Day 1 in Skagway

I was planning to write about our visits to Skagway in one post but after nearly completing the first section, it was getting far too long. Thus, I've chosen to split it into two parts with some teasers to keep you interested.

As was to hold true for most of voyage, the weather in Skagway was lovely! Warm enough for a light jacket and with lots to see and do.

Skagway's main source of income is tourism and it shows. The historic buildings on the main street (Broadway if memory serves) are fronted with clapboard painted various colors with white trim. The sidewalks are built up with boardwalks in the areas where tourists would visit. I did get off the beaten track to find the library and in those parts of town the sidewalks were regular old pavement. In the census of 2020 the population of Skagway was around 1200 and this number doubles during the tourist season. And when a ship or three dock (as happened when we were there) the population explodes.

From the ship to town was a little over a 1/4 mile walk. There are shuttles that run between the docks and the town, but I wanted the fresh air and exercise. On this first visit, I just wandered and did a little browsing and a wee bit of shopping before heading to the library with its free WIFI.

My first stop was the old train station building. This beautiful building still serves as the depot for the White Pass and Yukon Route narrow gauge rail. One can purchase tickets for the same excursion I did through Princess (and I would have saved a few dollars had I realized this). Also in the building is a small coffee shop and a retail store selling branded clothing, trinkets, as well as books and few toys. I did pick up a t-shirt on my second stop with the White Pass logo.

I'm not sure why, but cruise ship ports tend to attract jewelers. This was true in Skagway as well - and probably makes more sense than some of the Caribbean islands. Many of these shops attempted to entice tourists into their stores by offering free cruise charms. Several years ago, on one of my first cruises, I made an effort to collect the charms.  If I were to look hard enough I could find that bracelet but I never wore it. As a result I bypass these stores, as I neither want nor need jewelry.

There were other shops as well, many selling local art. My favorite piece was a hand carved bench with a beautiful handwoven seat cover. I think it was $600 USD...well out of my budget. I should have taken a photo - it was simply gorgeous! I wasn't able to find the yarn shop in my travels even though I asked several people - it seemed to have moved a couple of times based on the signs on windows but it proved to be illusive. I did pick up a book for Eli at the combination local newspaper print shop and book store. The staff there were kind enough to provide the directions to the library - over one block and up to the corner of 8th and Slate.

On my way over to the shops I stopped at this display. When gold was discovered in 1896 in the Klondike region of the Canada's Yukon Territory, Skagway became the starting point for American prospectors to make their way over the mountain pass to the Klondike. This was an arduous task, not only due to the terrain, but the Canadian government not wanting people to starve over the winter, required that each individual bring 1 ton (909 kg) of supplies.

Obviously, carrying a ton of supplies over a narrow pass couldn't be done by a single person in one trip (and adding another person to help meant another ton of goods). Thus it good take a dozen trips or more to reach the summit of the pass (carrying an 80 pound pack). Once beyond the mountains there was still another lengthy trek to the gold fields. As the above photo states, "How far would you go to fulfill a dream?" 

By May 1898, the White Pass and Yukon Railroad company was formed and work began on the narrow gauge railroad. The route climbs nearly 3000 feet in just 20 miles and features steep grades and tight curves. As you can imagine it was a challenge building a railroad, including tunnels and trestles, some of which were built in the dead of winter. The construction reached the Summit of White Pass in February 1899, with more work yet to come to complete river and lake route. By the time the railroad was fully complete in 1900, the gold rush was almost over. The railroad continued to carry ore and other supplies until 1982 when world metal prices plummeted, mining operations were closed, and the railroad shut down.

Then in 1989, the company reinvented itself to become a tourist attraction. More on that in the next post. Instead, here are a few more interesting places in Skagway.

One of the shops I stopped in at was the Alaskan Fry Bread store. If you haven't tasted fry bread or bannock, you're missing out on a real treat. (Unless you're gluten intolerant, sorry). The pieces of fry bread at this store were larger than a dinner plate, deep-fried until gold brown and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. I did hear someone ask for a hold on the cinnamon and sugar. It was a popular stop and a piece of fry bread was $7.35 USD. Considering volume I'm sure they did very well that day! I was unable to finish my piece and happily shared it with the crows that congregated on the street in front of the store.

This log building is part of the Moore homestead in Skagway. It was the first building built in the town about a decade before the gold rush. That makes it over 135 years old! The Moore homestead was settled by Captain William Moore and his son J. Bernard (Ben) Moore. The Captain was a man of vision; he was certain it was matter of time before gold was discovered and, in preparation, he built a sawmill, a wharf, and blazed a trail to the White Pass Summit. That trail would later become the pass so many would travel in their quest to gold, before the railroad was built.

The family built another grander home just a few yards beyond the cabin. I've no photos of that building, lovely though it was, because I was fascinated by this one. You see, when I was a child we had a log building on our farm, similar to this one. It certainly wasn't as old but had been lived in by the original owner of the property. After my Dad bought the quarter section, the building was used for a variety of uses, as a chicken coop, a playhouse (I assume mom must have done some major cleaning), and later for storage. Several years ago, the building was moved to the museum site in my hometown and has been dressed up as a trapper's cabin, complete with taps, pelts, and old blankets and such.

I was able to the tour the larger home, but this building was locked up. Apparently it is only used for storage now too.

This was the town museum. Sadly it wasn't open so I turned around and headed to the library. I knew my daughter would be getting anxious having not heard from me for several days. I was right and we chatted for about a half-hour catching up on my vacation and the goings-on in her life.

On my way back to the ship, I heard singing and looked up to see this young woman (and another on the other side of the bay woman). I don't recall what song they were singing but both had lovely voices. 

As I don't have my notes, I don't recall if I spent time at the Wakeview bar that afternoon, but do recall I had a specialty restaurant booking that evening. My lovely travel agent L, gifted me this experience and it truly was fantastic. The dinner was at the Bistro Sur le Mer, with a land and sea menu, and I was treated to four courses. Hors d'ouevres included polenta with two sauces, and goat cheese olives. The latter were actually goat cheese covered with colored gelatin, one green, one purple to look like olives. For my appetizer I chose smoked salmon. It was my first time to try it, and it will definitely be a choice I'd make again in the future.

For my entree I went with the filet mignon with steak frites. The steak was fork tender and delicious. The three frites :) were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside and incredibly hot! My mouth waters just looking at the photo...it was that good.

I had asked the waiter to hold off serving the entree and did so again before dessert. That's a lot of food! But I did have dessert about a half hour later, a lemon-line custard with creme Anglais. It was so good, that had I not been polite, I would have licked the plate. 

I know for certain I did some serious walking on the ship post dinner and was at the aft for sail away that evening. I captured this photo of the Norwegian ship leaving ahead of us. It truly was a wonderful day in Skagway...and the second one was even better.  

Next up - Day 2 in Skagway