Day 33: Monday, June 18, 2013

While we slept, four cruise ships arrived in the harbor. Skagway was bustling with activity early in the morning as the trains, sightseeing buses, and stores prepared for the onslaught of cruise ship passengers.

The streets were still fairly quiet as I took my early morning stroll through town. I passed by two trains filled with passengers waiting to depart. Later in the day the streets were filled with people strolling along, taking pictures, and hitting the shops.

Pullen Creek RV Park, Skagway, Alaska

The White Pass train waiting to depart

The train across from the cruise ship dock

This train is waiting to hitch up more cars

Historical buildings in downtown Skagway

Downtown Skagway

Totems in downtown Skagway

Downtown Skagway

An advertisement painted on the side of the cliff

Downtown Skagway

This building is part of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. Inside is a replica of a saloon.

Strolling on the boardwalk is part of the fun

After another delicious breakfast at the Sweet Tooth we joined the throngs of shoppers browsing the shops. You can find anything from the typical made in China souvenirs to beautiful handcrafted, made in Alaska items. After drooling over all the beautifully crafted items I finally decided on a pair of jade whale tail earrings.

At 10:30 we went to the Days of ’98 Show at the Fraternal Order of the Eagles. The musical play tells the tale of Soapy Smith, Alaska’s most notorious outlaw. The show was entertaining and so much fun. The piano player, dance hall girls, ragtime music, and Soapy himself were all great. I highly recommend attending the show if you ever go to Skagway.

At the Days of 98 show at the Fraternal Order of Eagles

Soapy Smith and the three dance all girls

Beth with the Soapy Smith

Henry with the dance hall girls

Here is a video of the girls performing the can-can. If you are reading an email update and can’t watch the video, click Wandering Dawgs to go to the web page and scroll to the video to watch.

When we came out of the show the streets were filled with people. A drive along the Taiya Inlet to the former town of Dyea sounded perfect. Thousands of prospectors hoping to strike it rich during the Klondike Gold rush followed the Chilkoot trail which began in Dyea. The narrow, winding gravel road to the site of the once booming town of Dyea was beautiful. The trail to the town site takes you through woods and neither of us was prepared for the hike so we didn’t actually see where the town once was. At the end of the road were the Dyea Flats with wild iris and other wildflowers adding splashes of purple to the green.

Wild Iris in the Dyea Flats

Field of wildflowers at Dyea

Skagway Harbor from overlook on Dyea Raod

Dyea Flats

If you are interested in learning more about the history of the Klondike Gold Rush, visit The Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Site to find out more.

Henry spent the rest of the afternoon washing the truck while I did some cleaning inside. Watching the cruise ship passengers pass by on their way back to their ship was a great way to relax after a hard day of being a tourist.

Dinner at the Red Onion Saloon was really fun. As I was enjoying my pizza and Henry his Reuben, we were pleasantly surprised to see a band setting up to play. With two fiddles, a bass, a mandolin, a guitar, and English Concertina we knew the Windy Valley Boys would be fun to listen to. Their first song was a foot tapping, buck dancing kind of song that reminded me of the jam session at the Floyd Country Store in Virginia. We ordered another beer and stayed for the entire first set. What a great ending to our day!

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