dyeadave

Sooooo, I sit here in Skagway, under definite quarantine, and with all of this time on hand I do find some people are using the word indefinite.....but if you read on past the headline, it is anything but that as you read the ifs and whenevers in the declaration of the day......I will stand by for further fulminating.....

DD

So, where in this have I missed the " indefinitely" suspension!?!

Please, we have enough panic in all this already, without making it up in the headline.

Perhaps you need to seek employment with The NY Times!

DD

About three years ago, I left my lovely home, here in Alaska, bound for unknown treatments, outside, where I was told, on three different occasions, that it was "over,"  for me!

Each time, I found my way back here, to find that it isn't "over," just yet?!?

This is just another speed bump, in life, and you should just pursue the dream.

Alaska is still here and worth whatever it takes to get here, whenever. I haven't had a bad day yet, because I know the future! (NOT the market nor the weather......)

Lately, in life, I have found solace in watching opera, but I still avoid watching the final, when the " large lady" takes center stage 😳

Hope you find us here!

DD

When you arrive,there is unlimited free parking.

if you are with some of the truly local, independent, tour companies, who stop there, they may even comp your entry fee for you!

Then, the hardest part of waiting for a sled ride might be extra puppy petting! 

(Yes, this place still allows/encourages contact with the puppies with no time limit!)

Okay, now I am really confused!?!?

I just spent a little time on a holdover in Juneau and had quite a discussion with the mayor of Haines. She was just returning from a conference with some cruise people and she pointedly  professed that HAL was not stopping in Haines, starting this year!?

She was quite relieved that another cruise line was ready to pick up on this deletion by HAL.

We shall see, I guess?

On the original topic, I was just going to suggest something similar, involving dogs, etc. which you might access from Skagway, with a scenic tour thrown in and for a little less money.

This is still possible. From Haines etc.

DD

Are you stopping in Skagway?

DD

So, just another good reason to depart from Vancouver and sail inside.

DD

In Skagway, a couple of the docks have enough space where you can get a picture of your ship as background as well as the glacier and mount Harding if the day is clear.

I do this shot for people, frequently , usually in the morning.

DD

Alaska is about the ports, not the ship!

go out of Vancouver with princess or HAL (glacier bay permits), These ships stay inside, take less time on the open ocean, therefore less seasickness and more port times.

mosr of them visit glacier bay.

DD

If this is your only option, first week of June!

DD

Sometimes, in mid to late September, in Skagway, the best viewing of he lights will be prior to the departure time of the ships.

The most important factor then will be cloudless and low moon size.

Then the key thing is to get away from the ship and the light polution of the town.

Next, find a local with reliable vehicle who can transport you out to the train yard/cemetery area  to look for the  lights. (Least light pollution in our area!)

i have done this a few times with moderate success and we haven't missed a ship, yet!?!

i think perhaps gottagocruisin may have seen them from the ship as they rounded the turn down at Haines?

This might be worth staying awake for if the night is clear as you depart Skagway?

DD

Well it all started as Mooresville, if you were getting off of one of the first ships in 1897!

This lasted a few days until they new arrivals decided to change the name to the original of an unwritten Native word which sounded something like Skaguway and meant "home of the north wind".

This manipulation of the moniker of the new municipality really was about wresting control of the original homestead from one William Moore who had designated this place name around 1888 as he awaited the arrival of the argonauts which he predicted to be inevitable. They succeeded!

Shortly, the gummint post office decreed that the U might be offensive to someone, so they shortened the name, since three syllables was a bit much for some of the new residents anyway......

This lasted thru the twentieth century until the arrival of the cruise industry, which recently bought the railroad and now, if you buy the whole package, get on the train at the dock, your docent may well describe the place as trinket town (it has a nice ring to it....)as you go trundling by on your ride up the mountain on the way up the mountain to be returned safely to your ship, thereby avoiding any contact with those shifty real residents.....

But Wait!, didn't they tell us that there are several jewelry "outlets" to be found on TRinket alley, (otherwise known as Fraudway, by the locals)? Let's get real adventurous!

Let's just take a four block bus ride and see about some "shopping" on the strip.....

We'll walk up one side and down the other, of the six short blocks, view some of the forty odd jewelry stores and only go in the ones touted by the ship. They must be safe?!?

Just don't even glance down one of those side streets. There might be locos lurking down there....

We've "done" this place, just get on the bus for the four block ride back to the safety of the ship.

See ya next time Skakaway, (or whatever....)....

Happy sailing.....

Not sure this was in the original question, but since it came up, the Gold Digger restaurant has become my favorite dining out place, in Skagway.

Not historic to the gold rush which created this town but great food!

Ask the owner (or his wife) about the origin of the name of their establishment.

They are always on the premises. She works, he regales......

Quite an amusing tale of two people😁

DD

Just don't go past Emerald Lake and you will be in the safe zone.

in case of breakdown, accident, foolish off-roading, etc., you will be looked after by the next bus coming by, and taken back to your ship. (Even rental cars are held subject to this service!)

we don't want you stranded in our town anymore than you do!

Relax and enjoy the great scenery, and if you are lucky enough to see wildlife, STAY in the car! (This includes all parts of your body!)

Do not feed them, (unless you would wish them dead?)

if a bear comes up to your window, it has probably already been fed by some previous idiot and this bear will have to be killed to save other idiots from harm.......

This is not Disney land. These are wild creatures.

Have a wonderful trip and we hope that you enjoy the nature of things of the north as much as we do!

DD

If you are interested in the Klondike gold rush, the seminal work on that bit of history was done by Tappen Adney, The Klondike Stampede is a reference tome for most subsequent writers re. this era, including PIerre Berton and other more well known writers.

still found in most large libraries.

DD

This a picture taken at the only public boat launch on lake Tutshi which you may visit if you are on the way to Emerald Lake. Tutshi lake starts about forty miles north of Skagway and the road follows the shore of the lake for a few kilometers (you will be in Canada, still in BC, at this point on the South Klondike Hwy)

if you happen to get to this place on a calm day, just be sure to get the shot before the rental car crowd pulls in and the rock skippers just can't restrain themselves and break up this wonderful reflection shot........Judging by the snow on the mountain, this picture was probably taken in May.

None  of the program ship tours stop here because there is nothing sold here to share a commission therefrom.

Summit lake is encountered about thirteen miles north of Skagway and is a popular turnaround for the shorter summit tours.

DD

A lot of the independent tour operators will include this with the train and the trip into the Yukon, but they are hesitant to promote this as a singular destination since some people (especially Canadian tourists) might cry foul when they learn that they never even got into the Yukon Territory when they turn around at the "Yukon suspension bridge"!

This "attraction"is situated securely in British Columbia, a few kilometers shy of the Yukon Territory!?!😳

Caveat emptour!

DD

Just go to the visitors bureau websites in each of the towns where you will be stopping and book directly with the independent businesses which they will be glad to give you the listings for them.

This avoids the added costs of a third party agency/booker and also gives you more recourse with any problem which may arise. (Any  independent company has to be more responsive than some third party agent if the speed bumps occur)

Also, you can query an independent re. what the tour will actually entail. Don't hesitate to ask specific questions, like "how does your tour differ from all others?" You may find that most of them will have some feature on their tour that is not available thru the "package bookers", such as extra stops, or where you can actually chose where to have lunch, ( optional restaurants, with menus), or even choosing the stop where you actually get to hold the puppies, while petting them!

These little things come to those who take the extra time to find the truly independent tours and book directly with them.

Pleasant journeys to you all!

DD

Holland!

departs from Vancouver, (inside waters)

more time in ports

glacier bay!!!!!

see you soon!

DD

Hoonah would probably be best at that time for halibut.

DD

When will you be here? 

DD

If you are talking about the dogsledding tours on the ice, this year, they have been over with for a month!

if you wish to go on a helicopter ride, book it right away, any way that you can, and cross your fingers. This is not a good time for this activity!

DD

We just enjoyed a nice display of "the lights" here in Skagway!

i don't know about all of this tech advice, we just get out to our favorite spot behind the bar where there is the least light interference from both of our street lights and watch from there........

happy viewing to all of you who happen to be in the north.

Expect more pressure to book thru the ship but you can still do it the old way.

just preservere!

A lot of the ships tell you that they dock a 8am, but almost always they are all tied up and letting passengers off by sevenish.

if you have an early tour and they are not docked early, the vendor will usually wait for you!

DD