Skagway

We woke up late again. We had poptarts, bananas, and yogurt for breakfast and then prepared to head out. We left two of the three books we'd finished at the campground office lobby for others.

In Whitehorse, we went to the car/camper wash and came out with a clean camper. It was a beautiful drive to Skagway. We drove through a mountain area and were above the treeline for a while. Then, the plunge down from the White Pass ended at US Customs. We were pulled over and inspected, and the agent dumped my dozen eggs. They were not in the original carton but in a plastic carrier, so I think it was a bird flu precaution.

We are in the Garden City RV Park. We have electricity, and there are showers and a pretty nice laundromat on site. We set up camp and walked into the old part of town about 7 blocks away. Many places are run by the Narional Park service.

In 1896, gold was discovered in the Klondike region of the Yukon. In 1898, a ship docked in the US carrying a large quantity of gold, and after this news, the crowd went wild. Over 100, 000 gold seekers called stampeders arrived here and hiked with a year's worth of supplies over the Chilcoot or the White Trail. Only 30, 000 ever arrived, and they came over several different routes. By the time they arrived, all the claims had been taken, and they had nothing to show for their efforts. Eventually a train was built over the White Pass so the Chilcoot became obsolete.

We watched a movie and walked through town. We stopped at a local pizza place for supper. Tomorrow, we'll do a load of laundry and go see the "dance hall" show in the morning. Tomorrow after lunch, we'll drive out to the beginning of the Chilcoot trail.Læs mere