Skagway.

I had looked forward to this excursion since we signed up for the cruise.

It was in Skagway we would ride the White Pass & Yukon Railroad up the White Pass Summit; it climbs nearly three thousand feet in twenty miles.   It passes over bridges made from wood, through tunnels and along the side of a cliff, it was AMAZING!!  Apparently it follows the historic route used by miners during the Klondike Gold Rush.  You know, I never knew until this cruise that Klondike ice cream bars were named after the Klondike Gold Rush, the name implies cold treasure just like the men who went searching for gold in Canada.  You learn something new every day.    

First, we had to get from the ship to the shore and there was no dock connecting the ship to shore; instead, we were loaded into floating small boats called tender boats, they are enclosed and hold about a hundred people.   It kind of felt like we were in a floating pod and it only took a few minutes to get us from the ship to the shore where we could disembark and head for the train.  Of course, as is common in Alaska, it was raining and cold; we were really glad it wasn’t a far walk to the train.  Once we got to it, we found our seats in the first car, thankfully we got to sit together as a group.  It felt like we stepped back in time as the train was old, or at least made to feel old, and I kept thinking what it must’ve been like when trains were the primary source for travel.  Wow, we’ve come a long way.

I wish I had the words to adequately describe the absolutely stunning views we experienced while on this two and half hour train ride.  We learned that thousands of men carved the route by hand, using horses to carry heavy loads of dynamite and supplies.  When you are on the train and you hear the story of how the route came to be, it feels almost unbelievable because there is a cliff on one side of the tracks and towering solid rock wall on the other.  How were they able to accomplish such a feat?  We learned that close to twenty thousand horses died and many men; there is a wooden cross along the way where two men were crushed by a rock and they couldn’t move the rock because it might cause an avalanche, so the cross is their grave marker.    Very sobering to think of the sacrifices that were made in search for gold; I guess some did find it, and many did not.   But, as a result we have this fabulous route of spectacular views and the stories of resilient men who went searching for a better life.  

At the near end of the ride, we made a stop in the town of Skagway.  The train conductor told us this town wouldn’t exist without the train, earlier he’d blown my mind when he told us there were fourteen trains! There were a few sections along the track that had two sets of rails so that trains could pass each other in opposite directions. At one point we had to stop and allow another train to pass on their way down.   The town of Skagway was nothing more than one street with a row of buildings on either side; to say it’s small is an understatement.  It kind of reminded me of an old western movie, like John Wayne might walk by any minute.  We also learned that many of the employees weren’t from Alaska, they come in from all over the country during “cruise season” and work until about September.  Our conductor told us he was from Georgia and he’d been traveling to Alaska to work the season for several years; he loved it.   It’s such a different way of life than what I’m used to, it was so interesting to hear about it. 

Once we finished our fabulous train ride and rode the tender boat back to the ship, we got ready for dinner and a show.  Honestly, I wasn’t real impressed with the entertainment on the ship, so much of it felt like infomercials.  The evening shows were the best ones, this night we were to see a comedian.   It was so good to laugh after a wonderful day, our second stop was a big success.

I am including pictures of some of what we saw on our train ride!  If you take an Alaskan cruise, TAKE THE TRAIN RIDE IN SKAGWAY!!

The next day, I believe it was Wednesday by now, was a day spent on the ship.  But, it wasn’t for sailing the open sea, it was a day to view Glacier National Park!  Oh my goodness, I was thrilled about this, one of the reasons we chose Princess Cruise Lines was because they have clearance to go into the park and I guess not all cruise lines do.  I heard it depends on the size of the ship, but I don’t know if that’s really the reason. 

We woke up Wednesday morning to the grandest views we’d seen yet.  The ship slowed down to an almost crawl so you could see the gorgeous mountains and waters that make up the National Park. The water is the most brilliant blue; kind of reminds me of the Caribbean.  It’s amazing because there’s a visible line in the water separating the darker sea waters from the waters that make up the park.   I looked up why the water looks almost turquoise and Google said it’s because of something called “rock flour.”   Basically it’s the tiny granules of rock, as a result of glaciers grinding over the bedrock, which are suspended in the water.  When the sun interacts with the tiny particles it creates the turquoise effect.  The brilliant water against the back drop of snow topped mountains, with water falls winding down that looked like giant icicles in the sunlight, was like something you see in movies.  I still can’t believe I got to see it in person.  The ship, once it reached the end of the park, basically a dead end in the water, made a one eighty turn so we could see the other side of the park on our way out.  This was the day we enjoyed our balcony the most.   We used our binoculars and saw little otter families floating near the glaciers and a bald eagle sitting majestically on floating ice.  The one thing we never saw, and I’m truly disappointed about this, was a whale.  It just wasn’t meant to be, I guess. 

Glacier National Park was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.   I’ll never forget its beauty. 

I’m posting pictures of it so you can enjoy it like we did.

And then it was time for another fabulous dinner with some of my favorite people.  The days were full of adventure so far, and the nights held entertainment.   And at the end of each day, we fell asleep to the rocking of the ocean.   Just one more stop before we were headed out to the open sea again, and I couldn’t wait.