Our 5 days in Skagway were great and gave us our first glimpse of Alaska. We were ready to head farther west and get away from the cruise ship crowd by the fifth day. I mean no offense to cruisers, and I think it’s a great way to see as much of Alaska as you can in a short amount of time. The state definitely depends on the tourists’ money they leave behind. We saw as many as 4 ships in port in one day. That is 10 times the normal population of Skagway. It’s a win-win in my opinion.
One thing I noticed at the gift shops in Alaska was the price of souvenirs. I was pleasantly surprised that they had some very reasonably priced items that didn’t look “cheap”. We walked and drove around downtown Skagway on multiple occasions and popped in and out of many stores.
You can easily get around town on foot or many of the locals ride their bikes. Just at the edge of town we walked around the Gold Rush Cemetery. One of the most famous characters from Skagway during the gold rush was Jefferson “Soapy” Smith and his gravesite was there. He died in a shootout with Frank Reid who also died a few days later.
We hiked up the hill from the cemetery to Lower Reid falls, named after Frank Reid. Wherever you go in Skagway, you hear about the history of the gold rush and the few old buildings in town bring you back in time.
This was a replica of one of the bars back in the late 1800’s. Saloons and dance parlors were all over town back in the day.
The only remaining building from the Red Light District is the Red Onion Saloon. You can tour the brothel upstairs or have drinks downstairs. It was a busy place! Even with the cruise ship visitors!
We drove out of town one day to explore another famous shore in nearby Dyea. The gold rush stampeders came by boatloads from Seattle and other ports and landed either in Skagway or Dyea to head to the Klondike. Both routes were deadly, but the path from Dyea included the “golden staircase” that was steep and tough.
During the gold rush days, a huge avalanche took the lives of many trying to make it up the golden staircase. Slide cemetery located in Dyea contained many of the graves resulting from that tragedy.
Darin hiked to the site where the town was located and took some pictures with his drone. This one was spectacular!
Taking the train and just reading and hearing the history of the town, was very interesting. Today’s Skagway relies on tourism. The population of 1000 doubles to over 2000 each summer. We saw many kids in their 20’s who come from all over to make money and head back to college or travel during the rest of the year. You could feel the vibe around town.
Our campground was full of these summer workers. The camper trailers around the perimeter were permanent structures and were rented out. Most tenants rode bikes but a few owned a car.
I almost forgot to announce my new part time job. I had a guest appearance in the Days of ’98 show with the can can girls! I knew my days of high kicking in college would pay off!
Our bus driver in Juneau was a retired accountant from California who has come up to alaska for five years now to work over the summer months. If you have a college kid needing money, send them to Alaska next year! I hear it is a great gig!