Skagway, Part 2 (Wednesday, June 4)

By the time we passed from British Columbia into the Yukon Territory, it was after noon and we had gone just 50 miles since leaving Skagway.

Trying to make better time was pointless...Laurel and I just "had" to keep stopping to take photographs. How could we not...everywhere you looked were postcard worthy views!

The sandwiches we brought from the ship were eaten at one of the highway pullouts sitting on the ground. Not the most comfortable way to have lunch, but the surrounding beauty more than made up for our sore bottoms.

Pressing on, we came to Bove Island. From my guide we learned that many boats were wrecked here during the Gold Rush when they came out of calm Nares Lakes (just to the left) into high winds.

We drove past the small town of Carcrosse to reach Emerald Lake...our turn-around point at mile 75. The lake is the most photographed lake in the Yukon due to its brilliant green color (the result of glacial deposits of calcium carbonate.)

The view in the opposite direction wasn't too shabby either.

As we backtracked towards Skagway, our first stop was at the Carcross Desert...at one-square mile, it is the world's smallest desert! Technically it isn't "really" a desert. At one time large glacial lakes covered the area. When the lakes dried up, silt was left and formed the dunes. Certainly an interesting site sitting among the snow covered mountains and surrounding lakes. 

Bob and Kent (whose clothing choice made him look much like a park ranger!) roamed around while Laurel and I took photos of the different kinds of plants and flowers growing in the sand.

When we got back to Carcross, we pulled off the highway to take a look at the small town. After spending sometime browsing through the visitor's center, we went over to the general store. 

It felt like we had stepped back in time. With several ships in port at Skagway, the store (and town) were relatively empty.

The most delicious aroma was coming from the other side of the store...which turned out to be freshly made waffle cones. We couldn't resist. The ice cream flavors were quite interesting. One of Bob's scoops was "zebra"...a combination of orange and licorice.

I snapped a few photos of the town while sitting on a bench in front of the store enjoying my ice cream...

Back on the highway, we passed by these bikers heading down the mountain pass. I believe the bikes are hauled up in a truck and then they ride down. This must be exhilarating, but very scary at the same time!

Metal poles lined the sides of the road acting as guides for the snowplows in the winter.

As we were driving down the highway, Bob spotted what he thought was a mountain climber's trail. (How in the world??) Do you see anything on the mountain on the right? Me either.

But...as I zoomed in with the camera, this is what showed up! Who knows!!

Another sign photo! We left the Yukon and entered British Columbia once more. 

A group of mountain goats...very high upon the side of a mountain.

In early June there was still a bit of thin ice on some of the lakes. The Sawtooth Mountains are visible in the background.

  

As we got closer to Skagway, the highway ran parallel to the railroad at times. 

Just outside the city limits of Skagway was the Gold Rush Cemetery. Many of the tombstones are not original...but there are a few that date back to the late 1800's. It was sobering to read some of the epitaphs and realize what a hard life people endured on their quest for gold.

A path leading up the hill from the cemetery took us to Reid Falls (named after Frank Reid from the previous photo). With four cruise ships in port, it was a pleasant surprise to be the only ones around.

Back in Skagway, I was on a mission. I had found an online picture of Skagway that had been taken in 1916 and was curious to see how much the town had changed in 98 years. Taking a photo from approximately the same spot on main street showed surprisingly not that much had changed (if you ignore the cruise ship docked at the end of the street!) 

I can imagine that main street Skagway had been a very busy place earlier in the day, but by evening most of the cruise passengers had returned to their ships. After photographing some of the more interesting sites in Skagway, Kent dropped Laurel and I off at the ship. He and Bob returned the rental car and walked back.

Following dinner we once again skipped all of the evening entertainment options in favor of "balcony time" as we sailed away from Skagway. 

Skinny waterfalls cascading down the mountains looked much more impressive once I zoomed in with my camera.

At one point there was a distinct change in the water color. I am assuming that it was caused by the silty glacier fed rivers meeting with the sea water.

The ships leaving Skagway played a game of follow-the-leader.

As the sun dipped below the mountains, we were treated to the rosy alpenglow on the peaks.

One last little hint of glow before the sunset around 10 pm.

At 11:15, I opened the patio door to take this photo of a ship passing by before heading off to bed. The Coral Princess was scheduled to arrive at Glacier Bay around 6 am the next morning and we didn't want to miss anything!