Wednesday-July 19-Day 29-Repair, then On to Skagway

WARNING! POST OVERLOAD!  

PROCEED WITH PERSEVERANCE!

We awoke early this morning because we were going to try to catch a bus to Skagway. Our first stop was at Starbucks, to tank up on coffee. (We learned our lesson last time we were here....no generators at Walmart, not even to make coffee!😕)
We had previously debated if we wanted to drive down to Skagway and come back tomorrow, or take the bus on a one-day combo (bus and train) excursion. We arrived at the station before even the staff were in,
But this particular day they were all sold out!  But that was OK with us because we had prayed for guidance, and we felt this was an answer to that prayer. But before we drove the 100 miles south to Skagway, we first had to get our RV diagnosed and fixed. 

We went to Canadian Tire, right in the Walmart parking lot.  But they could not hoist one this large! So they sent us to another garage, same story!  Then to Frasier RV, Same Story  Would you believe, times 5 over we heard the same story!! The 5th stop was the Ford dealership.  I said to him, " I cannot believe that this town of Whitehorse does not have the ability to hoist this RV, what with the 1000's of RV's that pass through here in a year. "
He was helpful!  Even though they could not do it, he looked up a couple of phone numbers, wrote them down and said I should use his phone until I find someone. The very first phone call was to Superior RV, where what sounded like an elderly gentleman said my timing is good. He can look at it right away!  Thank you Lord!
So we drove there, and about and hour and a half later we were on our way with new brackets on the muffler, all tightened up and ready for the road with no rattle.  Even though Wayne had slower movements, with the appearance of the start of Parkinsons, he did know what he was doing and fixed her right!
And the bill was even reasonable. 

We headed out of town and south on the Klondike Highway.
This is beautiful Emerald Lake, (also called rainbow lake by the locals) with variations of green and blue colored water. The rainbow like colors of the lake result from blue-green light waves reflecting off the white sediment of the lake bottom. The white sediment, called marl, consists of fragments of decomposed shell mixed with clay.

And then we came to the Carcross Desert. This unusual area of sand dunes is the world's smallest desert.

The village of Carcross, the only town on the way to Skagway,
 is the home to the Tagish First Nations. 

Again our drive was highlighted by beautiful scenery!

Bove Island on Windy Arm, an extension of Tagish Lake.

The road became mountainous and curvy at places.  We had an 11.5  mile downhill  run,  with an 11% grade. The brakes got hot, even with the tow brake on.

Through the dirty windshield we saw this lovely roadside lake.

The "Y's" on the mountain side caught our attention.

So many bodies of water..... large ones, small ones.

Another Bridal Veil waterfall, right beside the road.

When we left the Yukon the morning, we drove through a corner of British Columbia, and then we again found ourselves back in Alaska.  The geography of Alaska is a bit crazy....one cannot reach this area of Alaska except by the inside passage waterway, or else, going by land through Canada. 

We arrived in Skagway around 12:45. We went straight to the train station to get our tickets for the White Pass and Yukon Railroad, a must-see!!!

While we were there, I had to use the little girls room......and was amused by this sign inside the door.  

We checked in at  Pullen Creek, a nice campground within walking distance of the town, the docks, and the railroad.
Skagway, as Valdez, is surrounded by mountains.

We were hungry for lunch, so we got a recommendation from our campground host and headed to the docks. Three cruise ships were docked. Skagway Fish Company was the recommendation.
And it was a good one!

The ceiling was draped with things of the sea.

Steve and Marie had a good start  with a cup of crab bisque.

Marie and I ordered the halibut sandwich with salad. Barb and Steve chose the deep-fried halibut with fries. All of it was so good!! By the time we ate it was 2:30 and we were hungry!

After our meal was over we walked downtown.  A lot of the buildings are old and original because the town never had a fire.

We walked  to the railroad station to clarify the meeting place for boarding, and to look around the gift shop.  From there we walked back to our RV, where Barb decided to spend the evening.  She is not a fan of heights, and decided to not go on the train ride.

I thought this to be like an oxymoron......Small Boat Harbor????

Soon it was time to board the train.

We were assigned to the lift car.  There were only 3 other people in it, so we had lots of room to move around and take pictures.

When we left the station at 4:30 we first chugged along side the Skagway River.

But it wasn't long until we were ascending the mountains.....

Beautiful lively rivers rushed past us.

The scenery was enough to take your breath away!
  And so were the heights!

Many places we went within inches of rocks on the one side,
and on the edge of the mountain on the other side.

One of many waterfalls, on the "up" side of the mountain.

With some telephoto strength, I was able to draw in the tracks on the other side of the gulch.

 Trail of '98 is the still visible trail  from the many men who trekked over these mountains to try to find gold.

 After a breath-taking, sometimes heart-throbbing ride, we arrived at the Summit, The top of the White Pass. 2800 feet above sea level.

These flags fly at the top.
The subalpine landscape of stunted trees, and lakes around the US and Canada borders is often called a moon-scape.

After a short pause to switch the engines, we traveled back down the way we had come up, enjoying the beauty all over again,
 in reverse!

 

Coming back into Skagway,
 with the view of the mountains that surround the town.
This trip is definitely the best train trip I have ever taken (it was the highlight of our trip here back in '97) The pristine beauty of God's creation, untouched by man, is undescribable! I was so blessed by so many other things we have done in the last 28 days, but for me this was the best.
We told them there was only one thing wrong....they did not sell coffee! And we were cold to the bone! It was frigid up there on the top and also when I was outside taking pictures.  As soon as we were close to town and had cell coverage we called Barb and asked her to put on the decaf and get the apple strudel out of the freezer to thaw. We warmed up quickly with that, and called it the end of another wonderful day!