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  3. TRAVEL 2014
  4. CRUISE TO ALASKA!

SKAGWAY

The adventure continues......and the train ride which wasn't......
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View from our room between Juneau and Skagway.
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View from our room between Juneau and Skagway.

aaaviewfromroomheadingtowardskagway

  • View from our room between Juneau and Skagway.
  • Untitled photo
  • We are being followed by Grand Princess, and a Disney Cruise Line ship behind that. Yes, this is a black and white shot. Compare this with the previous one and you may agree that with the subdued contrast and colors, the black and white gives a more interesting shot.<br /> <br /> Disney must have been hidden behind Princess in the previous shot, I guess.
  • Haines, prior to sunrise. Now we are starting to get some interesting colors.
  • There was such a long twilight, both at sunrise and sun set (this is approaching sunrise here). I would think that the sun was about to show itself, and then over the next 30 minutes or so it would just drift further south, but refuse to peak above the horizon for the longest time.
  • One of MANY waterfalls along our route.
  • A hanging glacier as we approach Skagway.
  • And here is Bev in Skagway! The ship seems mighty huge when you stand next to it.
  • The number one tourist attraction in Skagway is a narrow guage train running on a route laid out in 1898. From what I see and hear, it looks like it would be a spectacular ride, with the rail grade rising nearly 3,000 feet in just 20 miles. You can see more about it at the following link: <a href="http://wpyr.com/">http://wpyr.com/</a><br /> <br /> Odd story, though. Let's start 4 years ago, when Bev, Paul, Zac, Bri, and I were driving through Colorado. We stopped at Silverton, Colorado, where I wanted to photograph THAT narrow guage train when it arrived in town on its daily run from Durango. Well, after waiting and waiting, I finally asked one of the locals when the train would pull into town. He informed me that it would not run that day because there had been avalanches over the rail the previous night.<br /> <br /> Now fast forward to our cruise: We had tickets for the White Pass Railway to take us up to the summit. However, upon boarding the Oosterdam in Juneau (the night prior to getting to Skagway), we heard the captain speaking over the intercom, stating that the train would not be running on the day we were arriving in Skagway because it had derailed while we were in Juneau.<br /> <br /> It's my understanding that there were only minor injuries, and I believe that the train ran again the day AFTER we left. But it seems like a couple of kinda odd coincidences!<br /> <br /> Anyhow, I would like to get back up there sometime and experience that train!
  • Well, if the train is not going to run, maybe I'll head for a mining expedition with my new bronze friends here.
  • Interesting store front on Skagway's main street.
  • Looking back down the street toward the boat dock. That's the Disney Cruise ship you see at the end of the street. The Oosterdam is to your left, way out of sight. And no, I don't know the family to your right. Cute though, aren't they?<br /> <br /> On leaving Skagway, we'll head for a true highlight of our journey and a place I have wanted to see ever since I can remember wanting to see anyplace: Glacier Bay was every bit as magnificent and spectacular as I expected it to be. But you'll have to wait until the NEXT album to see that!

  • t

    on August 25, 2014

    ...looks fine ta me, and looks like the sun 'might' appear yet!!...

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