Skagway

What a neat place!

We got off the ship and straight onto the White Pass and Yukon Railway train. Powered by a older diesel--they have 2 working steam engines, but they are only used for weekend trips--there were about a dozen old passenger cars. This is a 3 foot narrow guage railway, but we had lots of room. The trip is awesome. The average grade is 2.6%, but it is quite a bit steeper in spots! And, the track itself is built into the side of the cliffs with tremendous drops over the edges. There is only one wooden trestle left, but it is a high one--lots of good pictures. There were a couple of spots where we think we could see the "Trail of '98"--but it was covered in snow. And, at the top, there is a replica of the RNWMP post.

(There were 2 Gold Rush routes--from Dyea over the Chilcoot Trail (shorter, but tougher) and from Skagway over the White Pass (longer, but easier--they used pack horses). From what we could see, the White Pass route was still darned tough!)

Then, we wandered around Skagway. Although the roads are paved, the "sidewalks" are still boardwalks. The town has a very small winter population that doubles for the tourist season. We went to a few museums--one big one and a few smaller exhibits. And wandered the town just absorbing the sunshine and the place, and a beer, to be truthful!

Then, we went for a swim and a hottub in the outdoor pool--it was really nice weather.