Skagway

June 23, 2011

Last ferry ride on the AK Marine Hwy today – from Haines to Skagway, AK.  It was just a one hour ride, but wonderfully beautiful.  No clouds, blue sky, and about 70 deg out.  We went to the NPS visitor’s center  to see a 30 min movie about the 1898 gold rush, walked around the town and enjoyed our first ice cream cone since sometime in BC.  We’re camping at a NPS campground in Dyea, near Skagway.  It was a town competing for the gold miners business, but soon lost out to Skagway after the two year long gold rush was over.

Tomorrow our plan is to take a Ranger guided hike around the remains of the town and also see where the “golden staircase” began where miners had to lug one ton of goods to the top of the pass in around 40 trips up and down the mountain.  Most of them never found any gold, many died because of the weather and most turned around and went back home.

We will more than likely be out of touch now for 3 days or so as we’re going into the Yukon and then to Northern AK.  We may be able to find a hot spot in Skagway to post this and then you’ll have to wait a bit for more.

I’ll put up a pic or two of the scenery we saw today including one of Skagway.

Our campsite at Dyea, AK - near Skagway, site of the gold rush stampede:

Chocolate Lilly - Dyea NPS site

Skagway with tourists from 3 cruise ships plus several of us from the AK Marine Ferry