The main street in Skagway, the gateway to the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898. Not much of the original town left now, most long gone over the years in fires and floods. But now a street of tacky tourist shops with everything at ridiculously inflated prices.
A town built on GOLD - first discovered in 1896 by George Carmack with Skookum Jim and Dawson Charlie. They found a few flakes in Bonanza Creek in the Klondike which triggered the Klondike Gold Rush.
The Red Onion Saloon, built in 1897, was the main dance hall, saloon and brothel of the Gold Rush era. It is still open today where you can take a brothel tour for $10 or simply have a beer and a bite to eat.
The start of the Gold Rush 1896. We were intrigued by the history, lots of interpretive boards around the town to read and have since bought a book on the Klondike Gold Rush. The second time we were here we took a tour over the White Pass into the Klondike.
Gold prospectors. The town would have been full of them, all looking for their fortunes.
Bye bye Skagway, loved every minute x
Our ship, Sapphire Princess, docked at the end of the High Street. Totally obscene I know !
A few original buildings still stand in a side street in Skagway The Brass Pic is a brothel built in 1898. No bigger than our garden shed ! Bet the walls can tell some tales of the gold rush !
Skagway River where we walked on our first visit here. All we saw was one spotted sandpiper ! So we headed up into the forest, lots of birds but we had to be totally on our guard for bears. Eventually reaching a private sign and the footpath was closed (why would America be any different from here in the UK). Was chatting to a local who openly carried a gun because it was 'bear time'. So we found a bench and sat and watched the world go by. There is s steam train trip that can be taken here, from Skagway up to the White Pass Summit but at $150 each for an hours trip we gave that a miss and booked a bus trip instead that followed the exact same route for half the price and took 6 hours !
White Pass Summit
What a fantastic day trip out of Skagway all the way to Carcross in the Yukon. We passed the Gold Rush Cemetary where Gold Rush gangster Soapy Smith and Frank Reid are both buried. Then up the mountain towards White Pass Summit on the US / Canada border then onto Carcross. Our guide was full of Gold Rush stories and info and certainly filled us with all the gory details of the life that was. An excellent day out and just look at that blue sky xx
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