Alaska- Skagway and Juneau

We arrived in our next port, Skagway, early the next day. Skagway was a definite step up from Icy Strait in terms of size and "civilization", with a population of around 3000 (as compared to the 800 at Icy Strait). It was born as a result of the Gold Rush of 1898. Prospectors would arrive by sea, than go overland to find gold. As a result of the gold rush, a railroad was built in 1899 to carry the prospectors. Unfortunately, by the time it was finished, the gold rush was pretty much over. Fortunately for us, the railroad still exists, and we booked to take a ride on the White Pass and Yukon Railroad. We felt it would give us a chance to see something of Alaska other than the coast. After visiting a few shops (every other one of which sold jewelry), we boarded the train and headed into the mountains. Views from the train were great, going over old trestle bridges and through tunnels. Near the highest elevation, we crossed back into Canada. The landscape was reminiscent of the top of Mt. Washington in N.H., with subalpine plants, jumbled rocks, and glacier tarns (small but deep glacier ponds). Other than being way too warm, the trip was great.

Juneau, the capital of Alaska, was our next port. We again arrived early. The visit was shorter, as we would then need to make the long run back to Vancouver. As the capital, Juneau was quite large, with very modern buildings visible from the water. The setting is lovely, nestled at the bottom of Mount Juneau. We went on a shopping trip, visiting lots of the shops in the few hours available, than walked back to the ship in time for the 2pm departure.

Overall, we felt Alaska was spectacular. We were a little disappointed that we did not see any whales, other than a few blowing at a distance. I really wanted to see an Orca. We did see some sea lions at Tracy Fjord, but that was it for animals. The cruise itself was great. We are still not sure we are cruise fans, but we enjoyed the ship, the food, and people that we met. The break from the road was needed. On arriving back in Vancouver after sailing 2000 nautical miles, we were refreshed and looking forward to resuming our trip.