Cruising Alaska ~ Skagway ~ September 14, 2016




Today's port is Skagway, "Gateway to the Klondike."  Skagway is located in the Upper Lynn Canal and is considered the northernmost point in Southeast Alaska.  It is 80 air miles from Juneau, and 110 road miles from Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada.  The port is the northernmost ice-free, deep-water port in North America and serves as a year-round transportation hub between Alaska, the Yukon Territory, and northern British Columbia.  The year-round population is about 1,060 - double that in the summer when the town welcomes over 900,000 visitors!

Our major excursion of the cruise was to take the White Pass and Yukon narrow-gauge railway.  Like many narrow gauge railways, this one is associated with mining - specifically gold mining.  The railroad began construction in 1898 during the Klondike gold rush as a means of reaching the goldfields.  Completed in 1900, it became the primary route to the interior of the Yukon, supplanting the Chilkoot Trail and other routes.  The route continued operation until 1982.  Today it exists as a tourist experience. 
      White-Pass.png      Yukon railway.svg



The original train station is now a museum and gift shop.  It still retains its original charm, though, and captures the flavor of this town.  Skagway, by the way, is part of the setting of Jack London's Call of the Wild as well as other short stories.


Although JJ would have loved to have been on one of the excursions that are pulled by steam, the steam locomotive was put away for the season.  We were one of the last cruises for this year.  Evidently there will be a few ships leaving on the Sunday we return, but they will be the last of the year.  This photo is from their website - our day was much more dreary.

All narrow gauge railways make their way up steep mountainsides, giving passengers spectacular views.  We had a very grey, misty, day for our trip.  In fact we spoke with somebody who went on the morning trip and couldn't see very much.  By the time we went, the clouds had lifted a bit.







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