Back in the late 1800's, the local Tlingit tribes called Skaqua (Skagway) a windy place with white caps on water. Eventually, it was officially called the Home of the North Wind, which sure was a fitting description of today. By the time we woke up, the ship was already docked. And shortly after us, came the Norwegian Jewel, sailing in during the dark of the early morning. Sure was a pretty sight. A fairly big vessel, that will put a lot of folks in town today, most of whom will go on the train to the Yukon.
After a leisurely breakfast, we stopped at the front desk and asked why the Canaletto charges from last Tuesday had not been dropped. We did see one credit, but it did not match the Canaletto charge. Promising to follow up again, we also asked about yesterday's internet. One of the fellows came over and said the internet had been shut down off and on all day. No wonder our emails would not get sent.
Last night one of us had a problem with the temperature of the water in the shower. Thank goodness, I followed the directions to test the water before jumping in the shower. The spray went from cool to warm to hot…so hot that it was scalding. Turning the knob did not help, as it only got worse. So we reported to the gal at the front desk, and she promised to send a plumber. And they did shortly after we got back to the room. Turned out to be a faulty mixer valve, which was fixed. Since we boarded almost three weeks ago, the tub drain did not work well. The plumber fixed that too.
Evi from Housekeeping showed up about the same time this work was being done. She was there to check the speakers in the room, which we did not know we had. Yes, we did find the small one in the headboard, although we have never heard a peep from it. Then she showed us the speaker in the bathroom, which was hidden under the sink counter. We all had a good laugh over finding these. Later on, there was a general crew drill, and guess what? These speakers actually worked. Glad we asked about them.
After the Zuiderdam finished their drill, one was held on the Jewel. We watched from the veranda as the crew filed outside in the very cold wind. Their drill took an hour or so.
Bundling up, we left the ship around 11am, feeling like Pillsbury dough boys. The rain had stopped and the sun was actually trying to peek out. It was 50 degrees with strong winds that cut right through you. This time there was no line, as most of the tours had already gone off earlier. We spotted a harbor seal trying to get up the fish ladder, but did not have the camera handy. Bet he could smell the fish, although we saw none at all.
We walked Pullen Creek again, and read about the salmon that come here. The King salmon arrive in late May, while the pinks run in August. The silvers come in September, but guess we missed them this year. We followed the Dewey Lake Trail sign that led to a bridge across the creek, then the beginning of the trail system. We have done this hike years ago, but one of us felt it may be difficult with the new knee. Especially with the ground being recently soaked with rain.
Our destination was a hike to the Gold Rush Cemetery and Lower Reid Falls. We guess it was 1 ½ miles walking up State Street to the Moore Bridge. Then there was a sign pointing to the Gold Rush Cemetery, another ½ mile up the gravel road. For most of the walk, we felt really isolated from civilization. Little did we realize there would be tour vans, two trolleys, and a bus coming up this road. Once we arrived to the cemetery, we realized we had been here on a tour many years ago. Located on a wooded hillside, this original cemetery is famous for its residents from the Gold Rush days. One notorious character was Jeff "Soapy" Smith, who masqueraded as an upstanding citizen, while he and his gang robbed people of their gold. Frank Reid was an upstanding citizen, who confronted Soapy Smith. There was a gun fight, and both men lost their lives…..one instantly, and Reid, several agonizing days later. Other graves were of locals who helped build the city, as well as their families, and those who died from epidemics. Some were young children, as was common in those days. Lots of graves were marked unknown.
Continuing on from the graveyard, is the trail to Lower Reid Falls. The hike from the gravesites is about 100 yards to the falls, but they failed to mention it is rather steep and slippery after a rainfall. One of us had to really take time to climb there, but would not leave without seeing the falls, which were really scenic. Going downhill was even slower for one of us. The cemetery is maintained by the Municipality of Skagway, and also has convenient restrooms at the base. Benches too. By the time we left, the vans and buses had arrived, and it was time to go.
One last look at the rushing river on the Moore Bridge, we headed back to town. The north wind blowing here could knock you over. It was time for lunch, so we went back to the Skagway Brewing Company. This time we ordered chicken tenders with 2 dips, BBQ and ranch. The Red Star beers sure went down easy, as did the dessert of a shared slice of cheesecake. By the way, this is the only restaurant where we were charged 2.8% for using a credit card. There were a few more stops we wanted to make such as Ace Hardware to look for a small outdoor thermometer for the veranda, the Popcorn Factory for caramel corn, and the Alaskan Quilt shop for a spool of gray thread. Next to the quilt shop was the Klondike Doughboy Shop, where we watched a fellow frying the round yeast dough in hot oil. It puffed up as he rolled it around to brown. We have never seen this treat before (seven dollars for one), but the vendors said it is served everywhere, but called something different. Bet it is good coated with cinnamon sugar. Too bad we were too full from lunch, or we may have shared one.
One last stop was at Gold Rush Gifts to buy a Lazy One sleep T to add to the collection. They were the only shop that had a specific design I liked, and their prices were the best. Even received a free Alaska tote bag and another nice map of the area. Two trains had arrived by now from their trips, so we headed back to beat the crowds. Could not believe it was after 4pm already.
Back on the ship, we did a little more reading of the brochures and came across some more interesting facts. Alaska has the biggest mountain in the North America Continent, which is Mt. McKinley or Denali at 20,320 feet in elevation. The Yukon River is almost 2000 miles long, the 3rd longest in North America. Alaska has more coastline than all of the states combined. At 9.2 on the Richter scale, Alaska has the strongest earthquakes. Finally, there are more active volcanoes in Alaska than the rest of inhabited world.
We spent the remainder of the afternoon warming up in our room. The NCL Jewel left the dock by 5pm. Dinnertime arrived by 8pm, and we headed for the Pinnacle Grill. Cocktails were first, then wedge salads with extra bread that resembles tiny loaves of French bread. They are the best. One of us had the halibut, and the other, lamb chops…. All delicious. Sharing a Baked Alaska, we ended the meal by 9:30pm, while watching the Zuiderdam backing up out of the harbor.
We wonder what the weather will be like tomorrow while sailing into Glacier Bay? Captain Friso mentioned that he was going to try to outrun an approaching storm. First time we heard of that. Goodbye to Skagway, one of the most interesting cities in this part of Alaska, in our humble opinion.
Bill & Mary Ann
