Vancouver

Our last day was spent as sea on the way to Vancouver

Ketchikan

Eagles

While on the water in an amphibious duck vehicle at Ketchikan, we were able to view many different eagles. The eagle without the white on its head is less than five years old. The individual eagle has a drop of water on his beak. They could have not been bothered by us. We were in a harbor at the time and they were just looking for their next meal.

Float Planes

One of the thing that we enjoyed the most about being on the ship and having a balcony room was that you could see life unfold in front of your eyes. The wildlife and people that we saw just went about their business and were not the least bit bothered by the ship. We saw countless fishing boats and float planes all along the trip. It seems that Ketchikan was float plane central.

White Pass

While in Skagway, Peter and I took a train ride up to White Pass. White Pass is the pass that all of the men who were on their way to find gold during the gold rush used. It was very treacherous especially since many traveled through the winter months. Many of them did not survive. For most of the trip, Peter stood at the end of the rail car soaking up the scenery, taking pictures and letting the cool breeze blow in his face. It was a little too cold for me to stay outside but I still had those same great views. The picture that has the little sign Trial of 1898 is a picture of part of the actual trail that the men took while on their quest for gold. It is very, very narrow and they had to walk one behind the other carrying everything they owned. The picture with the five flags is located at the border with Canada and is very near the peak of the pass. There are two pictures of train trestles, one wooden structure that was used until the 1960's and the one that is used today. The huge black and red engine with the auger on the front of it was used to clear the track of snow and ice. This train does not run in the winter because of snow, ice, and rock slides. The conductor and other personnel that work this train are almost all retirees from other railroad jobs. As you can tell by the pictures, Peter is like a little boy when it comes to trains. His eyes light up as if he has just received the best gift under the tree when he is on or near trains. This was one of the two excursions that we booked while on the ship and it was well worth it.

Skagway, Alaska

After cruising all night, the ship docked at Skagway, Alaska at 7:00 a.m. and left a little before 1:00 p.m. so again we knew that we had just a few hours to soak in all of Skagway. While there we took a train ride up to White Pass, ate lunch at a building that was once the oldest brothel in town, mailed a few post cards and of course, walked through a few shops. Skagway is most famous for being the starting place for men who were seeking their fortune in the gold rush of the late 1890s. Like most of the places we docked, tourism is the main industry. Skagway was no different as you can tell by the number of ships at the dock. There are not enough locals to provide all of the man power needed for all of the tourism so college students are brought in to help. The waiter at the restaurant was from California and the man who helped us at one of the shops was retired from working in Las Vegas. He told us that he just pulls a fifth wheel up and works for the summer. Along the board walk there were women dressed as ladies of the evening sitting on second story window ledges promoting their dance hall show by yelling out to prospective customers. We especially enjoyed the train ride to White Pass as you will be able to tell from the next post. While walking back to the shop we saw this little harbor seal all by himself very close to the shore.