Skagway

Friday, May 10, 2019

I'm here in Skagway about to do a tour of the Klondike Summit.  Once again, we are blessed with good weather.

Our handsome tour guide Paul is as humorous as our guide Kyle in Juneau.  Paul hails from Monterey; each spring he drives his RV along with his companion, a blind dog.  Had he asked me out for a drink.... Right off the bat, he said that all the stories we heard in Juneau were not true and he would give us the inside scoop.  He was too funny.  I appreciated that he pointed out locally owned stores as we went through town. Each year Holland cruise line (if I remember correctly) hosts Prom night for the high school students.  Sweet.

It was breathtaking. The area has had quite a few significant earthquakes the last few years.

We went into Canada; Paul played their national anthem.  We returned back to the U.S. -- he played our anthem.  I've been wanting to do a train ride across Canada....

Omg, on the way back to town, we saw a baby bear!!

Taking in the history.  I also bought a t-shirt from one of the locally owned shops.  And yes, locals sound like Sarah Palin.

Another scene depicting the Gold Rush era.

I enjoyed my visit to Skagway. I don't recall what I did in the evening aboard ship. We do have television, so, I watched a lot of movies during down times. Til our next destination....

Sailing into Skagway

Friday, May 10, 2019

Sailing to Skagway, and once again, the Golden Princess is right along side of us.

I forgot to mention that while in Juneau yesterday, I saw many eagles, either in trees or flying.  Females can weigh up to 16 lbs.  An amazing bird, beautiful in flight.  I also forgot to mention that on our tour, we passed the Governor's Mansion; it looks like the White House.

A view of Skagway from our ship.  Skagway was founded in 1897.  It is 90 miles northwest of Juneau.  Today's population is approximately 1,036.  During the height of the Gold Rush, the population was 10,000.  There's much to see and do in this town including dog sledding, Klondike Summit, White Pass & Yukon (Canada), and the historic town itself.  I should have mentioned earlier that one purchases shore excursions for each port city visited.  There are many exciting adventures from which to choose.  I'm sorry to have missed the whale watching in Juneau. 

I See Land

Thursday, May 9, 2019

Land, I see land!  We're passing through the Gastineau Channel on our way to Juneau, our first port.  I can't wait to plant my feet upon solid ground.

Coming into Juneau.  We're lucky because it's not raining, in fact, we only encountered light drizzle in Victoria (but I'm getting ahead of myself).  Juneau became the capital in 1959 upon statehood. It is the only state capitol with no road access.  It is approximately 3,081 square miles.

The library is the first building one encounters when getting off the ship! I have little time to explore downtown before my excursion to Mendenhall Glacier, the Alaska State Museum and a rain forest garden.    I went into a fur store.  Omg, the touch of mink is exquisite.That's probably not P.C. to say.  Our guide Kyle who hails from Idaho when not doing a stint in Juneau was so funny and knowledgeable. We had an hour in the museum.  It was an amazing learning experience.  Hey, it's not all about being on the Love Boat.... The rainforest garden was sort of a bust but the couple who manage it gave us a good lecture on Alaska. 

Next stop on the bus is Mendenhall Glacier.  Kyle, our guide, shared funny stories about the grand opening of McDonald's, the closing of Walmart, the husband who didn't speak up that his wife didn't get back on the bus....  The Internet has made a big difference; Amazon delivers in 2-3 days.  My companion on the bus told me his sister got married the night before in the chapel on our ship.  Omg, small world, I happened to have walked by the chapel and saw the ceremony!  I'm wearing my university windbreaker.  Turns out quite a number of people on the bus are graduates and one is a professor.  Small world, eh.

Here we are at Mendenhall Glacier.  It stretches from the Juneau Icefield to Mendenhall Lake.  My companion and I walked to the waterfall which you can see in this picture.  I tried to capture the rainbow in it in another photo but was unsuccessful.  When we got back to Juneau, my companion went off to do the Mt Roberts Tram ride.  I should have signed up to do that!  He and I would meet up later to see a show aboard the ship.  Shout out to the crew in terms of getting us on and off the ship.  Remarkably well organized the entire trip.  Tomorrow we enter Skagway.  Another adventure awaits.