SKAGWAY, ALASKA

Day 4 and we are in Skagway
We arrive in port 7am

It's pouring down rain 

Early breakfast and head to that 3rd floor to wait to be allowed down to the dock

The Skagway train adventure begins!

This is not good!

I had my fill of bus rides in Scotland.  

Some how I survived the Grand Canyon buses

now this, too much rain, a driver that looks in her teens

and we sit and wait because there is a child from China without a passport

on our bus.  Maybe now is a good time to get off the bus!  

WHY does every good adventure begin with a bus ride?

Don't get me wrong, this is not a passing fear. 

When I was a kid in school I'd skip the bus and 

run home before it would arrive at my stop.  

Our driver had a drinking problem and I did not want

to ride the bus.    

  

We went into Skagway and went into a little building where there was an amazing historical presentation. The video was full of great old bits of film reel.  Neat.

I find out our bus driver just flew from Ketchikan to help out today.  
What am I getting myself into??

 

 UP THE MOUNTAIN OUR BUS GOES!

This is very unusual country. 

we will soon be above tree line and the climate is so harsh the trees barely manage to survive 
There is mostly moss covered rock and pockets of water that must have been snow melt. 
Never seen anything like this.

This is the road we went up.  Wind wind.  

  

To get into the U.S train station at Frasier

you have to cross the Canadian border.

No kidding! 

We did it so many times they finally just waved us through 

rather than checking each persons passports. 

Here we are in Frasier but where is the train?  

After a long wait in the buses (yes more than one bus) 

we are allowed restroom trips.

That restroom water was the coldest I've ever washed my hands in!

Really colder than any stream in the cascades!

An hour and then more time and still NO TRAIN.

So a plan forms and the buses take us again through the border 

and into the Yukon up to a Canadian lake to pass the time, in the rain.
Who in his right mind would mine Gold up here?

We are brave souls and we climb out of the bus into the rain

I was excited to see more of the Yukon.

History will forever be changed for me now that I've seen this place.

Lucky for me I still have my camera raincoats from Scotland!

Hope the photo's give you a sense of what the Yukon 

is like in late summer

Now it's time to get back into the buses

This Chinese child without a passport

does not want to get into the bus.  

Who can blame him!

We are all tired of being in the bus!

We do finally have a train to get on

The last train broke down and had to be pushed back to Skagway

That takes time!  

We are happy to be going down this scary mountain

funny how a bus ride changes the scary mountain ride into a joy!

Everyone is laughing as we help ourselves to booklets and water

No one told us to but we are at the end of the train and we have a gentle 

group mentality going.

I love taking photos of happenings!

I reach into my bag and find Natalie's rock sitting there

My goal was to leave it somewhere fun and different.

I hop off the train hope we are not leaving yet.  

Yikes I'd really be stuck.

I put that pretty little rock right beside the train track

There will be about three more weeks of visitors to this area

before it closes for winter.  

Good luck little rock

At last we start heading down the mountain.

All our photos reflect the heavy rainy weather.

Hopefully they will give you a feel of our train trip down the mountain to Skagway.

There is a lot of history and our guide tells us some really fun information.

Cindy looks out at the water fall right next to the train

When they finally let us outside between cars my photos improved. 

You all know I prefer it outside to inside and this time that proved to be place for photos! Albeit wet.

This is the trail that so many horses lost their life's on.  Gold Fever with no regard for life!!

we did pick up soaking wet hikers now and again. One group we knew from our ship

This train passed in route.  Guess these folks have to ride the bus down.  Glad it's not me.

we went through two dark tunnels, hold your breath!

Inside a tunnel Thanks Phil

Finally down from the mountain

and we have to find a bus back to the ship

We don't really feel like doing anything else in town.

We did better than most people we had snack food but it

has been a long day.  Too much rain for just wandering around!

Back in the ship we start drying out 

We get lunch and just take it easy.

Dinner is casual as all port nights are

Tonight's Entertainment is

MOTOWN AND SOUL TRAIN! 

This was a lot of great music  

I have to keep walking on this floor

I have to keep climbing these stairs.

  Good night all