided walking tour of Skagway. Here, William is posing with a statue of prospectors.
A tired old engine from the era.
We'd passed the cemetery on the train and they told a story of a crooked sheriff, Jefferson Smith, that was running the town (and taking money wherever he could) and how one day, a gentlemen named Frank Reid challenged him on the pier after a town meeting. They drew guns and fired at each other. The crooked sheriff was killed instantly, but Frank Reid took an unfortunate bullet in the groin and took several days to die. They buried Jefferson Smith off by himself in the cemetery giving him a basic headstone and "The only bars that would ever hold him" to fence it off. For the town's hero though...
They erected the biggest monument in the cemetery.
A few minutes hike up from the cemetery is a very nice waterfall.
One of us needs to loosen up a bit...
The Red Onion was a brothel and now has a bar on the lower floor and a brothel museum on the second floor. The waitresses were all dressed in halter top outfits to fit the history of the building and they offered tours of the brothel and advertised them as "15 minutes for $5." It was like an 1800's Hooters. The best IPA I found in Alaska was here, but it was from Pt. Defiance Washington...
After a long day, we headed back to our ship. It was a nice day.
Skagway was our most Northern port of call. It was one of the ports where gold rush miners started their overland trek to the Klondike. They would bring all their supplies by boat and then carry them all over the pass via the "Trail of '98". As time went on, they put in a train line to make the trek a heck of a lot easier and they provide scenic rail tours on that track to entertain us cruisers. Of the cities we visited, this was the only one that you could access by road. It was also the only one where we had wonderful weather.
William and I walking along the train to find a car for ourselves. They had to leave the train split to not block the road. When they were ready to go, they backed the train up to pick up the other cars and then headed out.
The train wound it's way along the mountain side going over trestles and through tunnels. This might not look like a tall trestle, but...
...this was the view from below!
One of the trestles had been retired from service 45 years ago. I'm kinda glad they did so.
The pass is just on the other side of the Canadian border. We didn't need our passports since we were considered a "Closed Container" since none of us were getting off the train.
At the top, we exchanged places with the train that went up before us (they can service up to 4 cruise ship's worth of passengers with these trains. Two trains twice a day.)
On the way down, you get a peak down the valley. If you click on the picture and open it up large, you can just make out our ship in the bay.
Once we got back from the train ride, we took a self guided walking tour of Skagway. Here, William is posing with a statue of prospectors.
A tired old engine from the era.
We'd passed the cemetery on the train and they told a story of a crooked sheriff, Jefferson Smith, that was running the town (and taking money wherever he could) and how one day, a gentlemen named Frank Reid challenged him on the pier after a town meeting. They drew guns and fired at each other. The crooked sheriff was killed instantly, but Frank Reid took an unfortunate bullet in the groin and took several days to die. They buried Jefferson Smith off by himself in the cemetery giving him a basic headstone and "The only bars that would ever hold him" to fence it off. For the town's hero though...
They erected the biggest monument in the cemetery.
A few minutes hike up from the cemetery is a very nice waterfall.
One of us needs to loosen up a bit...
The Red Onion was a brothel and now has a bar on the lower floor and a brothel museum on the second floor. The waitresses were all dressed in halter top outfits to fit the history of the building and they offered tours of the brothel and advertised them as "15 minutes for $5." It was like an 1800's Hooters. The best IPA I found in Alaska was here, but it was from Pt. Defiance Washington...
After a long day, we headed back to our ship. It was a nice day.
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