SKAGWAY, ALASKA

SKAGWAY, ALASKA

We woke up Monday morning excited to be heading to Skagway, Alaska for many reasons.  There were several things planned for our 3-day stay in Skagway but also we were heading back to Alaska, USA.  Back to miles instead of kilometers, gallons instead of liters, dollars instead of loonies and toonies, Fahrenheit instead of centigrade --- back to America and we love Alaska!  The weather was again being kind to us, beautiful sunshine and as always God had a splendid “video” in store for us as we headed the 189 miles (yes, miles!) to Skagway.

Beautiful, spectacular, amazing ---- as you know by now I have completely run out of adjectives to even try to describe what we have been blessed to see.  Emerald Lake was high on our priority list for a stop this morning.  Emerald Lake is also called Rainbow Lake by Yukoners.  The rainbow-like colors of the lake result from blue-green light waves reflecting off the white sediment, of the lake bottom.  This white sediment, called marl, consists of decomposed shell mixed with clay; it is usually found in shallow, freshwater lakes that have low oxygen levels during the summer months.  There is your lesson for the day…. But really isn’t it something?!!  Incredible!!

We stopped at “Caribou Crossing” which was highlighted by the “Milepost” as a good stopping place but by the time we arrived there it was pretty much closing down.  I mean they actually closed the “ice cream” parlor right in front of us.  Okay, maybe we didn’t need it but still!!!  Back on the road…

We made a quick stop at “Carcross Desert”.  This unusual desert area of sand dunes is the world’s smallest desert and an International Biophysical Programme site for ecological studies.  The desert is composed of sandy lake-bottom material left behind by a large glacial lake.  Strong winds off Lake Bennett make it difficult for vegetation to take hold here yet it has an enormous variety of plants, including “Kinnikinnick”, a low trailing evergreen with small leathery leaves that are used for brewing tea.  Okay, sorry, another lesson I guess!  But even though this was a small desert, it was my first!  Another new experience…Bill says he has “bigger and  better” to show me.  Can’t wait!

We made a few more scenic stops for pictures at Windy Arm (extension of Tagish Lake) and Lime Mountain; Tormented Valley, a rocky desolate “moonscape” of stunted trees and small lakes; Deep-green Bernard Lake; and “International Border Falls”.  A myriad of sights and adventures!  Finally made it to the campground!

  

Tuesday we were to meet at 12Noon to ride/share to the“White Pass & Yukon RR” station.  We were scheduled for a 3-hour excursion from Skagway to White Pass Summit and back.  This is the actual railroad, railcars and passageway that took the gold-miners in the late 1890’s and early 1900’s.  It was definitely a little “nervousing” as the train took the tracks on the edge of the cliffs.  I’m sure you can see the height and narrowness of the route by the pictures we have included.  We did once again see some beautiful sights, some the same but from a different viewpoint.  It was a perfectly sunny day for this kind of trip.  Great fun!!

Can you see the train in these next two pictures??!!

Can you see the train??

We crossed the Canadian/US Border while on the Yukon RR.  They had these 5 flags displayed.

Our “tour hostess” of the group, Ginny, had planned a “Fiesta Night” for the evening after the train ride.  She made her famous chicken enchiladas and everyone else signed up to bring a Mexican dish (we decided on Rotelle & Chips).  Now, it seemed Ginny was most worried that there wouldn’t be enough “Margarita Fixings” so several people went together for that.  As it turned out there was more than enough so they started planning a future “Margarita Happy Hour”.  Well, a few days later when we were headed back into Canada, the Customs officer asked Ted how much alcohol he had in his rig….he was very evasive and said, “just a couple bottles”.  After his reply they decided to check every nook and cranny of his rig and absconded with a case of wine, a couple bottles of brandy and yes, you guessed it, the rest of the margarita fixings.  “Margarita Happy Hour” cancelled!!  Anyway, “Mexican Fiesta” was a success.

Wednesday morning we needed to meet at 7:15 AM to head over to the “Fjord Express to Juneau” to return around 8:30 PM.  It sounded like an exciting trip but one of our ladies said she was taking a book because it was going to be a long boat ride there and back.  I decided to put a couple decks of cards in our backpack.  The boat was mostly nice cushioned seats but there were two tables, which could seat 6-8 people.  Bill and I ended up at one of those and part way into the trip we started playing “Square Nine” with 2 other couples.  Pretty soon people were lined up to take a turn playing.  Everyone got so into the game that the captain and the crew-member would look for whales and other wildlife when someone yelled out in excitement or frustration!  LOL.    

We did interrupt the game on many occasions to run out and take pictures of the sea life, never get enough of that.  Also, we finally saw our first (at least mine) mountain goat.  Picture to prove it!!  All in all the boat ride was lots of fun, filled with wildlife, breakfast/dinner, laughter and scenery to boot!!  The sea lions in the water continued to try and get on with the others.  It was kind of like "how many clowns can you get in that VW?"

Now, the actual time spent in Juneau was just ok.  We had been used to very cool temperatures and very little people around.  It climbed to a sunny, hot 85 degrees.  I know you have all suffered worse but going from 50 to 85 in a day or so is a little extreme.  (Especially if you are having “hot flashes”!). 

We left the boat and a tour bus was waiting to take us into the city, we had 3 hours to spend in Juneau.  The bus driver, a college student from BYU who called himself  “Stud Muffin”, was actually a lot of fun.  He sang us a tune about the 5 different kinds of salmon and another “safety talk tune” while playing the ukulele.  He also told of eagles that had picked up small dogs that were never seen again, fish being dropped out of the mouth of birds and colliding with planes, the Black Bear, named Bruno, that frequented the house he and 6 other college students rented, and many other stories.  He mentioned “potholes” and was very confused when our group would shout out “POTHOLES” at the least incident.  Because of all the potholes, frost heaves and road conditions of Alaska and the Yukon, the show at Beaver Creek had everyone yelling “POTHOLES” as group participation throughout he show.  So, this became our “thing”.  George especially found delight in starting the “POTHOLES” round.  I do believe the bus driver will now use this in his tour!

The bus driver suggested a few places to grab lunch in Juneau and we decided to take his advice and headed to Crab…we ordered a #1, crab leg (huge), clam chowder, crab cakes and a side of shrimp cocktail to share.  It was all delicious, we ate it out in the sun with George and Joan.  Thought it was pretty pricey at $50+ but I have to say I did enjoy it immensely. 

There really wasn’t enough time to do any of the actual tourist attractions by the time we finished lunch, so we sat in the shade awhile, wandered in and out of gift shops for those last few “Alaskan” souvenirs, grabbed an ice cream cone and stood in the shade to eat it until time to board the bus again.  When we go back to Alaska we may not even stop at Juneau but if we do we will plan enough time to do things besides the “gift shops”!

BILL AND GEORGE "WAITING ON AWOMAN"!  Joan and I were in the gift shops, although I came out way before her!!  LOL

The bus then took us to “Mendenhall Glacier”.  Mendenhall Glacier is about 12 miles long located in the Mendenhall Valley approximately 12 miles from downtown Juneau.  We do love these glaciers!!  Took a walk down to the observation area (didn’t have time to walk to the waterfalls), checked out the visitor center and their video, back on the bus and back to the boat.  We actually would have liked to spend more time at this stop.  It was rather rushed but we truly did enjoy stopping there.

I thought this iceberg looked like "Donald Duck"!

The waterfall we didn't have time to walk to.

Bill found this rock indentations interesting....and since Megan likes to have feet in pictures??....

The ride back on the boat was more of the same, “fun-filled”.  They served us chili and a roll for dinner, we played cards and “farkle”, we kept track of the sights along the way and were glad to head back to camp.

Our stay in Skagway was definitely a highlight of our trip.  Again, one big advantage of being with a tour group, they planned many diverse sights, excursions, and attractions, which provide a rounded view of the wonders and origins of Alaska, the Yukon and British Columbia.

Thursday, off to Teslin, Yukon Territory, 206 miles.  Yes, we are leaving Alaska, we feel pretty nostalgic about that.  Going to miss this wild country!