Our Trip to Alaska Part 7 - August 2012

Well, today was another excellent day. The weather was magnificent. 

We arrived in Skagway, Alaska (population 600) at about 6:30 am. We had a van booked at one of two car rental agencies in town, Avis. We were scheduled to drive north from Skagway, cross from the USA to Canada into British Columbia and then a few mile further into the Yukon. Our destination was Emerald Lake, a pretty emerald colored small lake about 100 Kim's. North of Skagway, about 2/3 of the way to Whitehorse, Yukon. We were told that the scenery was magnificent all along the way.

It seems that the excursion of choice for all the cruise visitors was either the Klondike railway or driving like we decided to do.

Figuring that the single lane Klondike Highway would take an hour and a half each way and then another hour or two to stop for photo opportunities, and based on the fact that we needed to be back on board by 3:45 pm, we decided to try and be on the road by 8:30 am. 

Skagway was established during the yukon gold rush, when it was used as the gateway to the Yukon. At one time, at the turn of the 20th century, it was the largest city in Alaska. Today, the city looks like it looked then, a frontier town, with clapboard sidewalks and the traditional western town look. It is catering exclusively to tourists 99% of whom come into town on cruise ships. Today thee were 4 ships in town so it is likely that there were 10000 people in town. 

We left town pretty much on schedule and headed out of town on the only road that heads north. About 5 miles north we passed USA customs into Canada and because the area is an avalanche zone, the Canadian customs office is about another 6 miles up the road. All along the way there were scenic pull overs on the side of the road. The combination of clear blue skies, amazing mountains and glacier colored waters (lakes, rivers and waterfalls ) was truly scenic. There were very limited services (cafes, toilets, etc) and there are no gas stations at all between Skagway and Whitehorse, a distance of about 120 miles. 

Some of the highlights were Emerald Lake which was an amazing blend of light and dark emerald colors; the Carcross (short for Caribou Crossing) Desert ( a real large expanse of sandy dunes) that is the remains of the bed of a dry glacial lake; and the little town of Carcross where we ate lunch and found COR ice cream. 

It was a photographers delight. And the weather could not have been more perfect. 

When we returned to town, we had about a half hour before having to board, so we took a short walk thru town. I checked my Internet at the only place in town ( which was being run by an Israeli from Miami who lives here for 5 months a year) that has wifi services.

We reboarded the boat and sat in on a cooking demo by Jason our executive chef. We are now resting before dinner.

Tomorrow, we are on board all day as we pass by the Hubbard Glacier and make our way to Seward which is the gateway to Anchorage where we will be for Shabbat

Hope all are well

Fran and David