Skagway -

Skagway is a coastal town in Alaska's southeast and it's notable for the part it played in the Klondike Gold Rush.  Many of the stampeder's came through Skagway on their way to the Klondike gold fields, over 600 miles away.  From Skagway they either went up the Chilkoot Trail (in nearby Dyea) or the White Pass Trail.  Both were arduous trails but the Chilkoot is famous for its nearly 45º angle 3/4 mile climb to the summit of the pass.  It was so steep that stairs were carved into the ice that were known as the "Golden Stairs" and crossing this part was so difficult that many turned back at this point.  To make matters even worse, after they made the summit, the Canadian Mounties met them and required that they have 1 ton of supplies before being allowed to continue into Canada.  Now they have to go back to Skagway or Dyea and ferry their 2000 lbs of goods up that treacherous trail.  Those with money hired local native guides to carry their goods, everyone else made numerous trips up and down the trail.

That part of Skagway is fascinating and their are many relics and old buildings left from the gold rush days.  Otherwise Skagway is heavily visited by cruise ships.  The day we arrived there were 5 large cruise ships in port and we were told that's 12 - 13,000 people.  The town was wall to wall people to the point that walking was difficult.  Ugh, not for me. The next few days were much better and we did get to enjoy ourselves.  It is said that the cruise ships own Skagway now and it seems that way to me.  I noted a lot of jewelry stores that are also in the Caribbean ports that I have visited while cruising.

Though the cruise ships and all the people was a turn off, I recommend visiting Skagway just for the drive getting there.  It is such a pretty drive over rocky terrain that I think would look like the moon minus the green trees and shrubs.  There are alot of lakes along the way.  The pretty pink flowers you see in this photo are fireweed and grow everywhere and are said to be the first thing that comes back after a forest fire.

There is a narrow gauge train, The White Pass & Yukon, that goes from Skagway over the summit that is a great ride with breathtaking views.

 I included this photo because you can clearly see at least 3 glaciers, notice the blue coloring.

View of Skagway from a mountainside, note the cruise ships.

We did a fun city tour in these yellow buses.

Next stop, Hyder, Alaska, we'll be looking  for bears in Fish Creek, like this Mom and her cub that  I photoed in 2010.