Skagway

To be honest, this was the one stop that really didn't excite me. Our only plans for this stop was a train ride and it didn't seem that thrilling to me.

Well, I was wrong. Skagway was a close second only to our canoe trip in Juneau. I loved this little town. I found something out about myself while there that really made me fall in love with that place even more.

I have never considered myself a history buff. Never liked history in school. Get bored watching the history channel with Joe most of the time. Just generally find history not very exciting. But, get me to the place where that history takes place, and I can't get enough of it.

I love old. Antiques. Weathered buildings. Legitimate wood planked side walks. Broken down cars with weeds all around. Homes with boards in the windows. Store fronts from decades ago. Anything that looks like it has been in the same spot for way, way longer than normal, I love. Skagway was overflowing with "old".

Originally Skagway was the gateway to the Klondike gold rush of 1898. In order to make it to the Yukon where all the gold was, miners had to start in Skagway and hike through the valley of White Pass. The train we rode, took us up White Pass. It was remarkable to think that men and pack animals had to travel that terrain on foot. We saw areas throughout the train ride that had stories of men and animals not making it. The pass was actually dubbed Dead Horse Trail because of all the animals that perished there.

After our historic train ride, we had time to explore the actual down town of Skagway. The only reason this place is still a town is because of the cruise ships that come there. The area is desolate and deserted. But one of the prettiest stops in my opinion. The sidewalks were actually made from original wood. There were old saloons and Inns from the 1800's. Everything just oozed of rich, rich history.

I must say though, my favorite part was combing the streets and alleys for anything old, beaten, weathered, rusty, dirty and out of place. Joe and I walked through the less touristy streets and found a row boat clearly nowhere near water with plants growing inside. Bicycles that looked like they hadn't been touched since before I was born. We found a "rock walk of fame" that was situated between two run down homes that was spooky to get to, but really bizarre once we got there. I wonder how long it had been there. We saw trucks that had no business being so close to train tracks, but they looked like they had been there for some time, so I guess no one cared enough to move them. So many things that seemed to have a story or history of some kind linked to it. It was paradise for me, I could have walked forever there.

I'm so glad that it was one of our ports to explore. Next time though, I would love to take the 8 hour train ride instead of the 3 hour one and make it into Canada to learn a little more about the great Klondike gold rush. Maybe I'll just have to get over my aversion to history books and read a little more about it. After all, I was there once.