Up at 7:30 for my 8:30 tour. I chose the eight hour "White Pass Rail and Yukon Expedition". The driver/guide was Jim. We started with a short tour of downtown Skagway which did not take long as there is not much to Skagway - downtown or otherwise! The town started in 1887 with a small encampment of a few people. At the height of the gold rush, there were about 20,000 people. Today's year round population is about 900 with many more coming in for the summer tourist season.
Skagway was one of the two major starting points (Dyea being the other - today there is virtually nothing left of it) for the six hundred mile trek over treacherous terrain to the Klondike gold fields. It is estimated that close to 100,000 would-be gold miners (known as stampeders) passed through Dyea and Skagway. Out of those, about 30,000 actually made it to the Klondike. By the time they got there all the good claims were taken and many ended up working for others. More people became rich "mining the miners" (providing goods and services) than from finding gold.
By Canadian law, each stampeder had to have one ton of supplies which was the estimation of what was needed to keep him alive for a year. This included food, clothing, supplies, and tools (if you would like to see the entire list, Google "Klondikers supply list"). The terrain was too rough for animals so most of the miners carried about 65-75 pounds on there backs to Lake Bennett (about 50 miles away), return to Skagway, carry another pack, etc. until all 2000 pounds were moved (and it was easiest to do this in the winter!). Boats and rafts were then built which would, hopefully, take them down the Yukon River to the gold fields.
As we drove the Klondike Highway north, we stopped at a number of scenic look-outs and saw some of the beautiful scenes of this wilderness area. We crossed into Canada and had to clear immigration (an agent came onboard and checked our passports - which is more than they did when we arrived in Vancouver last week). After a quick drive through British Columbia, we entered the Yukon Territory (Canada has ten provinces and three territories).
After passing the Carcross Desert (it is actually silt not sand and is a dry glacier bed) we stopped at Caribou Crossing. This is where we had lunch (very good barbecue chicken, baked potato, cole slaw, rolls, and homemade donuts). There was then time to look around. They had live (and friendly) goats, ponies, a horse, and sled dogs. There was also a building full of stuffed animals. The best part, however, was the litter of sled dog puppies. They were two weeks old and it was the first day that they were being held. All the sled dogs are very friendly and, although mom was watching us and her pups carefully, she didn't object.
After reluctantly leaving the puppies, we headed for a picture stop at Emerald Lake. A scenic drive around Carcross, the third or fourth largest community in the Yukon (pop. about 300) followed. We had time to get out and walk around although most places were not open for the season yet. Carcross was once called Caribou Crossing and grew up because of the gold rush. Today its economy relies on tourists.
We boarded the White Pass and Yukon Railway in Fraser, B.C. The railroad was built between 1898 and 1900 to help get to the gold fields faster and easier. Unfortunately, by the time it was finished the gold rush was over. Even more spectacular views from the railroad. The clouds cleared as we headed back to Skagway and the day turned warm (low 60s) and sunny.
I was back on board about 5:30. After preparing for the evening, the Cruise Critic group played and won evening trivia with 15 out of 17.
1.Who was the Greek Goddess of victory?
2.What was the Beatles' first movie?
3.What does the Olympic slogan "citius, altius, fortius" mean?
4.Which veteran actor started his unusual film career in Rebel Without A Cause?
5.Most of the world's emeralds are mined in what country?
6.Who began their movie career in 1927 using the name "Duke Morrison"?
All 6 of us present for dinner. I had pot roast and peach crisp. There was no show so I worked on getting the pictures up on yesterday's blog and sorting through the 200+ pictures I took today. Today's entry will be in two parts because of all the pictures.
For those taking the morning train excursion the pick up was right on the pier
Ships leave a memento of their first time to Skagway
An old engine and a snow clearer
Some street scenes of Skagway
Pitchfork Falls
The William Morris single sided cable suspension bridge (only one in North America)
Those markers on the right are used by the snow plows so they can tell where the road is! The road is kept open year-round.
It was very foggy and we even had a little drizzle
Entering into the Yukon Territory
One of the lakes
The Carcross Desert
Some of the animals at Caribou Crossing
Spirit (who wanted to eat my camera)
Holding the two week old puppy
Remember the largest rodent in the world from trivia? Here is the caliber a.
Some more animals from the wildlife museum
Interesting sign at Caribou Crossing
Emerald Lake
1.Nike
2.A Hard Day's Night
3.faster, higher, stronger
4.Dennis Hopper
5.Colombia
6.John Wayne
Smooth sailing until next time!
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