Well, supposedly that’s what “Skagway” means in the tongue of the nearby Tlingit Natives in 1887 when Captain William Moore ventured up the Chilkoot Inlet and built a small cabin at the mouth of the Skagway River. In ten years it became the largest city in Alaska. Gold, son. It long ago lost that title, but it’s still trading heavily on the gold rush image. With a full time population of only 968, it’s a trip when four cruise ships dock at the same time. Here’s 3 of them, with ours hidden behind the one on the left.
Skagway is essentially a one-street town (Broadway). Although there are others, nearly all of the commercial sites lie along Broadway. Here are the views in both directions:
And that’s it, folks! The place was crawling with folks just like us – tourists from the ships. I have to say that all of the local shopfolks were incredibly friendly, and never pushy for you to buy something. I guess when you rely on a brief summer window for 95% of your business, you learn how to deal with people. We strolled around and took in what sights there were. This building was the most notable. It’s the Arctic Brotherhood Hall, built in 1899 by a band of gold seekers that had met on the ship coming north. The driftwood facade wasn’t added until 1900. Four of our party are in this shot. Where’s Waldo?
I had a shot of Loni and Alia in front of the “historic” Brass Pic, the “House Of Negotiable Affection.” Unfortunately, it was too blurry, but the title was too good to ignore. We visited the Moore cabin, which took about 5 minutes. You get the picture. There’s just not a lot there.
On the way back to the ship (lunch was calling), we passed this incredible snow-blower train engine. I’ll bet that was a sight when it was cranking. Today, you can book an excursion ride (at enormous rates) and take a scenic trip up the river. We passed.
For all our RV friends, this is but one of several RV parks in Skagway, all offering full hookups. They seemed pretty full when we walked by. No Lazy Daze’s sighted. I don’t remember which ship this was, but it’s a cool looker from the bow. Ours is waaay behind it.
Once back on the ship, the kids decided to flake out by the inside spa.
I, however, had other ideas. This is really what I like about cruising!
Scones with clotted (artery) cream, chocolate cake with coffee cream frosting. Oooooooh. I enjoyed (ahem) a selection of these as we made our way out of Skagway, leaving the other 3 ships at the docks. A scrumptious way to end the day.
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