Thursday June 1st - Saturday June 3 - Dawson, Carmacks and Skagway
June 1st was one of the most important days of the year! Our second little granddaughter, Amelia June (Cecil) was born at 7:45 AM. She is beautiful (of course) and apparently a very determined and opinionated little lady, or so she tells her parents! Which isn't a surprise, since she's a Buxton/Bullard woman. The Cecil family are all doing well and are now settling back in at home in Dutch Flat. The chickens, dogs and cat are in for a bit of a surprise!
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| Little Amelia - and Ava is now the big sister! |
We spent the day reversing our drive back down the Klondike Hwy from Dawson City to Carmacks, where we camped for the evening at the Carmacks Hotel and RV. The most remarkable thing about the town (population of 500) is the little grocery store that is amazingly well-stocked with every item a camper or homeowner could ever need. It was better than Safeway! We even found asiago cheese and a superfood salad mix! Hope we can stumble on more of these on our trip!
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| Wildflowers along the Klondike Hwy - the rain has helped |
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| Six-finger rapids - the crew had to tie ropes to the rocks so they could drag the boats over the rocks |
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| Our tiny camping spot behind the grocery store |
From Whitehorse to Skagway, the drive over the White Pass was stunning - waterfalls, lakes, snow-covered peaks and swollen rivers. We stopped briefly in the historic town of Carcross for lunch and viewed the Visitor Center First Nation art and history displays. Carcross is the arrival/departure point for the White Pass and Yukon Route railroad to/from Skagway (which allows tourists to experience the miners' ride toward the gold fields).
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| Charming rest stop just north of Whitehorse |
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| Mountain peaks soared above our highway |
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| The tiny Carcross desert - remnants of an ancient seabed |
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| Chilkoot Sourdough Bakery in Carcross |
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| Carcross Visitor Center |
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| First Nation art celebrated |
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| A tall tale whale |
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| Tlingit potlatch art |
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| She said "be sure to say hello to Rocky"... |
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| The White Pass Mountains and lakes |
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| It's June and summer will come soon... |
We arrived in Skagway early that afternoon, set up camp and then walked around town a bit to see the sights. Skagway is heavily influenced by the Cruise lines that dock there daily (except on Sundays). The stores are freshly painted and decked out in Goldrush era memorabilia, which gives it a Disneyland-feel. The town is packed with tourists from the cruise ships anxiously hurrying to buy the perfect memorabilia for friends and family before the boat leaves. Vans and buses stream by carrying passengers eager to experience the "true Alaska adventure" for that one day or afternoon (whitewater rafting, zip lining in the Dyea valley, a quick ride on the narrow-gauge railroad over the pass and a bus tour out to the Chilkoot trail). It was frantic, crowded and a bit overwhelming for us, particularly in contrast to our recent tourist-free laid-back experience in Dawson City and Tombstone. A bit of a culture shock and we didn't like it!
The biggest surprise were the numerous high-end jewelry (selling gold, silver, and gemstones) and fur stores in town. Rumor has it that the Cruise Lines own these stores. Regardless, it was a bit of a shock after the modest enterprises we had seen in all of the other towns we had so far visited. It felt like the mafia had come to town! (A Rodeo Drive rather than gold rush town experience.) The gold rush is now the incredible influx of tourist money packaged and carted to town by the cruise lines. I don't mean to be critical, since cruises meet the needs of many frugal, pleased, time-strapped travelers, but it was absolutely startling to experience the change. We seriously hope that this is not what we will be seeing at the rest of Alaska's well-advertised sights - packaged, over-priced inauthentic glitz. Sigh...
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| Arctic Brotherhood Hall - covered with driftwood |
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| Skagway - the "painted lady" |
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| Totem baby - Amelia? |
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| Driftwood design on Brotherhood hall |
On Saturday, we drove out the Dyea road to see the original townsite of Dyea and the start of the Chilkoot trail. Dyea was created in 1897 when the Klondike gold rush began. The miners, who decided to hike the Chilkoot trail by foot over the White Pass, were required, by the Canadian government, to carry a minimum of one years provisions (for safety and protection). Because these goods weighed close to a ton, many of the miners, who hiked this route, had to make from 20 to 40 trips up and over the pass and back. They needed to collect and store the goods in a safe place, and that is why the town site of Dyea was created. When the Yukon railroad was completed in 1903, since the miners could now ride the train, the town was no longer needed and it quickly died from disuse.
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| Old miner's cabin near Dyea |
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| Lush vegetation from rainfall here |
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| Homestead remains |
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| Spruce tips anyone? Used as an anti-bacterial medicine by Native Americans |
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| Dyea flood plain - near location of townsite |
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| The Taiya river estuary empties into the Skagway bay |
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| Remains of the huge Dyea pier built to expedite the unloading of ships - it was never used |
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| Looking out toward the mouth of the Taiya River toward Skagway from Dyea |
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| Heading out for the Chilkoot trail |
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| The Chilkoot trail |
Our campsite at Pullen Creek was well-situated - near town and in a park-like setting. We could see the cruise ships and mountains that towered over us.
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| Two ships a day, 2100 passengers each |
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| Our cozy campspot in a parklike setting |
Over the next few days, we will be taking the ferry over to Haines.
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