After leaving Juneau, our next port was Skagway, Alaska. For this port, we had a bus and train tour of White Pass Summit with a stop in the Yukon Territory. It was an 8-plus-hour excursion with gold panning and husky puppies along the way.

The tour started with the bus portion. The bus took us through the town of Skagway, through Tormented Valley, and then into the Yukon Territory of Canada. It followed the route the prospectors hoping to strike it rich took when the Yukon Gold Rush began. They would get all their gear and supplies to make the trek along the White Pass in Alaska into the Yukon. I can not imagine the bravery it took for the men and women to traverse such an environment to attempt to improve their lives. Only a few succeeded, and many died trying to get to the Yukon.

One of the areas we drove through was Tormented Valley. It was a harsh landscape with beautiful green lakes and imposing mountains. Photographs were tricky due to the cloudy and foggy weather. I did manage to find a flower blooming among the rocks.

After we summited White Pass, we entered the Yukon Territory in Canada. Our passports were checked at the border, and then we continued on to a recreation of a mining camp. Once there, we were fed a mediocre lunch, browsed the gift shop, visited the husky puppies (future sled dogs), and panned for Yukon gold. We also got to hang out with a few goats. Sean and Angie got the most gold of 7 or 8 flakes (and I mean SMALL flakes) each. Mom found 4 flakes, and I only found two. I guess I will have to find another way to strike it rich. In all honesty, this stop on the tour is very like a very cheesy tourist trap. I believe this stop was everyone’s least favorite experience of the entire cruise.

We got back on the bus and headed to the White Pass Summit Railway. On the way, we were treated to a beautiful rainbow. We were all very excited to take a train from the summit down into Skagway! The train ride did not disappoint. It was the highlight of the day. My favorite thing about the train is that we were allowed to stand outside while the train was moving to get better views.

After the train, we hopped back onto the bus, and our driver/guide made two more stops for us. We stopped at what they call Emerald Lake. The lake had multiple shades of green in the water and was a beautiful place to stop. Then, we stopped at a tourist shop area that showed off tribal totem poles and locally made items. I picked up a bottle of Canadian whiskey barrel-aged maple syrup for Aaron while we were there. He loves his pancakes and enjoys whiskey, so I decided this was the perfect gift for him.

A Few More Pictures From the Tour

Our next port on the cruise was a day spent on the ship cruising in Glacier Bay National Park. I will skip that for this blog; it deserves a post dedicated only to it. That will be next week’s post and my last post about Alaska.

Butchart Gardens

Our final stop on the cruise was Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. We did not get into port until 8:00 p.m., but we had a planned excursion to Butchart Gardens. It was going to be a unique experience since we would be touring the gardens at night instead of during the day. Sean and Angie decided to stay on the ship and pack for our arrival in Seattle the next day. Mom and I hopped on the bus and headed to the gardens.

We only had a little over an hour, so we did not get to explore the entire garden. We focused on the sunken garden, which was a quarry before it was turned into this beautiful garden.

We re-boarded the ship for our last night and slept really well. We had a tour of Seattle planned for after our disembarkation the next day.

The scenery on this excursion was beautiful, and the train ride was the day’s highlight. The totem poles were mesmerizing to look at, and the four of us really enjoyed spending the day together and sharing all of the new experiences.

Next week’s post will have tons of pictures of Glacier Bay National Park, as well as pictures of our Seattle tour. After that, back to wandering around in the Airstream with Aaron and Murphy.