Juneau - Skagway - Carcross - Little Atlin

Bove Island

Monday morning Mr. X, his mom and I boarded the Columbia at 2:45 am. I had reserved an outside cabin for us so we spent the majority of the ferry ride sleeping. Mr. X and I had weird ferry/cruise dreams.

Our route had us stopping in Haines so that's where we got up for breakfast in the cafeteria. During our breakfast, the crew performed a bomb scare drill which included finding two devices, evacuating passengers and launching the lifeboats. One of the cooks stopped and talked to us. He said he found the bomb a couple weeks ago - it was a box with wires coming out of it. He made the mistake of picking the device up and then the crew had to practice detonation drills which included closing all water tight and fire suppression doors.

cafeteria

our shower and toilet

restaurant

solarium

I think if I have a choice I will pick the Columbia. The boat is one of the nicest in the fleet and everything is clean and comfortable.

We finally arrived in Skagway at 1 pm.

And we had to hit a couple of sites: the Yukon White pass railroad and the Chilkoot trail visitor's center.

Here's a stampeder with all his gear.

We needed to be at Little Atlin by 6 pm and I'd forgotten about the time change so we quickly left Skagway on the South Klondike Hwy. Honestly, I wasn't disappointed - we've been to Skagway three times in three years.

We crossed the boarder into Canada, set our watches to the new time zone and continued on to Tutshi lake

 Tutshi lake

We pulled off the highway for a few pictures along the way and then stopped in Carcross to look at Bennett Lake and a "retirement home" shack for Mr. X's mom. She was really excited about it.

Emerald Lake

After we spotted Emerald Lake we turned back to the Tagish road and drove through some of the most lovely fall colors. Before too long we turned onto Atlin road and found our way to the Little Atlin Lodge where we were staying for two nights. We enjoyed our dinner and then watched the sunset on the lake.

Little Atlin Lake



Skagway

In the morning, Mr. X and I broke camp and headed to town for showers and to pick up train tickets. Then we headed to the cabin for breakfast. Everyone there was already showered and had eaten so we soon headed out to the Dyea townsite.

Grandpa grabbed his trekking poles so that he could hike the first 15 feet of the Chilkoot trail - a highlight for him.

Next we walked through part of the Dyea townsite. We saw an old rowboat and warehouses moldering away into the earth. In a few years there will be no evidence of the town at all. After a quick picnic lunch in downtown Skagway, it was time for Gram, Grandpa and Mom to board their train. We bought them one way tickets to Fraser, B.C. and planned to meet them on the other side of the border.

Mr. X and I drove over the White pass and had no trouble getting past customs. The train arrived shortly and we were told they saw a brown bear and mountain goats.

From there we drove to Log cabin and to the Welcome to the Yukon sign, then back to Skagway. Gram and Grandpa spent some time shopping for momentos and we toured the Klondike national park museum.

By now it was raining. After a taco dinner at the cabin, Mr. X and I drove back out to Dyea for the night. It was still early so we stopped at the Slide Cemetery to see the headstones of those stampeders who perished in the April 3rd avalanche.

After all that driving I was exhausted. I feel asleep in the back of the car and only woke up to help Mr. X pitch the tent.