Taking a ride on the White Pass Railroad is a great way to learn about the Klondike Gold Rush and enjoy amazing views of Skagway, Alaska at the same time.
Come aboard and take a ride with us but read this post - Keeping Your Home Safe When You Are Away - before you leave the house.
As we browsed through the list of excursions for each stop of our Alaskan cruise, the White Pass Scenic Railway excursion caught the eye of all three of us girls, me, Sandie and Susan so without hesitation, we booked it. The guys, as usual, were just happy to let us do all the planning.
Our ship was docking from 7:00 to 3:00 this day. We had a couple of hours, before our train ride, to run into the town of Skagway, which is within walking distance from the cruise port. This was our last stop in Alaska and Sandie still needed to buy a few souvenirs. So we made a plan to meet for breakfast early so that we had a couple of hours to shop before our train ride.
Approximately 20 buildings in downtown Skagway have been preserved or restored giving the National Historic District an 1890's atmosphere. The yellow building behind us is one of those buildings. It was, at one time, the railroad administration building. It houses the main museum now and a really nice gift shop.
We walked the entire few blocks of this very small town, did some shopping and then it was time to board the train.
Once we were all comfortably seated and the train was on the move, a tour guide began narrating the story of the Klondike Gold Rush that started in August 1896 when Skookum Jim and his family discovered gold here. We enjoyed the stories as well as the view.
There were many stories about the hazardous and harrowing experiences of the gold seekers as they made their way to the Klondike. People started thinking of a better way to travel and that's how the story of the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad began.
Our guide pointed out Black Cross Rock and told us the story of how two men died during the construction of the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad. After a blast, a huge rock slid down and buried the two men. It was decided that it would be too dangerous and costly to blow up the rock to recover the bodies. A small cross with the names of the men was put on the rock instead.
Our guide also pointed out other sights as we passed by them including the 3,000 foot Bridal Veil Falls.
And this inukshuk, a stone landmark used by the Inuit people.
It was a relaxing, informative and fun ride that got us back with just enough time to board the ship before it left. But since we booked this excursion with Royal Caribbean, we knew they wouldn't leave us.
Good To Know: Booking an excursion with your cruise line takes away the stress of not making it back to the ship on time. The ship will not leave you if your excursion is delayed coming back. If you book on your own and you are late you will be left behind.
Back on the ship, after eating a delicious dinner at Cascades, the main dining room, it was time to get back to work on our Egg Drop creation.
We signed up for the challenge on our first sea day and had been discussing, all week, how we could get an egg to drop to the ground from 5 stories up without it breaking on landing. Tonight was the night to put our plan into action as the competition was happening the next day.
Stay tuned!
Read about our stop in Sitka here.
Have you been on the White Pass Railroad tour in Skagway? What did you think of it? We would love to know!
