Well today is Saturday, so it must be Skagway. Again. The ship was already docked at the Broadway pier by the time we woke up. However the weather looked better than last week. It was a cool 50 degrees with very cloudy skies, no wind to speak of, but best of all….no rain. Later in the afternoon, we even saw the sun peeking through the clouds. There were two ships here as well…… the Grand Princess and the smaller Regent Explorer.
Breakfast was at 7:30am. There were only a handful of guests today mostly due to several excursions available in and out of town. The main attraction here is the White Pass and Yukon Railroad , which is considered the "Scenic Railway of the World". We have taken this tour several times and found it a lot of fun. Back then, we took the train to Carcross on the Canadian side, saw the musher dog camp, and enjoyed a picnic lunch near a beautiful alpine lake. I believe we took a bus back to Skagway. The scenery was gorgeous.
There was a weekly crew drill onboard at 9:30am which lasted for one hour. We left by 10am, taking our usual route to Pullen Creek to check for the salmon run. We were disappointed to find no spawning fish at all. We happened to see a young gal walking her dog, and she admitted that the fish had not begun to arrive yet. She had also been watching since the end of August. Then she added that sometimes the fish come up the other creek Taiya. We have one more chance to see the run next week if it happens at all.
We walked over to Broadway Street where most of the historical buildings were located. Ducking in and out of some of the unique stores, we saw many treasures being sold. Specially-carved knives and ulus make great souvenirs, but cannot be brought back to your room. The ship's security officers will collect these items, label them, and return them to you when you disembark. On our first trip to Alaska, we found the traditional ulu (chopping knife) and the wooden bowl that is used with it turned out to be a very useful item in our kitchen. We use it often.
There are the expected jewelry shops in town, but some of them deal with local stones like ammolite, topaz, opals, and even tanzanite, which actually comes from Tanzania, Africa. And diamonds are sold in every store of course. There are artist's studios, quilting shops, and the usual souvenir stores with sales they said. One thing for sure, the popcorn they sell was more expensive than in Ketchikan. We bought 2 large bags of flavored popcorn in Ketchikan for 20., but here, the smallest bag was 10.95. Whoever would have thought simple popcorn would command such a high price? Yes inflation has reached Alaska too.
Our final destination was the Gold Rush Cemetery, a long hike from the cruise terminal. Taking our time, we made it there before noontime. Passing the White Pass and Yukon Railway work yard, we crossed the tracks and followed the road to the small cemetery. One other cruise passenger made a funny remark, and said people are dying to go there. They sure did back in the days of notorious Soapy Smith, a soap peddler turned con man. He had a shoot out with Frank Reid, where he was killed instantly, and Frank Reid died several days later. Both of them are buried in the small hillside cemetery, but Reid's monument is the largest one, while Soapy's is insignificant.
Further up the steep hillside is Lower Reid Falls. Only one of us ventured to the top, while the other took advantage of some nice benches at the cemetery entrance. Two local yellow tour shuttles brought their guest here and gave a talk at the gravesites. Many people come in Ubers and taxis from town. We think a town's shuttle makes a circle here, and you can hop on for the ride back to town for $5.00.
Taking our time hiking back, we followed the Skagway River all the way to the local airport runway. Many small planes were landing and taking off. This part of town is the bedroom community of Skagway, and the walk down the wide streets is always pleasant. It was time for lunch, so we headed back to the Station Bar and Grill once again. Today our timing was better, getting there by 1pm. It was not crowded yet, and we were seated right away. Amber Gold draft beers and one shared Hawaiian pizza made our day. Complimenting the chefs, they smiled and thanked us for the positive feedback. Really….it's that good.
There was an Ace Hardware store across the street, and we did need a few small items for our room. We found exactly what we were looking for. Then we had saved a little room for a special dessert at Klondike Doughboy, which is an Alaskan Frybread. It is something that the miners developed and is still being made today. The batter is a donut base which is deep fried in hot oil. It spreads out to about 10 inches and when finished, they coat the thin donut with a blend of sugar and cinnamon on both sides. They are sure good and large enough to be shared. Local crows congregate here to beg pieces of the treat. The same thing was happening at the popcorn store with the ravens. The are a very bold bird when it comes to begging.
We were back onboard by 4pm, and were exhausted from the long hike in the cool weather. We worked online until it was time for dinner. We had expected the veal chop on the Club Orange menu, but it was a chicken entrée instead. There were some other nice entrees, so we ordered one turkey dinner, and one honey-mustard coated chicken. There was a prime rib dinner as well. Too many good choices on the same night. No dessert, but one of us had a sliced banana, feeling the need for the potassium. The bananas help fend off leg cramps.
By the way, this morning before we left the ship, we went online and gave special thanks to some of the crew members that have been outstanding during this trip so far. Three of them (including our waiters) stopped by our table to say thanks.
While we were still eating, the ship turned around and headed back out to the channel. All aboard had been 8:30pm, and we left right after the Princess ship departed. The Regent's Explorer remained docked.
Looking forward to another day of scenic cruising in Glacier Bay tomorrow. Hope the weather is as good as today.
Bill & Mary Ann
