Kula Boy's Great Alaskan Adventure: Skagway, Alaska - May 18

Wednesday, May 18, 2011 - Left Teslin around 10:00 heading to Skagway, Alaska. It was an easy drive, listening all the while to Spike sharing his stories about this area and what to expect when we get to Skagway.

We stopped in Carcross, Yukon for lunch and visit this small historic town. It used to be named “Caribou Crossing” because of the large number of caribou that traversed the area. But, in 1903, they changed the name to Carcross because of confusion in mail services due to duplicate names in Alaska, British Columbia and the Klondike. Carcross became a stopping place for gold stampeders on their way to the Klondike goldfields. It was a major stop on the White Pass & Yukon Route railroad until 1982 when the railroad ceased through train service. Today, the White Pass and Yukon Route run a popular trip down to Skagway.

In Carcross Spike recommended we have lunch at a little burger spot, “Ed’s Checkpoint” run by Ed Hopkins. Ed knew we were all coming and was ready to BBQ a bunch of burgers made from beef and caribou for us…different, but very tasty. Ed is Michelle Phillips’ husband. Michelle is a famous Yukon Quest and Iditarod musher.

After walking through town, we got back in our motorhomes and continued on through the White Pass towards Skagway. It was a pretty steep and winding highway. We got hung up in U.S. customs because of the oranges we bought at the Costco in Prince George, BC. I had to show the agent my receipt for the oranges, and they called Costco to see where they came from. Luckily, he gave us our oranges back and we continued on and arrived in Skagway around 4:00. The name Skagway (originally spelled Skaguay is said to mean “stiffly wind rippled water” in Tlingit. It’s the oldest incorporated city in Alaska-1900.

After we got settled, Spike had a quick meeting on what there is to do in Skagway. We got Kula and walked the entire town to check it all out. Came back and went to Skagway Fish Co. for dinner and drank some local Alaskan beer. Nice to be back in Skagway again!

Having lunch at Ed's Checkpoint in Carcross

Kula riding a Wooly Mammoth in Carcross

Entering the U.S. Border Crossing into Skagway, Alaska

May 19, 2011 - Met our group this morning at 9:00 and walked over to the visitor center to watch a couple of videos on the Klondike Gold Rush. We then walked over to the bank (yay! they had a Wells Fargo bank here), then got our mail at the post office. We had brunch at the Stowaway Restaurant on the pier by the Cruise ships. Then, came back and had time to clean up the motorhome. We met up with our group again at 1:30 for a tour of the area including the Chilkoot Trail. We hiked up the trail far enough to sign a ledger/register at the kiosk, signifying we had been on the Chilkoot Trail. We continued hiking the trail a bit farther, up the steps until they got slippery. Original stampeders took an average 3 months to transport the required “ton of goods” (a year’s worth of supplies) over the pass. It’s hard to imagine that back in 1897-1898 thousands of men and women traveled the Chilkoot Trail carrying 50 lbs. or more on their backs many times over where it met up with the White Pass trail near Bennett Lake on their way to the gold fields in Dawson city.

From the Chilkoot Trail, we went to the lookout on Dyea Rd. overlooking all of Skagway. You could also see the cruise ships in port. Then we went to the Gold Rush cemetery and Reid Falls. We stepped over the rocks at Reid Falls and climbed into a bear cave to check it out. Very cool feeling to be in an “actual” bear cave. Joyce collected some dirt from the creek so we can later pan it for “gold.” We drove back to our campsite and sat outside for awhile, relaxing and enjoying the great weather. Later we went to dinner with some other folks from our group to the Skagway Brewery. Then off to do a little gambling (with fake money) in the gambling hall and then went into the theater to see the live “Days of ’98 show with Jefferson “Soapy” Smith.” He was known as Alaska’s most notorious outlaw back in the day. Very fun show and another good night.

Standing on the Chilkoot Trail

Lookout on Dyea Road where you can see Skagway with the Cruise Ships in the background

Looking for gold in the creek at Reid Falls

Reid Falls

Friday, May 20, 2011 - Leisurely morning. We walked into town with Kula and found the local bakery and split a yummy cinnamon roll. We checked out some of the stores and did a little shopping and then back to the campground to drop Kula off. We then went back into town in the jeep to the brewery where we sampled some Alaskan beer.

This afternoon, Teresa (the dog watcher, walker and babysitter) did a try-out with Kula to see if he would be okay with her coming into the motorhome and taking him for a walk since we’re going to be gone for 12 hours tomorrow. No problem! He loved her.

The sun came out and it turned out to be a beautiful afternoon. At 4:00, we all got together at Barry & Ruthie’s campsite for bean soup that Barry, Ruthie and Betty made. We sampled all three soups that were delicious and enjoyed each other’s company. It was really nice getting together with our fellow travelers and sharing stories about our grandkids and families, other travels we’ve all been on…just more of getting to know one another. From here we walked back into town and had pizza with our group. Thank goodness we were walking back to the campground ‘cause we were really full!

Saturday, May 21 – Got up early to get on the “Fjord Express” (65-foot catamaran) to Juneau. On the way, we saw glaciers, whales, eagles, porpoises, sea lions, harbor seals and loons. But the main event was seeing a humpback whale breach right alongside the boat…huge “wow” factor. Glen Jacobson was our Captain. It was a great three hour ride through the Lynn Canal, our continent’s longest and deepest glacial fjord. We docked in Yankee Cove where our bus was waiting for us to take us on a 30-minute bus ride along the beautiful coastline into Juneau. Our driver did a loop around downtown, pointing out the Capitol Bldg. and other points of interest. He dropped us off for 3 hours to have lunch and explore Juneau. We went to the Twisted Fish for lunch…got our crab fix for awhile, then off to shop and of course, get a Juneau pin. Our driver picked us up and off we went to Mendenhall Glacier where we got to find out all there is to know about Mendenhall Glacier. We watched a short video on the glacier and how its rescinded just over the last 30 years. Then we walked down to the Mendenhall Lake where ice from the glacier was floating around. Then back to the bus on a short ride to the boat. On our way back to Skagway, we saw the Eldred Rock lighthouse and more wildlife including harlequin ducks.

Every day on this trip has been amazing, but this trip on the Fjord Express to Juneau was breathtaking and so far, the best thing we’ve done on our “Great Alaskan Adventure.”