Skagway, Alaska
- 05.27.11
- Cruises, Skagway, White Pass
- 2 Comments
Joy favored Ketchikan, but I found Skagway to be the most charming of our ports.
With less than 900 year round residents, this little hamlet hosts approximately 900,000 visitors each summer. Why do they come? Maybe it is the quaint, clean, streets and shops of the village. Perhaps the attraction is the beauty of the surrounding wilderness. Some may be drawn to the romance of gold rush history. Others may just want to ride the scenic railroad that climbs nearly 3,000 feet to White Pass on the Canadian border.
Whatever draws you up here, I don’t think you will regret it. Especially, if you get the kind of sunny beautiful day we had. Skagway’s weather is slightly drier and cooler than Morgantown or Pittsburgh, but the winter low temperatures are about the same. Pretty impressive for the Alaska panhandle.
Later in the afternoon, I walked up the flat portion of the Dewey Lakes trail along Pullen Creek. The water was clear, but I didn’t see a single sign of aquatic life. Some beautiful western blue Steller’s Jays were flitting around creekside and kept me entertained for awhile. This quiet time taking pictures by the creek is a golden memory for me. It was like being transported back to the explorations of my youth.
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Did you know? This is where Marilyn and I got engaged? We got the ring at “Little Switzerland” a jewelry shop in town after taking the helicopter to the glacier. I guess you could say it’s a special place for us. Then you made it official……I guess we were just one of the 900,000 but to us it was just about us. And still is. We’d have loved sharing it with you. Another time, maybe.
We knew it was on this cruise, but not that it was in Skagway. As to your last suggestion, that would be the answer to the oft asked question, “How could this get any better?”