We checked the TV monitor in our room early Tuesday morning to see the dock in Skagway. The ship had left Juneau at 10:00 pm the night before and sailed all night to Skagway – arriving in the dark this am. After breakfast we walked about a block from the dock to the Visitor Information Centre on the main drag of Broadway and Second Avenue. Looking back, the four ships in dock towered over the tiny town. We learned about Skagway’s part in the Klondike gold rush before taking a four-hour trip on a narrow-gauge railroad that was built to replace the path thousands of prospectors followed on foot in their attempt to make it to the Yukon. The narrow worn path skirting the steep mountain side can still be seen in places.
The town of Skagway is a National Heritage Site and the buildings have been maintained and restored – many originating in the days of the gold rush. There has been no attempt to have them resemble that time in any other way, unless you consider the rush for cheap jewelry and souvenirs by thousands of Cruise Ship passengers a similar kind of activity. The shops all close down at the end of the month until the season starts up again in June and the population drops from thousands (1900 on our ship alone) to 600! A woman in one shop told us that most of the locals have two jobs during the Cruise ship season and work part-time the rest of the year.
We returned to the ship for another four-course dinner then went to another show. Another musical review – different songs but same talented twelve or so singers and dancers and same lights flashing and sounds blasting. We were sitting close to the stage and it felt at times like being hit against the side of the head with a frying pan with the ringing going on long after the initial blast!! It made me cringe but I’m trying to like it, honestly!
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