Skagway

When we came to Alaska in 1996 for our 40th anniversary, one of the favorite things that we did was to ride the White Pass Railway in Skagway - so naturally we wanted to do it again. It's not a disappointment the second time around either! We enjoyed this whole morning immensely. I like this description of the trip:

Relive the gold rush with the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway as it steams through its second century of history! This forty-mile roundtrip train ride climbs from tidewater at Skagway to the Summit of the White Pass, a 2,865 foot rise in elevation! Built in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush, this narrow gauge railroad is an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. Experience the breathtaking panorama of mountains, glaciers, gorges, waterfalls, tunnels, trestles and historic sites from the comfort of vintage parlor cars.

Here we are in our "vintage parlor car".


Scenery from the train:









We're in Canada - NWMP - Northwest Mounted Police.



Flags at the border between Alaska and the Yukon Territory.



One of my favorite stories of the train trip was when we were on the edge of a very deep gorge, and across the gorge was a road loaded with buses. The buses had all stopped, and the passengers were all out with their cameras. Our guide said that people have asked him which is the better way to see the Pass, by bus or by train. His answer was that he's never seen a train stop to take pictures of buses!

In the afternoon, we went on the Historic Streetcar of Skagway excursion. The bus was fun, the guide was bubbly, and the whole thing was very enjoyable.



Dick had time to do some caching in Skagway, and here are the rest of us waving goodbye:



Our beautiful ship, The Coral Princess:



There were five big ships docked in Skagway today!



DICK'S NOTES:

Tues 5/25/10
Skagway.
After breakfast we claimed a virtual cache from the deck. It was about the ships' captains' names on the rocks alongside. Then we took the Whitehorse RR up to the Pass. Words can’t describe the trip. An elderly woman told Nancy, “Kids today say everything is awesome, they don’t know what awesome is."
After the train ride and lunch we took the “Street Car Tour" with guide Peggy.
Then some more caching, another virtual cache at the Skagway Visitor Center, a micro missing the logbook and a keyholder where I met a woman cacher from our boat and launched another coin.
Drinks at the Wheelhouse. Dinner was Italian, very good!
Show in the Universe Lounge. Music through the ages with the usual crew.