Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Alaska Favorites Part 1

My first day was filled with a lot of traveling and a beautiful ferry ride to Skagway. I'll begin in Skagway for this portion. I was really looking forward to this port because of the history involved...me loves a good history tour. Briefly, Skagway was kinda a nothing area with mostly natives when GOLD was discovered in the later part of 1890's. Gold was discovered in the Klondike some 500 miles away and ships began pouring into Skagway. It quickly jumped to a population of 30,000. The crossing of White Pass was treacherous to say the least. These men had to cross it at least 60 times bringing up all of the supplies needed because Canada would not allow them in unless they had 1 ton of supplies so they wouldn't starve through the winter. They quickly built a train to help bring supplies up to the Yukon called the White Pass and Yukon Route. I was excited to ride this train and see what these prospectors went through. The countryside was gorgeous. I was blown away at the lengths they went in search of fortune. It was sad to realize that by the time most of these men arrived, the gold was gone.
I had to sepia this photo to give it the period feel.
Halley playing a little peek-a-boo.
There is so much history in Skagway. I loved every minute of it and wished I had more time there.
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