Skagway, Alaska

Monday morning and we both had work to do before we could head out to explore Skagway. Here the time difference between Alaska and central time worked to our advantage. We were concerned because we needed fast, reliable Internet. Celebrity has done an excellent job of upgrading their WiFi. We were done with work in about an hour with no problem! The ship arrived in Skagway at 7 a.m. but we didn't have breakfast and get off the ship until 8.

Brian had reserved a rental car here so we could drive up to the Yukon Territory. The AVIS shop was just a few blocks from the cruise dock so we walked over and waited about 30 minutes while three other groups got their cars. The first car had a low tire so they replaced it with another. We could have taken the train, which many people choose to do, but we wanted to be able to stop along the way. 

Once we were on the Yukon Highway we were treated to more amazing vistas of mountains and lakes. Before long we were passing the Canadian checkpoint (passports required) and climbing to the White Pass summit, elevation 2,888 ft. White Pass is also known as the Dead Horse Trail. We saw the original Klondike Trail used by so many gold seekers in 1898. This was the longer of the two trails into the Klondike, which allowed them to use pack animals. Three thousand horses died on this trail. 

The goal seekers who took the shorter but steeper Chilkoot Trail didn't fare much better. Both trails required a 550 mile journey up the lake systems to the Yukon River and the gold fields. Some enterprising individuals carved a stairway up the Chilkoot Trail in the snow and charged the seekers to haul their gear up via tram. 

We followed the highway on up to Carcross, which is mostly just a tourist town with a few old churches. Then on to Emerald Lake, which is a vibrant blue and green. I'm not sure what causes the deep colors but it was beautiful. 

The first shown here is the St. John the Baptist Catholic church built in 1930. The second, St. Saviours Anglican Church, was built in 1904 then moved across the Narrows to Carcross in in 1917. It became the site of the first school. Behind it is an old log cabin used by the church founders. Both churches still hold services today.

We tried to take a selfie of the Yukon Territory sign but as you can see the sun was too bright. Just up above this sign on the mountain side were Dali sheep. I'm including a description of the difference between these sheep and mountain goats. We did see mountain goats on the Whittier glacier tour, but not on this route.


Another group of people we met at the AVIS rental said they saw bear right near here but we missed them.

After we passed Emerald Lake, where most sane people turn around, we decided to head on to Whitehorse, mainly so we could say we'd driven on the famous Alaska Highway. It was about another hour up the road. Once we were there we realized it's just another city and stopped for lunch at the A&W.



If we had it to do over we would have turned around at Emerald Lake as well, but you never know what you'll stumble across when you go exploring.

On the way back to Skagway we saw some impressive waterfalls. We passed back through U.S. immigration and then back down into Skagway. Once back in town we stopped at the old Gold Rush cemetery.  Some of the graves are marked as unknown. The men who left their homes and families with gold fever weren't always forthcoming with who they were, or where they were from, so they lie in an unmarked grave. We did find one Smith and wondered if he was a distant relative.

Beside the cemetery is a trail that leads to another beautiful waterfall. It's an easy hike and the payoff is great. I highly recommend this slight detour into the forest. We could hear the rushing water, and see some of it peak through the trees, then wow!

Here are some pictures of downtown Skagway. We weren't really interested in souvenir shopping so we didn't go into any of the shops, but we did venture into the old train station, which is filled with interesting photos and facts about Skagway. It was so warm here we wished we'd been wearing shorts, but up on the pass it would have been too cold. That's the quandry when packing for Alaska.

If we'd had time we would have stopped by the Tagish Lake Kennel to see the sled dogs, but with the extra miles up to Whitehorse we were more than ready to relax back on the ship. We returned the car and walked the short distance back to the pier. We enjoyed the drive, but I think the train would have been equally as fun without the rental hassles. That said, I would have hated to miss Carcross and Emerald Lake. I think the train only goes as far as Fraser this time of year.

With the great weather driving the pass was no big deal, but in bad weather I wouldn't want the stress of driving in fog or rain. Quite a few tour buses take this road, which is only one lane each way, so passing slow vehicles could get irritating.

Back on the ship we enjoyed happy hour on our balcony and then wandered into the piano bar to listen to the guitarist. He wasn't too bad, but not as good as some we've heard in the past. Dinner was again very casual and then another amazing floor show by the dancers and singers. I have to say Celebrity does a good job on it's entertainment. Even the commedian was good!