Category: USA

Glacier Bay National Park

Alaska Cruise Day 6

Glacier Bay National Park is the highlight of all Alaska cruises. It is absolutely beautiful! There are several large glaciers in Glacier Bay. Unfortunately for us, we did not get to see Margerie Glacier, which is the tallest at the water – over 200 feet. We did get to see others, including John Hopkins Glacier and Lamplugh Glacier.

In 1680 there was no Glacier Bay, it was a broad river valley with a Tlingit village. During the Little Ice Age from 1680 to 1750, the glacier grew and covered the valley and even went out into the Icy Strait. When the glacier receded from 1750 to 1880, it had gouged out Glacier Bay. Today the glaciers are 65 miles up the bay from the Icy Strait.

Sunrise in Glacier Bay National Park.
Lamplugh Glacier.
Lamplugh Glacier behind us.
Johns Hopkins Glacier, with Mt. Orville’s peak above the clouds. Mt. Wilbur is to the right, hidden by the clouds. To the left is Gilman Glacier.
Mt. Orville’s peak.
Reid Glacier, under the clouds.
Topeka Glacier.
In addition to the glaciers, the mountains provide beautiful scenery in Glacier Bay. They are declaring the majesty of God!
Glacier ice in the bay.
Leaving Glacier Bay.

Historic Skagway

Alaska Cruise Day 5

Looking north on Broadway, the main street in town.
Arctic Brotherhood Lodge, built 1900.
The Mascot Saloon, built 1898.
Richters, built 1910.
Lynch & Kennedy Dry Goods Store, built 1900.
This Alaskan Fry Bread was very popular with the tourists.
Golden North Hotel.
This is the most famous brothel in Skagway. There are tours of the upstairs “rooms”.
The saloon is still popular.
The theater at the Eagles Hall gives two shows a day called “The Days of ’98 Show”, an entertaining “mostly true” story of the early days in Skagway.
Prior to the show a couple women give a “performance” in the windows on the second floor.
One of the ladies “inviting” us to the show.
The show is essentially about conman Jefferson “Soapy” Smith, whose con game caught up with him in the middle of the street where he was shot dead in 1898. An interesting story if you care to look it up.

Klondike Gold Rush National Park

Alaska Cruise Day 5

The Klondike Gold Rush of 1896-1898 is a fascinating story in American and Canadian history. The Klondike Gold Fields were north of Dawson City, Canada, and the major port for gold hunters to access Dawson City was Skagway, Alaska. For two years, thousands of people from over 30 countries used the White Pass or Chilkoot trail from Skagway to make their way to Dawson City and claim their stakes. People were required to have a year’s supply of food to cross into Canada. There are incredible photos of long lines of people with their supplies climbing a steep snow covered mountain on their way to the Gold Fields. When their horse(s) died, they just left them on the side of the trail. For the lure of gold, many people risked all, including their lives to be part of the gold rush.
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park museum.
Inside of visitor center, once the White Pass & Yukon Route depot.
Several famous gold rushers set out from Skagway.
How-to manual.
This sculpture is explained below:
The Moore House, built 1897. This house is open for tours, but we did not have time.
The Moore Cabin, built 1887.
Frye-Bruhn Cold Storage Building, built 1900.
“Crib”
The Brass Pic, built 1898, was a house of “ill-repute”. The Klondike Gold Rush attracted many women to Skagway who desired “work”.
Skagway Klondike Gold Rush Centennial statue.
This is a locomotive that was used to plow snow on railroad tracks.

White Pass Yukon Route

Alaska Cruise Day 5

The White Pass Yukon Route climbs, and winds around sharp curves, and very close to some rock cliffs.
Bridal Veil Falls.
About 6 miles north of Skagway on the White Pass Yukon Route, this caboose is available for rent. It sleeps 6 with a double bunk and 4 single bunks. It rents for $45 a night as the Denver Caboose Cabin.
Skagway River.
Heading into a tunnel.
Abandoned trellis bridge.
Northwest Territory Mounted Police station at US-Canada border at White Pass.
View from near the top looking back toward Skagway.
The Trail used by the Klondike Gold Rush pioneers in 1898.
Black spruce.
Skagway River.

Juneau

Alaska Cruise Day 4

Cool totem pole outside the Sealaska Heritage Museum.
Patsy Ann the dog statue. Patsy Ann was a dog in the 1930s who became somewhat of a celebrity greeting people as they arrived off ships. Although deaf from birth, Patsy Ann somehow sensed when an incoming ship was about half mile away, and she always seemed to determine the correct dock the ship would dock at. On one occasion a crowd gathered to meet an incoming ship. Patsy Ann turned and trotted to another dock, and the ship tied up next to the dog. When not welcoming cruisers, she would wander around the town’s shops and offices, where she was welcomed and given treats.
Hard Rock Miners sculpture. This sculpture honors the miners who drilled the Alaska-Juneau Goldbelt mine, using compressed-air drills, from 1897 to 1944. The mine’s total output over those years was seven million ounces of gold.