Skagway, a day trip - Alaska 2005
Updated: 11/30/08
Our one-day trip to Skagway, Alaska was a delightful day. We left Whitehorse about 9:00am and returned about 9:45pm. The ride to Skagway was 110 miles - realizing how we travel, we allowed plenty of time. It took us three and a half hours to make the one-way trip. At every turn, at the top of every hill, were photo opportunities - sometimes a different perspective of the same mountain range or peak.
We like the zoom on our new camera.
This is known as the smallest desert in the world. And it is in the mountains.
A little farther down the road is Emerald Lake.
Bove
Island
Two-color water ... 
An interesting bridge
The US and Canadian border buildings are 26 miles apart.
Various
Kiwanis chapters donated this monument in honor of the peaceful border between
two friendly countries.
The
Canadian port building ...
The border was close to the summit ... 
We were in Alaska ... 
... for the first time.
All was not signs and officialdom. The spectacular views continued.
We tried a panoramic view with the next four photographs. We cropped the four photographs to show the entire landscape without overlap. If they aren't in a row, widen your page and you will see what we saw.
Along the route we some relics of the mining days.
The town of Carcross had a burned steam ship on display.
They made it into a city park.
The city of Skagway is a popular tourist destination. It is not uncommon to
have three or four cruise ships in port at the same time. Mary Lou had read to
visit on a weekend to avoid large crowds of people. We visited on a Saturday.
Only one ship was in port and the streets and restaurants comfortably busy. No,
that is not a toy train.
Skagway is known for its large number of jewelry stores. Here are four in a row.
But,
every town needs a hardware store.
A monument near the railroad station honored the miners from the area.
On
display was an old snow train. This steam driven
rotary is still in use to open the tracks each April.
The train train ride into to the summit of the
mountains was the reason we were in Skagway. They offer a combination bus and shorter train ride
($89) or the ride to the summit and back ($99). We drove to Skagway so we could
take the three-hour roundtrip summit route. At times, it parallels the road to
Skagway from Whitehorse. The ride is spectacular and you get a little
different view on the return trip down the same track.
This is our train.
The
cars were very nicely restored. The gal at the depot told us to use cars one,
two or three because the fourth was reserved for a tour group. Somehow, Fred
walked by the conductor and got on the third car. When Mary Lou got to him, he
was sending everyone into car two. She resisted because her ticket was heading
for the third car. The second car was filled with people. Our car was less than
half full and permitted everyone to be on the valley side both ways.
Our train did not stay four cars for long. The train backed up to the siding near the ship and coupled to the cars loaded with tourists from the ship.
We will share our train ride with views from our windows.
The
morning train takes hikers up the mountain to a drop point and the last train of
the day picks them up for return to Skagway.
The rushing water could be seen many places along the route.
The train crosses many trestles and goes through two tunnels.
This old trestle was no longer used ... 
Along the tracks was the marker for the US/Canadian border. Their flags were flying proudly.
The
words 'ON TO ALASKA WITH BUCHANAN' is not a political statement. George Buchanan
was a Michigan coal dealer who brought disadvantaged young boys on an Alaska
adventure in the 1920s and 1930s. In appreciation, the boys painted this tribute.
At the summit (2, 865 feet), these flags greeted also us ...
American, Alaska, Yukon, Canadian and an unknown flag.
At
the summit the locomotive had to be switched to the other end of the train for
the descent back to Skagway.
This glacier fed mountain pool was near the summit. 
The Laughton Glacier was clearly visible. Or, was it the Denver Glacier?
This is a small portion of Bridal Veil Falls as it descends 6,000 feet from the glaciers on Mt. Cleveland and Mt. Clifford. The parts in the mountain are not as clear - we will help you find it.
From the road
...
Descending the mountain from the train ...
The
narrator told us when we see the ship in the port, we have five seconds to get
our photograph.
The Trail of 1898 was the primary route the stampeders used from Skagway to the goldfields.
Other views ...
Not
everyone enjoyed the ride down the same route as much as we did.
The train ride was well worth the time and money. We enjoyed it so much we purchased their DVD and book.
The ride back to Whitehorse was enjoyable and was an end to a
great day. Not far from the end of our journey we caught someone's imagination
and ingenuity out of the corner of our eye. Of course, we turned around for a
photograph. This metal sculpture mosquito devoured the whole man leaving only
his boots and clothing.
Just
before ten o'clock, it was time to feed the truck and us. As
most of Whitehorse was closed, we picked up diesel fuel and got in the A & W
ten minutes before their 10:00pm closing. Passing the local Wal-Mart store we
saw the largest collection of Wal-Mart 'campers' we have ever seen. Unfortunately,
'campers' is the word. At noon the next day when we went shopping, many of them
were not just stopped overnight, some had their tow vehicle detached, their
towed vehicle was gone or their slideouts were extended. Someone had their
pop-up open.
We thoroughly enjoyed our day.
Go back to Alaska Photo Album .