The Crown Princess arrived early in Skagway which allowed us to tour the charming small town and then later to enjoy our three part Skagway Excursion. As an added bonus the weather was absolutely perfect!
A large touring bus picked us up at the port and we traveled just a several miles to the area where we first learned about Dog Mushing, I think that’s the official title.
Above is a picture of the small main street and a few other small shots of other treasures we found around town. Then there is a picture of me and Mr. Wonderful just off of the cruise ship. This picture does not do justice to the absolutely stunning mountains behind us, you could not have asked for a prettier day.
Once we arrived at our tour location we were treated to a small film about dog mushing and the Iditorod. We were then escorted to a covered area where we met Matt, who is an athlete who has run the Iditorod several times (above left). This gentleman put on a great presentation that taught us what it’s like to prepare and run the Iditorod. Matt was funny, and we all learned a lot about not only what it takes for a human to run this race, but also how much is involved in caring for the dogs.
Next we were taken to another presentation area where we met the dogs who are trained to run the Iditorod. The dogs were all kept behind a small waist high mesh wall, but we were all encouraged to interact with these ‘athletes’.
Then. the stars of the afternoon, the puppies! There was a litter that I believe was eight weeks old, and then these little guys (pictured above) that were two weeks old. Awwwwwww.
Our Mr. Spunky could easily be called the Dog Whisperer. All dogs love this man and the feeling is mutual. He was in heaven holding these two week old babies.
Once the puppies were tucked away, the other dogs were all hitched up to give us a demo of what it is like to pull the sled. As soon as these dogs saw the gear they went N U T S! They got loud! It was very exciting to see them pull the sled around with one of the trainers on board.
We were then led to another area where we were given a presentation about panning for gold. See that character/gold miner above, he gave us a dramatic presentation about how to search for our gold that was going to make us all rich 🙂 .
The best part about this portion of this Skagway Excursion were the kids. You should have seen their faces, they couldn’t get to the mining process fast enough. I’m sure they were all convinced they were going to become millionaires.
Above picture, on the top right, is one of my favorites. For some reason I’ve always had a thing about photographing hands, they just tell a story. Those hands belong to Mrs. Spunky. If you’ve ever read, or heard the wedding poem “These Hands”, you will know why this photo is so important to me.
Within feet of where we were panning for gold was this river. There were several benches right there where I sat and enjoyed this beauty while the others searched for their flecks of gold. Some people are pulled to the beach, I’m pulled to the rivers and lakes.
Next we boarded the bus again and traveled to the train portion of Skagway Excursion. The train took us one and half hours up the mountain and then we turned around and came back down the same way.
Going up the mountain was some of the best mountain scenery I’ve ever sean, it was simply stunning. God’s artwork at it’s best.
We did see a couple of mountain goats, but no other surprises of the animal kind.
Top left photo – we crossed over this VERY high and SKINNY bridge.
Top right photo – where we first boarded the trains there were these painted rocks. We were told that every time a cruise ship gains a new captain, the crew comes in and paints a new rock in their honor. The higher in the stack that the rock is, is apparently how much the captain of the ship is respected by his crew. Gosh I hope I have that story right.
Bottom left photo – we witnessed many water falls and creeks on our way up and down the mountain. I feel very fortunate because we had such amazing weather, we could see for miles. Even while at the top of the mountain we could still see our ship.
Once our group of about forty boarded our train car, we were asked to stay in that particular car and not go to others. You were able to go out on the deck in the front and back of your car (I’m sure that’s the wrong name) to take photos or get some fresh air. Each car had it’s own bathroom, but we learned something funny, don’t go in the bathroom when you know a tunnel is coming up, there are no lights in the restrooms.
At the top of the mountain, and while they were moving the engine, we were given a glass of apple cider and our tour guide proposed a toast. We were then given a simple brown bag of snacks before beginning our trip back down the mountain, but only after our seats were ‘flipped’ over so that we were then facing forwards for the trip down.
Our train was spotless and you could tell great attention had been given to keeping these historic cars at their best. Our tour guide kept in character until the last portion of our ride when he shared his real name, shared his personal story with us, and happily answered any questions we had about Skagway.
I must mention one last thing. We booked this Skagway Excursion directly through Princess and when we were running late coming back I was sure glad we did because the ship waited for us.
Tomorrow we will review some talented Lumberjacks at our last stop in Alaska before heading to Canada.
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