Skagway

So after getting back onboard the cruise ship in the evening, enjoying another wonderful supper and a show, we went to bed while the ship was still docked in Juneau. When we woke up the next morning we were already in Skagway! It was sort of a strange feeling, it was like we had never left Juneau. This sure is the way to travel, no renting a car, getting maps, finding a hotel, looking for places to eat, and wasting half of your day just getting there. Now I am starting to get a good understanding of why cruise vacations are so popular.

In Skagway we booked a six hour tour through Holland America called “The Best of Skagway”. This tour basically combines a number of popular tours so you can see everything and not have to co-ordinbate it all yourself. The tour started with a bus trip through the mountains. In the first picture you can see us standing in front of Moore Creek Bridge. This bridge is famous because it is one of the first cable-stayed style of bridges where the bridge is fixed to one side but suspended with cables to allow movement on the other side.

We crossed the border back into Canada then continued to Fraser where we boarded a train. We then took the train down the mountain along the famous White Pass route and had the chance to see the routes that many prospectors crossed on foot with the hopes of one day striking it rich panning for gold.

After the train tour we went to a salmon bake. The food was incredible and it was held in Lairsville. This area received its name because it was the spot where many journalists camped during the gold rush (Ok so you are thinking, journalists, enough said, well there is some more). During the gold rush when many journalists were sent up to get first hand reports, but when they saw the 500 mile journey through the mountains that lay ahead of them, almost all wisely decided to just set up camp and make up stories about the gold rush to send back to their newspapers in the United States. So all of those reports being sent south were either third hand stories or just something that they knew their readers wanted to hear (There is gold in them there hills!). The village was set up like a typical camp from 100 years ago and was staffed with actors. The actors put on several comedy skits showing us what life was like in the camp at that time.

The final stop on the tour was the Red Onion Saloon in Skagway. This is a very famous brothel that was popular during the gold rush era. As we heard from our tour guides, really know one left the gold rush wealthy. Even when someone found gold and had a bunch of money, they spent it either on booze, gambling, or at the brothel so the money never lasted long.