Skagway

Today we docked at Skagway, once a booming city and jumping-off spot for the Klondike gold rush and now a very small town that depends heavily on cruise ships for its economic survival.  There’s still some gold mining in the vicinity, but it’s the tourist trade that keeps the town alive.

We skipped the tour of the town and just walked to the main street and checked out the shops.

And we made friends with an old “sourdough” and his dog -

After an early lunch aboard ship, we boarded the narrow-gauge White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad for an incredibly scenic ride to the summit of White Pass, following the original trail that the gold seekers climbed in the late 1890’s.

We saw many waterfalls -

This old caboose is available to rent for overnight stays, but I’m not convinced that the local bears would keep their distance…

An obelisk at the summit marks the Continental Divide as well as the US/Canadian border.

The original steel bridge was replaced in the 1960’s when it was determined to be unsafe.  When it was first designed and constructed in 1898, it was named one of the world’s top engineering feats, along with the Eiffel Tower and several other famous structures of the time.

Near the top you can see the original trail that the gold miner wannabes trudged up.

When we returned to the ship and departed Skagway, we passed gorgeous mountains and glaciers - we tried counting the glaciers, but eventually gave up.