Skagway evening and sailaway

As it turned out, we did, in fact, leave the ship once again to walk some more around Skagway. By mid-afternoon, the rain had stopped and the skies lightened, if only slightly. We returned to the Klondike Goldrush National Historic Park headquarters to catch the first five minutes of the 30-minute movie shown there throughout the day (we had missed the beginning of the movie twice during our visit last week). While we were there we saw Anya again, the park ranger who had conducted our walking tour last week, and she asked us about our visits since then to Glacier Bay National Park. We got on the subject about the Volendam's rescue last Sunday, and it turned out that another ranger standing there, Gina, had been on the capsized boat in an unofficial capacity. Small world! She said that their tour boat had wrecked about 11am, and the Volendam had sent a tender to offload most of the passengers. Once on board the Volendam, they continued on to the Grand Pacific and Margerie Glaciers. It was only on the Volendam's exit from the park about 6pm that the rescued passengers were offloaded onto a Coast Guard boat and returned to the park office at Bartlett Cove.

Apparently, there were some kayakers on the tour boat using it as transportation to a launch point deeper in the park. When the boat wrecked on the rocks, they simply launched their kayaks from that point and carried on per their plan.

Such excitement!

While we were in Skagway, it seemed nearly every cruise ship passenger returned to the ships carrying a red bag from the Alaska T-shirt Company, a store right across from the Klondike Goldrush Park office. It became a running joke with us, but on our return to town we decided we needed to see what the attraction was. Well, it turned out to be a superstore in Skagway, carrying a bit of everything souvenir-y. G decided that the seven Alaska caps he had at home plus the one he'd already bought this trip on the Klondike Express glacier tour in Whittier were simply not enough. He picked up another Alaska cap at the Alaska T-shirt Company store and then another one at a second store. We finally had the ubiquitous red bag (and an almost-as-ubiquitous yellow one).

We raced back to the ship because we had a busy evening planned. Dinner was at 5:30pm in the Bordeaux dining room, still wearing our walking clothes and jackets and carrying shopping bags. We went right from it to the 7pm performance of On the Bayou (couldn't miss that!), and then finally returned to our cabin in time to watch the Sea Princess sail away at 8pm, accompanied by an enthusiastic horn blowing exchange between the Sea Princess and Island Princess. We sailed shortly afterwards (calling for coffee and cognac on the balcony) and fell into bed not too much later.

It had been a busy, chilly, wet day in Skagway. Tomorrow's weather in Juneau looks much more promising.

Photo 1: Alaska car ferry sails into Skagway

Photos 2-3: On the Bayou in the Universe Lounge

Photo 4: the Sea Princess reverses into Skagway harbor prior to sailing into the Lynn Canal

The Skagway Inn Bed and Breakfast

While on our walk, we were drawn into courtyard of the Skagway Inn, a bed and breakfast located in an old brothel by the gorgeous flowers outside. We had stayed at a similar place years ago in Silverton, Colorado and so were intrigued enough to step inside, and were invited to have a look around the rooms upstairs. They are all named (instead of numbered) after some of the "ladies" who frequented them over 100 years ago. Very clever!

The decor of the lobby and the guest rooms was very true to the Klondike Gold Rush period of the late 1890s, and the B&B is a popular launching point for those hiking the 33-mile Chilkoot Trail that begins just outside of Skagway.

Day 11: Skagway

Did I dream up those beautiful sunrises and sunsets of last cruise or did they really happen?  It's another cold (low 50s), gray day today, not a bit like our last visit where we broke a sweat climbing up to Lower Dewey Lake. Although the Island Princess arrived at 7am, we had no schedule today and so enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in the dining room. Afterwards, we enjoyed having free 3G Internet again (while we had had cell phone service in Whittier, we have not had free Internet access since last Sunday). G paid bills and I made some headway on my email inbox. Finally, around 10am, we bundled up and walked off the ship. We're in port today with the Sea Princess (which has the good dock near the ferry terminal) and the Volendam (which has the berth we had last cruise. We are docked even further from town today). Interesting bit of news about the Volendam: just last Sunday it rescued 70 people from a boat touring Glacier Bay.

http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/post/2012/08/holland-america-alaska-rescue-cruise-/827678/1

So, back to today...I have to give us credit for how we packed. While I began to doubt my wisdom last cruise when shorts would have been more comfortable, this cruise I've worn everything I brought in some combination. Today my Goretex jacket with hood, fleece vest, scarf, headband and gloves as well as my waterproof hiking boots were perfect. Despite the rain, I stayed cozy and dry the entire time we walked around Skagway. Eventually we paid $5 each for unlimited SMART shuttle rides, and took the bus to Gold Rush Cemetery and the end of the line before doing a combination walk-ride back to the ship.

After a late lunch in the buffet we returned to our cabin, trying to summon the energy to head back out on another walk. But the ship is warm and cozy, and the forecast for tomorrow in Juneau is much warmer and sunnier. Maybe we should just relax in preparation for an active day tomorrow....

Photo 1: a gray day in Skagway

Photo 2: the Sea Princess at the dock near the ferry terminal

Photos 3-6: our walk around town

Sailaway from Skagway

An evening packed with entertainment

We had wanted to be back on the ship at 5pm for a show listed only as "Steve Hite, North to Alaska" which was taking place in the Universe Lounge. It was our first time in that lounge, and what wonderful showroom it is. Two decks high, a round stage that rotates...why did Princess abandon that concept on its later ships to go with Club Fusion, with its poor sightlines? It's always been underutilized on the ships we've been on.

Anyway, we weren't sure what Steve Hite's one man show was all about, but since he was a local entertainer from Skagway who was only going to be onboard for a short time this evening, and it was supposed to be a walk through Alaska's history with song and poetry, we thought we needed to see it. And it was wonderful- well worthwhile.

He started by performing (singing, guitar and harmonica) Johnny Horton's North to Alaska. What a great way to start (see first entry of my Alaska blog? :-) ). What I didn't know ('cause I'm not old enough to remember), was that that was a John Wayne movie. Hmmm, I guess this means that I not only learned about the history of the Klondike Goldrush today, but I learned about the history of the history of the Klondike Goldrush.

;-)

Steve musically walked us through a brief history of Alaska- native peoples, Seward's folly, the last shot fired in the Civil War (it was in Alaska. Really.), the gold rush, statehood, and even Sarah Palin (he thanked us for not throwing anything) in 30 minutes.

We're really glad we saw it!

Afterward, we had to plan a bit to squeeze in everything we wanted to do/see/eat in the evening. We went right away to the Bordeaux Dining Room for a quick dinner (no lunch again today...we were STARVING!). We let our waiter Lionel know that we had a time constraint, and he was up for the challenge. At 6:50pm we were back in the Universe Lounge awaiting the 7pm performance of the new Princess production show, On the Bayou.

Photo 1: Steve Hite performing in the Universe Lounge

Photo 2: another day of perfect weather!

Klondike Goldrush National Historic District walking tour

We completed the Lower Dewey Lake trail in just enough time to return to the visitors center to begin the hour long walking tour. Our guide was Anya, a national park service summer employee, and she was really fantastic. She made history come alive and she talked about characters and locations important during the (only) two year Klondike gold rush during 1897 and 1898. Those were some truly hardy souls back then!!

We ended up an hour later at the Moore Homestead, and by that time I was getting pretty tired. We began to make our way back along the waterfront to the ship, and it was all I could do to climb that steep gangway back up to the Promenade Deck 7 of the Island Princess. We returned to the ship about 5pm. I was in hour 13 of the day, with a busy evening planned.

Cruising can be hard work!!

Photos 1 and 2: the Mascot bar has been restored as a museum by the Klondike Goldrush National Historic District

Photos 3-5: the renovated Moore homestead. The Moores cleared the White Pass trail from Skagway to Lake Bennett, en route to the Klondike gold fields near Dawson City

Photo 6: the original homestead

Lower Dewey Lake trail

Somehow, I misread the trail stats for the Lower Dewey Lake trail. I think because CD Richard Joseph said it was an easy hike, I saw .5 miles next to the trail on a map and assumed that was all it was. Mistake! It was .5 miles to get to the lake, 2.7 miles around it and .5 miles to return back to town. While the 2.7 mile portion was definitely easy, the first .5 mile had a 500 foot elevation gain and a path that degraded in quality as we climbed.

Easy? Well, I wouldn't recommend dragging grandma and the little kids along if you hike it. Still, the forest along the way is lush and beautiful, and the views well worth the climb. I suggest sturdy shoes or hiking boots and trekking poles. Once again we were sweating by the time we reached the top.


Photo 1: on the way to the Lower Dewey Lake trailhead

Photo 2: the view along the way

Photo 3: waterfalls everywhere

Photo 4: the trail was well maintained at the bottom but got rocky as we climbed

Day 5: Skagway

Although I didn't get any more sleep after getting up at 4am and watching the sunrise, I did go back to bed to try to warm up. We ended up watching the Wake Show with cruise director Richard Joseph. He suggested one of two hikes for the day an easy one to Lower Dewey Lake and a tougher one to Upper Dewey lake. We thought the easy one sounded just about right after yesterday's hike st Mendenhall Glacier.

The day stayed sunny, and we decided that it was way too nice to dawdle. We got to the dining room just as they were closing the doors after breakfast. It closed at 9am again today; we really need to pay attention to the Princess Patter. Instead we went up to the Horizon Court buffet and enjoyed breakfast seated at a table with expansive views in all directions.

We keep hearing time and time again that we're enjoying the very best weather of the summer, and so feel obligated to hike while it lasts. If it turns more typical for the next cruise, as least we can say we took advantage of it while it lasted.

We packed up our backpack and headed out. It was about a quarter mile walk along the waterfront from the ship to town, but there is a boardwalk or a sidewalk the entire way. The Yukon and White Pass Railroad tracks run right up to the ship, and we took some time to video the train leaving.

The Klondike Goldrush National Historic Service headquarters is in the old Y&WP RR depot, so our first stop was to get directions to the Lower Dewey Lake trail and check out what the visitors center had to offer. Once again, we were impressed with the excellent video about the Goldrush history of the area and Skagway's important role in it. I went from knowing virtually nothing about the history of the town to feeling fairly competent in the subject.

Finally, there was no putting it off any longer. We had signed up for a 2pm guided walking tour of the Klondike Goldrush National Historic District (which, while it covers a large territory as far south as Seattle, is most concentrated in the waterfront area of Skagway), and the hike we wanted to do would take 1.5 to three hours.

Photo 1: Skagway as viewed from the Island Princess

Photo 2: in the past, ship crews would paint the rock walls along the pier with commemorative signs

Photo 3: the Island Princess docked in Skagway

Photo 4: along the walk to town

More sunrise photos

H

Day 5: Sunrise near Skagway

Sometimes I just can't imagine that life can get any better. This morning has been one of those times.

I awoke at 4:02am for a quick- ahem- bathroom break, and happened to glance out our balcony door. What I saw nearly knocked me flat.

The start of a sunrise. A sunrise. At 4am. On our side of the ship. Along Alaska's Inside Passage, a normally gorgeous, but wet, foggy, and grey part of Alaska's southeast coast.

I grabbed some pool towels from the stack in the bathroom and tried to roust G from his sleep. No way, it wasn't going to happen. But I picked up my iPhone from the vanity near the sliding glass door (didn't want to dig for my Nikon and wake G up) and sat on the balcony, bundled in blue and white striped towels from head to foot.

It was perfectly quiet, save for the sound of the ship cutting slowly through the water, at about 6 knots or so. I looked down at the balconies below me, but saw no one and heard no stirring from the surrounding cabins. I was alone out there, and reveled in the moment.

The mountains were rising out of the water right next to the ship. The sky above them grew increasingly light, and while I saw one tiny patch of fog hovering just above the water, everywhere else it was so clear that I could see the stars in the sky.

We've done this Alaska cruise twice before. Weather like this just doesn't happen. Sunrise? Sunset? Stars? Not part of the program along the Alaska coast.

This goes way beyond luck, and is more in the realm of divine intervention.

Eventually, I began to hear a sound other than that of the ship moving through the water. I knew it was a waterfall, and peered intently at the rock walls, searching for it. Finally I found it, a partial waterfall falling from half way down the sheer rock cliff. It was just light enough out to take a photo. Eventually, I heard another one, louder this time, and spotted it, falling the entire length of the rock cliff. Spectacular!

I tried gently, once again, to wake G, but he would have none of it. This was turning into a personal gift, meant just for me.

As we moved slowly through the water on our approach to Skagway, the sunrise kept changing. Some mountains were higher, temporarily obscuring it, and then they would open up to reveal more and more of the light.

I was freezing. Wearing only a nightgown, wrapped only in towels, I could see my breath. I checked for phone service...I already had AT&T 3G and could check the weather. It was 46 degrees. Yikes! My fingers and toes were blue with cold, but I couldn't bring myself to go back inside. I still wasn't hearing any stirring on any of the other balconies.

5am came and I was still out there. Eventually I could hear other cameras taking photos on that side of the ship...my private paradise was being discovered. But no voices- people seemed to know that this quiet beauty was not meant to be disturbed.

Finally, around 5:45am I came back inside. I had been out there for over an hour and a half and taken 100 photos with my iPhone. 90 minutes later I'm still in bed, and still shivering non-stop. That's okay. That, and the photos I'm enjoying, are the only proof I have that it wasn't just a dream.

What a start to the day!!

Photos: sunrise, starting at 4:02am