Alaska Cruise White Pass Train

Checking out the White Pass Train - Skagway, Alaska

The city of Skagway was the 2nd stop on our Alaskan cruise (I missed the first  port of call due to Legionnaires DiseasePhoto of the Day: My Alaska Cruise aka Barfing at Sea).  I was still not feeling great by the time we docked, but there was no way I was going to miss another port.  Plus, my 90-year old grandmother who’d also gotten sick was going….I’d never live it down if she made it and I didn’t.

We hadn’t scheduled any of the excursions available, including taking this lovely train above.  My cousins did take it that day and they loved it.  It’s a very slow ride up the original White Pass/Yukon Route to the Canadian border, one that was taken by many miners during the Klondike Gold Rush, so there’s plenty of time to look at the scenery.  The rail line dates back to 1900 and passes through such amazingly photographic scenery that a camera is a must and binoculars helpful.  Travelers are treated to mountains, foresters, and lakes along the way in original train cars.  It’s an approximately 3-hr trip so there’s still time to hang out in town and visit the museum.

My sister and her husband opted for the Valley of the Eagles Tour.  Beyond the eagles, sea lions, and other wildlife they photographed, they also took stunning pictures of the fjord.  It’s a photographer’s dream trip for sure.

I have so many amazing photos from Skagway which will eventually all make as a Photo of the Day, but I thought I’d put up this one because my husband took it and it makes me smile.  He LOOOOVES trains so we spent a good part of the day checking them out, watching them add and remove cars, and that kind of nonsense.  Then we went to Skagway’s tiny little museum where we spent hours….others were in and out in minutes, but we love history so we immersed ourselves.  We especially loves their Northern Lights exhibit, a phenomenon we’d love to see for ourselves some day, but on that day we poured over the amazing photographs others had taken. The Docent noticed we were very interested so she came over and spent about 35 minutes chatting with us about living in the tiny town and what it’s like when the cruise season is over and experiencing the Lights first hand.

We’d love to go back again some day, but we’d still likely not do any of the excursions, we’re sort of in the discover-it-yourself club.  It works for us.

:me: