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.
So my parents convinced me to leave my kids behind and head on an adventure.....a bear adventure. I remembered a song from girls camp "Goin' on a bear hunt...I'm not afraid".....that song lied! We headed to a place called AnAn. I asked our guide if the island was inhabited. He said "Well, it's the Mainland so yeah, Dallas is inhabited"....jerk..... The only thing we passed by were some canoes and we were told that it was a place where troubled kids go. They have to fend for themselves and kill/cook anything they want to eat. Boy did I feel comforted.
Looks pretty isolated...even for the Mainland.
Here is our group. Unaware of what lies ahead.
Hi Mr. Black Bear. Now I know why Aunt Patty and Aunt Cindy made me go right after the guide with bear spray and a shotgun. The bear kept walking toward us and then on up the hill. I think we bored him....either that or he was stalking us.
Oh, there is another one walking on our path..doesn't he know that this is a people path. Thank goodness he already has his lunch.
No my zoom isn't that good. We were really close to bears, all day long. Sometimes we had to walk out of our 3 foot fence (not joking) to go to the bathroom. That hole in the door isn't for ventilation...it's to watch to make sure a bear wasn't near. My cousin's son was in there and had to stay in for a while because a bear decided to mosey on by. Hopefully Josh went #1 and not #2.
I wish I could put up more pics and videos but I think I am the only one who would be entertained. We did see one catch a fish and we quietly cheered after witnessing how long it can take them. I cannot overemphasize the beauty of our surroundings. Here we were in the middle of nowhere (but apparently on the Mainland) with a river chuck full of salmon, watching bears climb trees and catch fish, as bald eagles are swooping around screeching in the cool air. I was blessed that day to see God's beauty and be a small part of a big world.
