Our Adventure Continues, Alaska and Beyond: Exploring Skagway, and the Gold Rush Era

August 11, 2013

This is the beautiful scenery we have been waking up to every morning here.. this is what we see out of our kitchen window.

This was just So interesting to me! This family had used lots of old Doors attached to the fencing around their yard! There were doors from old train cars, old windows and old screen doors.. Very Cool!

This strange (to US) looking thing is a piece of equipment which is for the sole purpose of snow removal used on Railroad Tracks.. Sort of like a snow blower on STEROIDS for those of us in colder states down in the lower 48! Eats up the snow and spews it out the top of this piece of equipment!

Signs when the Railroad passengers get off the train from Whitehorse.

This bronze statue depicts the guide, showing the path that must be used to get through the pass on the way to the gold fields... this is one of the first things we saw when we arrived on the ferry.

Back to the "snow blower'' on the front of the train: The engine would have been behind the caboose pushing the cars and snow blower through the deep passes with heavy snow pack.

This is the (pink) Visitor's Center as you come in from the train or ferry.

Here is one of the photos in the Visitor's Center, showing the baggage cars, which moved goods and supplies from the train cars to local businesses in and around 1898.

These are some of the dishes, toys, bottles found in the town dump and outhouses when they were excavated.

Downtown Skagway on a Sunday Morning, when only one Cruise ship of 500 is in port.
The main part of town is basically about 12 blocks long, but 2 or 3 blocks wide.. Many of the businesses are owned by the Cruise Ship Companies, and are not open when the ships are not in port....

This is on Tomorrow's agenda!!!!!

Another view of downtown.

This town is a VERY friendly town and we have really enjoyed meeting the locals!
One sweet worker in a shop told us about Long Bay and how we might be able to see the whales......... more on that later....

This building was sort of a "Shriner's or Elk's" hall in it's day - sort of an information center now....

And of COURSE the flowers!

2 wood Carvings in front of a store.

More of the buildings in town.

A side street.

Had lunch at the "Bonanza Bar and Grill" and it was really good! LOVING this Alaskan brewed beer!

More of the downtown area.....

Inside the Bonanza Bar and Grill..

Several of the old photos inside the Bonanza Bar and Grill, showing actual pictures of the city in/or around 1898.
This area was VERY instrumental in the Gold Rush time of 1898, to 1900..
Not a safe place to be, unless you were of an "unsavory nature'', so they say.

Before beginning the arduous task of going up over the Chilkoot pass, EACH man had to have a Year's worth of supplies with him.... hard to comprehend...

On a lighter note, one of the locals told us about an inlet called Long Bay, in the Chilkoot range area where we could go and MIGHT be able to see the whales who have been spotted as of late - they have been in this area quite a bit this summer, as it has been warmer that usual, and the plankton has been been growing or more plentiful, which has attracted more small fish and thus more of the whales to this area... We only happened to spot 2 of them yesterday (WAIT FOR IT!!!!!!!!), but nevertheless, we certainly did enjoy the Views all along the drive!!!

And here you can sort of see one of the 2 whales - we saw the 'blows' and then watched them surface way off in the distance and on out of our sight... Hoping to get out there again before we leave here Wednesday morning....

Had a sweet couple take our picture on the drive back to camp.

View of the town from a pullout on that road up on the mountain side.

The Skagway River, as it comes into town.....

This is a very small stream down in the middle of town, and there were Salmon fighting their way upstream! Some of them were about 18" long!

Another view of a side street.....

Totem carvings alongside one of the stores downtown....

The stores downtown are very well kept and very pretty examples of the architecture from back in the Gold Rush. Many are original and painted as they would have been back in the era.

Here is a sweet alley walkway - downtown.

and always with the BEAUTIFUL flowers!

Another group of stores!

Hey Doc Russ! This is for YOU!
Sorry, no bikes in there......

Skagway Brewing Company!!! YUM!

Blue Top Porter is my FAVE... after a taste test.....

This is a very pretty stained glass window that was over the top of a doorway - and I am Frankly SURPRISED at how well it came out, since it was so far in shadow....