Planes, Trains & Antitussives, Alaksan Wonder Cruise - All done! Complete 11/21

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Wow so far! I now have fibre superfast broadband I am pleased to see your smiling faces in every photo. No crossed icons for me today.

Breakfast looked good. I love the items on the kids menu. That melon with the strawberry yogurt and omg the peanut butter and jelly! I would not have been able to resist a portion of that.

Glad you got the prescription sorted and that you were able to progress apartment enquiries. An empty apartment is bucks per minute right.

Well that's not good that Fran got an unexpected work out waiting for the tour. How many times has this happened to us. I can tell you poor Jo has gone back to get my scooter too many times like you kindly did for Fran.

I love the VIP carriage! Wow. How nice. Cool the way the seats are facing one another. Everybody thought I was as mad as the hatter for not warming to first class on Virgin Airlines because the beds meant you could not talk to one snother. Well I love it when she holds me hand during take off and landing. I get anxious. Plus I like to chat.

I love the Star Wars t shirt! Skagway reminds me of a show that was on TV. It was based in Alaska. It really does like like a film set doesn't it. Like if you push those store fronts they will fall down like those cowboy movies. I am laughing now thinking of my favorite Mel Brookes movies. Funny guy.

 

[xavier2001]

I can't believe you couldn't find cough syrup. Don't people in Skagway get sick?
.

A Skagway local told us they everyone there takes the ferry to Haines to go to the grocery store. When we took the ferry there were tons of people with shopping bags etc.

 

[franandaj]

Hanging on the edge of my seat! Glad the VIP was nice after the run around you got, and that the doctor got back to you!!

Intrigued to hear how the pricey sandwich was also

You'll definitely hear about the pricey sandwich!

This looked like a beautiful day.

The locals were saying that we brought the lovely weather and should stay for a while!

We never made it to the town. We went on the train and then headed back on the ship for lunch and never got off again. Looks like we did not miss a great deal.

Our train trip wasn't until 12:25 so we had plenty of time to go into town before the excursion.

What a pain. It should not be too difficult to direct people to the right spot.

You would think, right?

That looks very lovely.

I'm sure it was so much better than the main car! Even if I hadn't been on the regular train.

I've read a lot of your trip reports, and haven't posted on any of them before (DIS Boards lurker!) But I am loving your writing style, pictures and adventures in Alaska! Amazing pics!

I'm glad you came out of lurkdom to post!

 

[rentayenta]

A Skagway local told us they everyone there takes the ferry to Haines to go to the grocery store. When we took the ferry there were tons of people with shopping bags etc.

Really? That's crazy! I can't imagine.

 

[franandaj]

I don't know why, but on my keyboard, hitting Ctrl-Shift switches things around like this.
Normal = ?']\
Ctrl-Shift = Éèçà

Which is a real pain in the butt because I fairly frequently accidentally hit Ctrl-Shift.

Nope, didn't work on my keyboard. This is what I found to get those characters.

http://usefulshortcuts.com/alt-codes/accents-alt-codes.php

Sure! Come up for a visit in winter.

No thank you. I remember the cartoon about the air hurts your face.

Technically yes, but we've never plugged them in, in the garage.
It's not heated or insulated, but I guess there's enough residual heat from the house that leaks in (attached garage) to just keep it warm enough so frost doesn't form.

Funny. My garage stays cool without airconditioning when the outside air is 95 degrees.

Hey! You slept in!

You could say that.

Foreshadowing?

Nah, not really but I do have a picture from that afternoon which shows the tide was much higher.

Chocolate?

No Cheese!

Smart girl, that Fran.

Yes she is!

Not a bad choice either.
(Well, spinach and I don't get along, but other than that...)

Well then you could have just ordered it regular with the peppers, onions, mushrooms, ham and cheese!

Good service!

Well yeah, but for what we pay her, she better keep her promises!

It does! But I kinda like it.

It is really cute, but I remember the town being so much less commercial when we were there 15 years ago. There was hardly any shops and not a ton to do. We did the same thing last time, went into town and then met for our excursion.

Yeah. No surprise there. And at grossly overinflated prices I'm sure.

The jewelry stores were almost all, not locally owned. Barkers stood in the doors offering free items for cruise ship passengers, we just passed them by. We looked in a couple art stores, they weren't as pushy, but since none of their work featured Disney characters it wouldn't have fit in our home. We didn't look at prices, but I'm sure they were over priced, especially based on our sandwich.

Did I mention she's smart?

Oh! See, I never would've thought of that.
"I'm sure there'll be something on the train."

And I've had a couple of poor experiences with food on trains, so you'd think I'd know better.

Well she knew that the train trip description read, "light refreshments". While I can make a meal of appetizers, she likes more substantial food.

Too bad. That sounds interesting.

Interesting being the key word. It probably had too much actual rhubarb as opposed to syrup derived from the root.

Really? Odd. You'd think there would've been someplace.

Chatter says that folks take a ferry across the way to Haines for necessities. Skagway is pure tourist town.

Pretty picture of you!

Awww. Thanks.

Oh, wow! That looks like it's going to be epic!

It was definitely cool!

That's just.... bad.

Yeah, she was almost ready to bail and go back to the ship.

Look at those chairs! Holy crap! Talk about comfy looking!

Yes, they were! I would much rather spend 4 hours in one of those than a wooden bench! Plus they rotated 360 degrees and this time I'm sure it was 360 degrees!

I seriously cannot wait.

I'm working on it. But since I'm including a ton of pictures, it's taking a while. Plus it's much more interesting when I include the history they told us on the trip up and down.

I love the May the North be with you shirt!!!

I did too, so much so that when we found one in my size in another port, I got one for me!

What time was your excursion that you were able to go into town first?

We had to meet at 12:25 so we got to town shortly before 10AM and had about 90 minutes, to go up and down the street. We got in line for the shuttle around 11:20, but I forgot to mention that it took forever for a shuttle for our ship to show up. All the shuttles that came by were for Norwegian, Princess or the other ship in port. Finally we complained, and the driver we complained to said that she used to be the Disney bus, but since she didn't have a lift, the bus behind her would be the Disney bus because they traded. We still made it there by 12 noon.

Great that the doctor called back.

Yeah, for her fee she better!

Not great that they directed you to the wrong place and Fran was having a hard time breathing

Yeah, It made her very cranky and consider skipping the excursion. The fact that the boat was shifting disembarking floors probably made her think twice.

Those train seats look magnificent! Can't wait to hear about it.

Working on it! The next chapter might be long and very picture heavy.

 

[pkondz]

Nope, didn't work on my keyboard. This is what I found to get those characters.

http://usefulshortcuts.com/alt-codes/accents-alt-codes.php

Not surprised. I think because I'm in Canada, they gave me a bilingual keyboard.

No thank you. I remember the cartoon about the air hurts your face.

Funny. My garage stays cool without airconditioning when the outside air is 95 degrees.

Huh.

Nah, not really but I do have a picture from that afternoon which shows the tide was much higher.

I'm interested to see how high it gets.

Well then you could have just ordered it regular with the peppers, onions, mushrooms, ham and cheese!

And I would have!

It is really cute, but I remember the town being so much less commercial when we were there 15 years ago. There was hardly any shops and not a ton to do. We did the same thing last time, went into town and then met for our excursion.

That much change in 15 years? Doesn't seem that long, does it?

Well she knew that the train trip description read, "light refreshments". While I can make a meal of appetizers, she likes more substantial food.

I keep saying it. Smart.

Chatter says that folks take a ferry across the way to Haines for necessities. Skagway is pure tourist town.

So I saw. I get it.

Yeah, she was almost ready to bail and go back to the ship.

I'm not surprised. And you could hardly blame her!

Yes, they were! I would much rather spend 4 hours in one of those than a wooden bench! Plus they rotated 360 degrees and this time I'm sure it was 360 degrees!

They rotate! Excellent! I was a little disappointed that (I thought) you had to look over and past people to see outside. Wow! That's really nice.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I woke up by 6:45 When we docked in Skagway.

I've always thought that was one of the weirdest names for a town I've seen.

I'd heard that the town was a big tourist trap, and they weren't kidding. It reminded me of Main Street without the Disneyfied touches. Every store sold either Jewelry, Alaskan art, food or T-shirts.

I'm sure that's a huge part of their economy. In their defense, it would be disappointing to get off the boat and just see a run-of-the-mill street with Walgreens, a nail salon, etc.

This was the excursion we would be taking.

Cool! That train ride looks fascinating!

They told us to go and wait in this one spot, so Fran rode her scooter there and I took it back to the dock where we had planned to leave it during our excursion. It was all the way past that chute in this picture. Where the clump of people are forming, beyond the crowd in the foreground (the one with a lady on a scooter).

Yes, we were in the wrong place and she had to walk back. I got her the scooter and brought it to her about halfway back, but with her wheezing and feeling crappy this incident didn't help.

Man, that's brutal. Talk about poor communication.

You see we had booked the VIP train package. When we got on the train car, I was not disappointed.

Wow! Very snazzy!

 

[franandaj]

Holy crap! I can't believe he'd do something like that to somewhat create a scene in public. You'd think someone like that would want to keep as low a profile as possible. Sounds like his on screen persona might not be so different from his actual persona.

I was thinking the exact same thing! That would be a Tony DiNozo move and not like a regular actor!

Didn't you want to say "shoulda had a V8" and slap her in the forehead like the old commercials?

I only thought of that AFTER the situation was over.

I knew there was more than meets the eye when it comes to Fran. Now we know she has international ties...

Crap... you aren't making her very happy on this first leg!

I know, I kept thinking I was doing everything wrong.

Awesome! Just like EPCOT!

Actually that whole island with the totem poles and gardens really goes to show how well done the Canada pavilion is at EPCOT. It feels like a few of those pictures almost could have been taken there.

You know, I never thought about it that way, but you're totally right.

I don't get this. I mean I guess I understand it having read the sign you photographed, but trees aren't meant to stand hollowed out forever. They live, they die, they fall down. Let nature do it's thing if you really want to "preserve" it.

Silly Canadians!

Uh oh...

Yeah, definitely Uh oh....

Well, if you're going to be surprised when you try to put jeans on, this is the type of surprise you want!

A lot better than not being able to zip them up!

But I love the case of water under her.

Do you know how much they charge for water on the ship?

What a nice surprise!

It was very sweet!

Oh no... what great timing.

Yeah, at least when she started to take the arthritis pills again, they kicked in quickly.

I like the way he rolls.

I'd have an issue with this too. Maybe it is normal on a Disney cruise, but it seems a bit odd to me. I mean I don't think I'd make too big a deal of it, but I get his frustration.

I'd never thought about it. When I ordered a bottle (with just Fran and myself) they poured me a glass and then whisked it away, when the glass got low, they came back and filled it. I guess my Dad likes a little more control over his wine than I do.

Wow... rough start to the cruise.

Yeah, it wasn't the greatest.

And this just proves how bad Fran was feeling. I can't believe she'd pass on Strawberry Soup!

Exactly.

Oh, come on. She was just trying to show the scale of the presentation area.

That's a good one!

Your dad must have really had her intimidated.

I think she enjoyed their little repartee. By the end of the cruise, I was a little uncomfortable as it appeared they were flirting!

Well, at least you're ready for the changes to the Tower in DCA.

That's what I was hoping for!

I thought it was Ok because they come from the same general place.

That's a good one!

Um... don't mind one bit! I loved all the pictures of the glaciers, mountains and cascades!

I'm keeping that in mind as I prepare the future updates.

Mmmm.... the only thing better would have been if you had some hot chocolate to mix it with.

Actually, I kind of like it all on it's own!

I can understand that. It would suck to pay for a premium package only to find out you really didn't need to spend the extra money for it to get the same/similar experience.

Yeah, luckily on subsequent trips, the small ship was most definitely a better deal as it got much closer to the glacier than the Wonder did.

Sorry for the difficulty in getting there, but that certainly does look like the VIP way to travel!

It was quite comfortable and a very nice upgrade from the regular train ride.

Oh cool!!! So glad that I found this trip report Sorry you got off to a yucky start with the colds. I can't wait to see how the rest of the trip was. It is making me anxious for our Return to Alaska trip next year ;-)

Now which one did you end up booking? I thought you said it was the five night, something about bartering with your daughter for less ship time and more land time.

 

[jetskigrl]

Now which one did you end up booking? I thought you said it was the five night, something about bartering with your daughter for less ship time and more land time.

You have a great memory Yes, we booked the 5-night. We are combining that with 4 nights in Vancouver prior to the cruise. My DD wanted more time in Vancouver and my DS wanted another cruise. And since Alaska was everyone's favorite destination so far, that 5-night fits into the plan perfectly

 

[franandaj]

Ha, that shirt is all kinds of awesome!!!

Isn't it? We got a few others that were really cool too.

Glad you were able to get in touch with the doc.

Yes, but situation still not resolved.

Feeling very fortunate to have been on this first cruise now if the ship is staying
further back.

I'm glad that I booked the excursion since we got a much better view.

Also very nice to see those Skagway shots by the pier with a sunny blue sky--that was our grayest port with the weather.

We did luck out on the weather for all our port days.

But, but it's so pretty it's luring me in!

All the pushy sales people turned me off. We only went in stores that no one tried to coerce us into.

I don't think i've ever tried this!

OMG! You have to try it! I don't find it a lit, but it's one of my favorite when I do see it!

You look nice! And lovin' the Dooney.

Thanks! Not one person made notice or commented about it.

The only way to travel!

Wow on the VIP section of the train.

I know! It exceeded even my expectations!

You look darling in your white pants! And nice purse.

Do you know how long I've been waiting for an opportunity to wear that outfit?

That stinks that Fran had to walk back. What a headache.

At least she is slow and I was able to get her the scooter about halfway back.

I can't believe you couldn't find cough syrup. Don't people in Skagway get sick?

You'll see someone else answered it already, but I have even more on that in the next update.

Breakfast looks good but oh my, I want Disney to get better pastries. I found them all so dry.

I've always found them to be quite good. But I tend to stick with cheese danish, fruit filled and cinnamon rolls.

 

[franandaj]

Wow so far! I now have fibre superfast broadband I am pleased to see your smiling faces in every photo. No crossed icons for me today.

I'm glad your new Internet is working out for you!

Breakfast looked good. I love the items on the kids menu. That melon with the strawberry yogurt and omg the peanut butter and jelly! I would not have been able to resist a portion of that.

Funny! Do you not have peanut butter and jelly in the UK? Most US kids are sick of it by the time they are teenagers.

Glad you got the prescription sorted and that you were able to progress apartment enquiries. An empty apartment is bucks per minute right.

Not so fast. It isn't sorted quite yet.

Well that's not good that Fran got an unexpected work out waiting for the tour. How many times has this happened to us. I can tell you poor Jo has gone back to get my scooter too many times like you kindly did for Fran.

Yeah, she really did not appreciate the extra workout. She was tired and overheated when we finally got on the train.

I love the VIP carriage! Wow. How nice. Cool the way the seats are facing one another. Everybody thought I was as mad as the hatter for not warming to first class on Virgin Airlines because the beds meant you could not talk to one snother. Well I love it when she holds me hand during take off and landing. I get anxious. Plus I like to chat.

Even though the seats are facing inwards on that picture, they rotate so no one was looking inwards for very long. Plus the noise of the train was such that it was hard to carry on a conversation while it was in motion.

I love the Star Wars t shirt! Skagway reminds me of a show that was on TV. It was based in Alaska. It really does like like a film set doesn't it. Like if you push those store fronts they will fall down like those cowboy movies. I am laughing now thinking of my favorite Mel Brookes movies. Funny guy.

They did look like movie façades that might fall over at any moment!

A Skagway local told us they everyone there takes the ferry to Haines to go to the grocery store. When we took the ferry there were tons of people with shopping bags etc.

Thanks for this info. They must go to Haines for pharmacy items as well. On my last Alaskan cruise the ship dropped us off in Skagway. We took a float plane to our excursion, and after jetting around in a very fast boat, the excursion returned us to the ship in Haines. I didn't know it was going to work out that way and I was a bit surprised!

 

[franandaj]

Really? That's crazy! I can't imagine.

Some people live in remote locations in California as well. I couldn't take it!

Not surprised. I think because I'm in Canada, they gave me a bilingual keyboard.

There is such a thing?

I'm interested to see how high it gets.

Next update there will be something.

That much change in 15 years? Doesn't seem that long, does it?

As I think about it they may have even added berths there since our last cruise. I could be totally wrong, but I remember getting on an airplane. I see the airstrip in a photo I will be posting, but I don't think there was nearly as much built up the last time. However the cruise industry has really grown since 1998.

I keep saying it. Smart.

So I saw. I get it.

Crazy.

I'm not surprised. And you could hardly blame her!

But I'm glad she didn't go back.

They rotate! Excellent! I was a little disappointed that (I thought) you had to look over and past people to see outside. Wow! That's really nice.

Yeah, it was definitely very well appointed!

I've always thought that was one of the weirdest names for a town I've seen.

You inspired me to look it up. Expect an explanation in the next update.

I'm sure that's a huge part of their economy. In their defense, it would be disappointing to get off the boat and just see a run-of-the-mill street with Walgreens, a nail salon, etc.

I didn't mind the shops with signs saying "Operated by year round residents" or something similar. What bothered me was the Tanzanite International, Diamonds International and other obvious businesses who had transplanted themselves there just for the tourists.

Cool! That train ride looks fascinating!

It was! Update will be coming up soon.

Man, that's brutal. Talk about poor communication.

Yeah and we were talking to the guy in charge of excursions. Maybe that was the problem. The CEO rarely knows what's going on in the day to day of a company.

Wow! Very snazzy!

You have a great memory Yes, we booked the 5-night. We are combining that with 4 nights in Vancouver prior to the cruise. My DD wanted more time in Vancouver and my DS wanted another cruise. And since Alaska was everyone's favorite destination so far, that 5-night fits into the plan perfectly

That's kind of a cool itinerary. Only one port stop. Did you realize that not one ship made it to Tracy Arm this year?

 

[franandaj]

Before we get started on this update there are two things I’d like to mention. @Captain_Oblivious got me to thinking when he commented on the name of the city.

From Wikipedia: Skagway was derived from shԍagéi, a Tlingit idiom which figuratively refers to rough seas in the Taiya Inlet, that are caused by strong north winds. Literally, shԍagéi means beautiful woman. The word is also a gerund (verbal noun), derived from the Tlingit verb theme -sha-ka-l-ԍéi, which means, in the case of a woman, to be beautiful.

The reason for its figurative meaning is that Shԍagéi or Skagway is the nickname of Kanagu, the mythical woman who transformed herself into stone at Skagway bay and who (according to legend) causes the strong, channeled winds which blow toward Haines, Alaska. The rough seas caused by these winds are therefore referred to by the use of Kanagu’s nickname, which is Shԍagéi or Skagway.

While researching this fact I also found this picture which shows the tide as high as it was later that evening. Our ship was docked at the Berth in the middle of the photo, the cruise ship farthest to the left in the picture. Just for reference, the railroad where we departed from was just to the right of the cruise ships parked in tandem next to the mountain.



Here’s my photo from the morning, notice how much lower the tide is around the rocks



The other thing is that we were supposed to report to Diversions (bar) on Deck 3 of the Wonder at 12:25 for the excursion so that’s why we had the morning to go into town. Since we didn’t have to go back to the ship, we spent about 45 minutes outside the ship waiting.

OK, lets talk about the VIP part of the train trip. You already saw the comfy seats, which by the way could rotate 360 degrees, provided you didn’t bang into your nextdoor neighbor. My mom and I kept doing that. We had our own private restroom, just for our car. And lastly we were provided with light appetizers and beverages. The beverages included soft drinks, beer and wine. Here are the snacks before we left the station.




And our beverage options:



These pictures are from on the way down, the plates were full when we started.

Venison sausage and cheese. The white cheese was spicy!



Mini bagels topped with smoked salmon.



Crab dip cups topped with scallions and Hummus with vegetables



Rhubarb topped with goat cheese.



Once Fran and I were seated he brought us chilled bottles of water, he could tell she needed it. Now that we have that out of the way, let take a look at our car with everyone on board.



I’m not sure if you can see it in the picture above, but for the first part of the trip we were the front car behind the engine. We could go out on the back platform, but the smell of Diesel/gasoline was overwhelming.

The train started to move uphill and our host informed us that we could begin adult beverage service once we exited the city limits. He had a microphone headset that was tied into the speaker system of the train so he could speak at a normal volume and we could all hear him loud and clear. The noise of the train was rather difficult to talk over in a normal voice. When I tried to talk to Fran, I had to nearly shout as the ambient noise was rather intense. Our host would point out various landmarks to us like the train yard where the upkeep for the trains was performed.





Our host told us about the history of the railroad as we approached the city limits. It was built in 2 years between the years 1898 and 1900. Workers were busy round the clock in all seasons with no break. It was especially easy in the Summertime as daylight was available for almost 20 hours out of the day. In the Wintertime conditions were difficult, but they persevered. By the time the railroad was finished the gold rush had ended.

The reason that the railroad sounded so appealing back in the day was that to enter the Yukon Territory from the Chilikoot or White Pass Trail, the Canadian government required that each man have a year’s worth of supplies with him. I’ll get into that a little more later.

The supplies weighed well over 1 ton and no man could carry that up the mountain in one trip. As a result men hired local Tlingit Indians or made multiple trips up and down the mountain to stockpile their supplies. An enterprising man came up with the idea to build the railroad.

When it came down to the actual building, he had no shortage of workers. The lower 45 states were experiencing a recession. So many men had made it to Skagway only to find that it was far more difficult to pursue the gold miner's dream than they had envisioned. They were more than happy to take the work on the railroad, and It was said that they had the best educated work force in the land. There were doctors, teachers, musicians, you name it who had come north seeking fortune and gave up that dream to work on the railroad when they realized how difficult it may be to actually pursue that fortune.

Once the Gold Rush ended there was no need for passengers to transport their large cargo to the Yukon. The railroad was able to survive as a freight train, transporting cargo from Skagway to the remote Yukon Territory. Occasionally the train would provide passenger service, until the completion of the Klondike Highway in 1978 which then made the train obsolete once again. The railroad survived for a few more years transporting ore from the mines, but when metal prices plunged the train closed down in 1982.

It was a brief closure however, as the cruise ship industry boomed, they found a new market in tourism and the line reopened in 1988. Today the rail line operates at least four trains daily. Ours had 14 rail cars and the other 13 were packed pretty full.

We passed all kinds of beautiful scenery on our ascent to the top. This river went all the way to the sea just near to where our cruise ship was docked.





I believe that around this time, he started to serve beer and wine to whomever wanted it.



It’s not the best picture, but this is a primitive cabin available for rent from the US Forest Service.



It is 5.5 miles north of Skagway and I found the following information on their website.


“There is a retired railroad caboose along the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad. The nearby terrain is rugged and brushy, but the trail offers plenty of hiking opportunities. The following is included with the cabin: 4 single bunks, 1 double bunk (total capacity is 6 people), tables and benches, oil stove and tank, cooking counter, food cupboard and shelves, cooler, log book, broom and dustpan, outhouse, rake, shovel and bucket. Water is available from a nearby stream.”

In this photo we were passing over a bridge.



The scenery was breathtaking



Looking back on the rest of the train.



Then we approached this view point.



If you look carefully, you can see the cruise ships docked in the Harbor.



Looking across the valley to the mountains.



In this picture you can see a bus driving up the Klondike Highway, mentioned earlier in the history of the region.



This place was a boys finishing school. The message was a tribute to the owner and founder painted by graduates of the school once Buchanan died.



I grabbed us some of the snacks. I grabbed a couple plates with one of each for Fran and I. She had my bagel with salmon. I wolfed my plate down so fast, I forgot to take a picture, so I took this one of her plate. Our host also brought me a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.



We continued through more beautiful scenery.







We were still traveling along the river down below, though I couldn’t really get good pictures of it. Soon we passed bridal veil falls.





The track ahead where we would be going.





We decided it was time to split our sandwich and the chips we brought. For a “pricey sandwich” it wasn’t all that. I’ve had better sandwiches from Subway. Oh well.



Our guide pointed out the train ahead of us as it was heading towards the first tunnel on the Ridge ahead of us.






[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

The Rapids up here are deadly, they are considered class 6 and not navigable by water craft.





He said that this point is usually not visible as even on some of the best days, as it was often fogged in, but for us we could see the whole thing bright and clear.





Soon we were headed into our first tunnel.



We could look back on the rest of the train.



After the short tunnel we had a glimpse of the port and our ship.




Here you can see the engine, which was right in front of us.



Notice the change of terrain here. We are almost to the Summit and there are no longer any trees growing.



As we approached the second tunnel he pointed out this old and rickety bridge. It was funny because the way he made it sound, it was as if we would be crossing that one, but it had been retired in the 1960s, in favor of a more stable bridge.





Another look at the train behind us.



Another perk of the luxury car was that we had lighting so we were not plunged into total darkness upon entering the tunnel as the other cars.



Now let’s get back to the history that I alluded to earlier in this report. The reason that the railroad was seen as such a tremendous idea back in 1898 was that during the gold rush, a man could not enter Canadian Territory from the Chilikoot Pass unless they had the requisite amount of supplies.

The Canadian government determined each person going to Dawson from Skagway or Dyea needed three pounds of food per day for a whole year. Food alone would weigh in at a minimum of 1,095 pounds (~497 kg) or just over half a ton. But for a prospector, adding necessary clothes and equipment to the food could easily double the total load, and thus came to be known as a "ton of goods." If purchased in the U.S., the goods were subject to customs duties payable to the North-West Mounted Police who also enforced the amount of goods required. Just between February and June of 1898, the Mounties collected $174,000 in duties. In today's money, that is about $4.9 million dollars!

What should you take to the Klondike in 1897-1898?
The Northern Pacific Railroad Company published the Chicago Record's Book for Gold Seekers in 1897 and included the following supply list:

150 lbs. bacon
400 lbs. flour
25 lbs. rolled oats
125 lbs. beans
10 lbs. tea
10 lbs. coffee
25 lbs. sugar
25 lbs. dried potatoes
2 lbs. dried onions
15 lbs. salt
1 lb. pepper
75 lbs. dried fruits
8 lbs. baking powder
2 lbs. soda
1/2 lb. evaporated vinegar
12 oz. compressed soup
1 can mustard
1 tin matches (for four men)
Stove for four men
Gold pan for each
Set granite buckets
Large bucket
Knife, fork, spoon, cup, and plate
Frying pan
Coffee and teapot
Scythe stone
Two picks and one shovel
One whipsaw
Pack strap
Two axes for four men and one extra handle
Six 8 inch files and two taper files for the party
Draw knife, brace and bits, jack plane, and hammer for party
200 feet three-eights-inch rope
8 lbs. of pitch and 5 lbs. of oakum for four men
Nails, five lbs. each of 6,8,10 and 12 penny, for four men
Tent, 10 x 12 feet for four men
Canvas for wrapping
Two oil blankets to each boat
5 yards of mosquito netting for each man
3 suits of heavy underwear
1 heavy mackinaw coat
2 pairs heavy machinaw trousers
1 heavy rubber-lined coat
1 dozen heavy wool socks
1/2 dozen heavy wool mittens
2 heavy overshirts
2 pairs heavy snagproof rubber boots
2 pairs shoes
4 pairs blankets (for two men)
4 towels
2 pairs overalls
1 suit oil clothing
Several changes of summer clothing
Small assortment of medicines

This photo that I downloaded from the same website where I found this list showed men (Stampeders, as they were called) with their gear on the waterfront, waiting to ascend the pass.



As you can see by the list above and how much stuff they all had the men had a choice of carrying it up in about 50lb loads and make about forty trips up and back the 33 miles. Or they could load up their packs to about 80 pounds and make about 25 trips. They could also pay local packers to transport their gear. Here is another period photo on the trail.



So the reason that I mention this now is that on our train ride we have finally come to the part of the route where you can see what is left of the trail. Rumour has it that if you actually stepped off the trail for any reason, it might take you an entire day just to get back in line it was so impacted.









Once we got to the top we crossed the Canadian Border, but everyone remained on the train so we didn’t need our passports. Other excursions got off the train here and boarded a bus which took them to a lunch and/or gold panning experience and then back to the ship via bus. Those folks needed their passports.





Not quite sure what these folks were doing here….



There are a series of switchbacks here and our train was "turned around" so to speak. The engine disconnected from the train, drove up to the switchback and then passed us to go up to what was the end of the train and hooked back up there. We were now the caboose! No awful gas smell, so we could go out on the outside platform.





While we waited I took pictures of the flora as we had to wait for several other trains to pass us.









We waited while several other trains passed by.





If you can see inside this car, our accomodations were certainly more comfortable. We were pretty happy with our VIP choice at this point.



The second one was a steam train.





Then we headed down the mountain. Since our coach had glass windows, and the fumes outside were nearly asphyxiating, my pictures on the trip up all had reflections in them. On the way down, while I was seated inside the coach for the most part, I remembered which segments of the trip down that I wanted to capture from the back of the train. It was quite humorous my jumping up and lurching to the back of the train. With its side to side motion which is natural on a railroad like that, navigating the way to the back of the train was a bit treacherous.


[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]


Originally I had planned to include my “going down” photos in with the going up, but it’s more fun to show the trip both directions. I don’t remember as much History going down either because our host didn’t talk as much on the way down, or he was generous with the refills in my wine glass! Maybe that added to the “fun” in getting to the back of the train!





Back across the Border



This pointer marks the actual border.



Y’all said lots of pictures was good!





This was one of the trains that passed by us. Interesting that they went up first and came down behind us. I guess that’s the way things work. As we drove by their train we saw an additional VIP car on that train. However their VIP car was about to become the Fuel smelling icky car for the way down. I’m sure the folks on that car enjoyed their ride up, as we saw them on the outdoor platform sipping drinks and eating the cheese and sausages. They were in for a big surprise!



I’m guessing this is when we were back on American soil.



Some more pictures of what’s left of the Trail.





And just looking back along the railroad without the engine in front of us.



Since you guys said you’d like to see all the pictures, as we started down the mountain, I stood out on the back of the train and took pictures for a while before I actually took my seat in the car.





As we went back through the second tunnel that we went through on the way up, our guide turned off the lights so we could experience it as the folks in the regular cars or those who were not in a VIP car. I took this picture out the back of the train.



Now that we were the back car, we could see the engine pulling us down the hill.



There is the old bridge that we did not end up riding over.



These are the category 6 rapids, back on the way down.



Looking back over the real bridge.



And the old bridge.





Here is the shot where you can see the cruise ships from the train.





And then after the second tunnel you can see the front part of the train rounding the hill with the glacial peaks in the background.



I’m not exactly sure what this is, but it’s pretty.





Another shot of the peaks that evidently most visitors don’t see due to the fog and other phenomenon.



I just liked this one.





This one I think says a thousand words and yet leaves you speechless.



Now these next few shots are kind of funny. I was on the back platform of the train and this shot is looking downward towards the valley where the town is located. Snap, snap snap to get this picture (and some others not shown).



And then I ran across the train to the other side to shoot this direction.








[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]


I’m not exactly sure what these folks were waiting for, but it did seem odd that they were just sitting there in the middle of nowhere waiting for something.



After that I returned to my seat. All that running back and forth had worked up a thirst for me! I still had some beverages left.



And here we are looking back up at where we came from. It seems that I wasn’t quite that tired yet.









Here we are passing Bridal Veil Falls again.



We were nearing the end of our train trip. As you can see by the river, we are back on the valley floor again.





Here’s another attempt of mine to get a shot or two of that cabin that can be rented.





That was the last of my pictures. As we pulled back into the station, the host was talking to us about various items. I’m not sure if the question was asked or he just volunteered this information, but it goes in line with Jenny @rentayenta ’s question about people not needing cough syrup. He mentioned that they did not have a hospital in town or even a doctor. They have a nurse practitioner and he thought that she was as good as any doctor that he had visited in the lower 48.

He did say that there was one condition that could not be handled in town, pregnancies can not be taken to term in Skagway. The authorities suggest that women in this condition go away, stay with family, do whatever they can, but they can’t remain within the City Limits. Through Google I found that women used to travel hundreds of miles into Canada, but due to malpractice insurance that is no longer an option. Patients had the option to give birth in Juneau (reached only by floatplane or Ferry), but the only article I could find on this subject was dated 2005.

Eventually we pulled back onto the station and left our car. It was a short bus ride back to the ship and Fran's scooter was even still sitting on the dock!


Next up: Dinner at Palo!

 

[mep57]

[Continued from Previous Post]


I’m not exactly sure what these folks were waiting for, but it did seem odd that they were just sitting there in the middle of nowhere waiting for something.



After that I returned to my seat. All that running back and forth had worked up a thirst for me! I still had some beverages left.



And here we are looking back up at where we came from. It seems that I wasn’t quite that tired yet.









Here we are passing Bridal Veil Falls again.



We were nearing the end of our train trip. As you can see by the river, we are back on the valley floor again.





Here’s another attempt of mine to get a shot or two of that cabin that can be rented.





That was the last of my pictures. As we pulled back into the station, the host was talking to us about various items. I’m not sure if the question was asked or he just volunteered this information, but it goes in line with Jenny @rentayenta ’s question about people not needing cough syrup. He mentioned that they did not have a hospital in town or even a doctor. They have a nurse practitioner and he thought that she was as good as any doctor that he had visited in the lower 48.

He did say that there was one condition that could not be handled in town, pregnancies can not be taken to term in Skagway. The authorities suggest that women in this condition go away, stay with family, do whatever they can, but they can’t remain within the City Limits. Through Google I found that women used to travel hundreds of miles into Canada, but due to malpractice insurance that is no longer an option. Patients had the option to give birth in Juneau (reached only by floatplane or Ferry), but the only article I could find on this subject was dated 2005.

Eventually we pulled back onto the station and left our car. It was a short bus ride back to the ship and Fran's scooter was even still sitting on the dock!


Next up: Dinner at Palo!

 

[mep57]

Would please tell me more about the vip cabin, as in price and reservations. I cant find any info on the DCL or the train's websites. thanks

 

[franandaj]

Would please tell me more about the vip cabin, as in price and reservations. I cant find any info on the DCL or the train's websites. thanks

Go to the DCL website and click on "Things to do". Select "Port Adventures", choose Alaska. It will be easier to find if you narrow the port of call to Skagway and the activity level to mild. But either way, scroll all the way down to "V" and the tour will be right there. I believe it was $299 per person. I thought the regular train ride was $200, but when I checked a couple days ago it was only $130.

I booked it directly through their website.

 

[mep57]

Go to the DCL website and click on "Things to do". Select "Port Adventures", choose Alaska. It will be easier to find if you narrow the port of call to Skagway and the activity level to mild. But either way, scroll all the way down to "V" and the tour will be right there. I believe it was $299 per person. I thought the regular train ride was $200, but when I checked a couple days ago it was only $130.

I booked it directly through their website.

Thanks, I kept looking under Train