When in Skagway do what the cruise ship passengers do... Wander the stores. We needed something to do while we waited for the ferry to Haines. And the downtown district has a fun gold-rush feel to it and is a great place to buy cheap souvenirs. But the 36 jewelry stores are just a bit much...
This just made us laugh... (on a car in the parking lot)
We didn't have time to take the train, but there were lots of shops and little historical buildings to explore.
In July 1897, the first boatloads of stampeders arrived. By October, it has a population of about 20,000. Less than a year later it was said that, "Skagway was little better than a hell on earth." In February 1898, 5000 people landed in Skagway. By the summer of 1899, the rush was all but over and by 1903 only about 500 people remained. Only the railroad kept it alive until it waited for the tourists to arrive... ;)
After waiting for lunch, we still had a bit of time to burn to drive up to the viewpoint on Dyea Road and hike out to the Gold Rush Cemetery and Lower Reid Falls, named after "good guy" Frank Reid who fought in a gun fight with "bad guy" Soapy Smith in July 1898. Both men are buried in the cemetery.
Even with all that there was still time for a stop at the Jewell Gardens and Glassworks...
Line up for the ferry is two hours before leaving. So there was quite a bit of waiting until they worked out the puzzle of getting everyone loaded according to their port of departure...
The ferry ride to Haines is only an hour and saves 350 miles of driving. Not to mention the beautiful scenery you get to see from the water...
There is also the eclectic group of people on the ferry that choose to sleep in the solarium on their journey. You can even pitch your tent on the deck!
I think that would be an amazing way to travel!
Before we knew it, it was time to go back to our van and disembark for Haines...
We chose an RV park right on the water with a very nice view of the mountains.
After dinner we wandered around town to see what Haines had to offer. It turns out, not much. But we did enjoy a pint of spruce tip ale from the local brewery before bed. Super tasty and wards of scurvy... ;)
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