Friday, July 8, 2011

A train ride in Skagway


The second stop on our cruise of Alaska was a little town called Skagway. It is one of the towns that grew up during the gold mining days of Alaska. Today the town is still small and most residents live in tents and RVs while in Skagway and then winter in the lower 48 states. We had a great time riding a train along the mountain passes and seeing the trails and hearing some of the history of the gold miners. The train follows the White Pass. We saw some lovely waterfalls and snow covered mountains. We were lucky enough to see not just one but two black bears. A small cub or juvenile (who was more Cinnamon colored then black) was right next to the train tracks. I have never seen a bear that close in the wild. We weren't fast enough to get a picture of him but did get a picture of an older black bear that was a little farther up the hill from the train. The train went all the way into Canada. We didn't get off the train so didn't need any passports to reenter the states. It was the first time I have been out of the United States and the first time Brian has been in Canada. This port was our longest stay so we spent a few hours wandering the 8 city blocks and exploring the local stores for souvenirs. We had a lot of fun in Skagway.

The White Pass Railroad








The Canadian border in Alaska











The highest wooden tressel bridge








There are bears in the mountains







Snowcapped mountains in June








Waterfalls everywhere

3 comments:

Cynthia said...

I think I see your cruise ship in the back ground of the Skagway town.

I love the picture of the passenger train. I don't know if I have seen one of those in operation. Did you gt to ride it, and if so did you ride it over the wooden bridge?

Aimee said...

Yes, that is our ship in the background of the first photo. We did get to ride on the train...but we didn't ride over the bridge as it's been shut down for safty issues. There is a bypass that was built to go around the old bridge.

lap said...

Great pictures! The train ride looks like it was a lot of fun as well as very picturesque. Did you read any of Robert Service's poems while you were in Alaska?