CARCROSS TO SKAGUAY (SKAGWAY) AND BACK

This is a big post because this was an amazing trip and I took so many photos that I can't remember where a lot of them were taken. The mountains/scenery are spectacular! There are some places where you turn the corner, and there is another set of mountains, or another view of the ones that you saw 'back there''. The flower for the Yukon is the Fireweed and the bird is the common Raven. A little side story about the flower choice later.

Some observations: The daylight ..now there's an issue. March 23 is equal day/night light. The longest day is June 22. Sept 23 its equal day/night light and then it gets dark. I've seen articles where everyone stays up on Jan 1st just to see the sun rise. The Robins here appear to have a brighter red breast and more noticeable ring around their eye. The Fireweed plant is shorter but the flowers are brighter and darker in color than the ones I'm used to seeing in BC.

Yukon Background ..short version

The Yukon's major industry is mining (lead, zinc, silver, gold, asbestos and copper). The federal government acquired the land from the Hudson's Bay Company in 1870 and split it from the Northwest Territories in 1898 ..to fill the need for local government created by the population influx of the gold rush. This is how is looked before

The territory's name probably comes from the word “Yu-kun-ah” meaning “great river.” In 1846, chief trader John Bell of the Hudson's Bay Company canoed down the Porcupine River to where it meets the Yukon River. The rivers in this Territory are spectacular. Just as impressive as the ones in Russia we saw. The Yukon's history is based (pretty much) on the Gold Rush that started in 1888. Just about all the towns we visited are connected to the gold rush and most people have 'disappeared' but the towns/cities are all still there. Case in point, Keno City. It was a city, now, it has a population of 25..maybe.

With the influx of people, some of the First Nations were displaced and their way of life was drastically changed. The Indian Act came in 1876 where the Feds set out the laws to govern the Indian bands. The Indians never gave up their land, it was just kinda taken over and they have been in negotiations with the government to settle their claims. In 1993 - 2005, the final agreements to the land claims were agreed to. 11 of the 14 Yukon First Nations have signed final agreements and have self governing rights. Known as Treaty 11, .. the last of the numbered treaties with the Federal Government. 3 First Nations are still in negotiations and live under the Indian Acts ''rules''. This land truly belongs to the First Nations. It was strange to be in my own country and listen to other languages that vary from town to town or area to area ..and it wasn't French. There are 8 main Indigenous languages spoken in the Yukon: Gwichʼin, Hän, Kaska Dena, Northern Tutchone, Southern Tutchone, Tagish, Tlingit, and Upper Tanana. The main language spoken in the Carcross area is Tagish and Tlingit.

Carcross/Tagish

We stayed in Carcross at the RV place on the highway, across from the Haa Shagoon Hidi Learning Centre. They were holding the 37th Annual Hand Games. Handgames is a Dene tradition that has gained popularity among many First Nations. It consists of two six-player teams facing each other on a mat, with one team hiding 1 token (usually a small rock and the "shooting team" guessing which player has it. Winning teams earn game sticks, needing a best-of-three result to win. 1st prize was $40,000. We saw these games played in the NWT last year. It's really interesting. The drumming is a part of it and its like a heart beat.

Carcross was originally called Caribou Crossing. Its located on the shores of Lake Bennett. About 300 population. The driest month is April and the wettest is August. Trust me, we have experienced August. This is the town that the White Pass & Yukon Route offers train service to Skagway. And what a spectacular train trip it was. We took the train down and the bus back.

In 1904, Bishop Bompas petitioned the government to change the name to Carcross because of confusion in mail services due to duplicate names in Alaska, BC and the Klondike. Carcross was a place for gold ''stampeders'' on their way to the goldfields. It was also a major stop on White Pass & Yukon Route railroad until 1982. I will post Carcross photos, then the train trip down to Skagway and back by bus to Carcross.

Downtown Carcross. The crests are are representative of First Nations Clans.

The train station with lots of brick and brack

The Carcross Desert. This is the worlds smallest desert and International Biophysical Programe site for ecological studies. The desert is composed of sandy lake bottom material left behind by a large glacial lake. Strong winds off Lake Bennett make it difficult for vegetation to take hold here. The dunes are used by locals for sandboarding. Cool! Tourist groups also use the area for off-road scenic tours, summer activities include beach volleyball, hiking, skydiving, and all terrain vehicles. In the winter, the area is used mainly for cross-country skiing and snowboarding...as opposed to Sandboarding.

On the side of a home. I want a mural on mine. I love murals.

At the bakery. Cinnamon buns were $10. We had a coffee..no buns

the shore of Lake Bennett. This is where the Stampeders ended up..but..they started at the other end of Bennett working their way up to carry on to the Yukon River.

The SS Tutshi was constructed in 1917 to accommodate an increasing number of tourists. Tourism declined during WWI but later rebounded and the sternwheeler was expanded three times in order to meet the demand for staterooms. In 1925 the Tutshi was converted from wood to oil to preserve the quiet during night-time stops. It was almost restored when in 1990 it caught fire.

Still in use at the Caribou Hotel

The White Pass & Yukon Route

Okie dokie, lets get on this train to Skagway. Pretty exciting. I love trains and this trip promises to be spectacular viewing. And it is.

At Lake Bennett. We had a 25 minute stop so we jumped off and ran up the Chilkoot trail and took what photos we could. They said ''when that whistle blows you have 10 mins and we wait for no one.''

The Chilkoot trail is a 53km trail that stretches from Dyea, Alaska to Bennett. It is the international border between the U.S. and Canada. The other pass people took was called the White Pass. Hence the name of the train.

aarrr Billy, have you ever seen an outhouse on wheels?

taking it all in and trying to imagine what it was like 'back then'

a restaurant in its hay day, brought down from Carcross on a barge

at the other end of this lake is Skagway

git yer butt back here the whistle has blown

I rode most of the way on the back of the caboose for better photos. Old buildings ..if the walls could talk

stunning views

pulling into Fraser

The Northwest Mounted Police cabin. A sign we are crossing into Alaska

the official boarder with the U.S. at the height of land.

one of many tunnels.. with a tiny door at the back

our 1st view of Skagway ..the water view

SKAGWAY ..OR SKAGUAY?

Skagway, with a population of around 1000 is located at the northernmost point of the Inside Passage in SE Alaska or 103km from Whitehorse. The streets have wooden boardwalks, and most of the buildings look like they did 125yrs ago. Alaska is known as the land of the Midnight Sun. Depending where you are in the north, Skagways daylight hours range from 6hrs in Dec to 18 in Jun/July then fall back each month. It is known as the 'sunshine capital' of Alaska because it only gets 27" of rain a year.. and the 18hrs of sun. Skagway is the jumping off spot for the White Pass and Yukon Route to Lake Bennett and the other route to Lake Bennett was from Deya..only 10 miles away and the jumping off spot for The Chilkoot Trail. 2 completely different trails. More on these trails later.

nice engine ..nice looking train

some of the houses and some of the stuff the people have in their yards are pretty eclectic ..or is it eccentric?

I rest my case

no birds, just cages

and only 2 cruise ships in! Thank goodness because the streets were full. One local said that most days they have 4 or 5 in with up to 2500+ people per ship. Anything over 150 on a ship is still too many for me.

This is the Visitor Info Centre. It was built in 1899 as a fraternal order for the Arctic Brotherhood. They figure its the most photographed building in Alaska. The exterior is covered with 8,883 pieces of driftwood.

I lost the 'walking tour' notes..can't remember what it is but it is an original building

3 guesses of what this is

One of the main streets. The bus just happened to be driving buy. Its 5 bucks and it drops you off anywhere you want within the town limits. It could have been fun to do and just ride all day but... (Actually we did that in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and it was very interesting ..cheap way to see the town ..and meet the bus driver)

Choose your route

There were 2 ways to get to the gold fields: 1. The Chilkoot trail from Deya or 2. The White Pass from Skagway. They towns were 10 miles apart but each trail was unique.

Chilkoot Trail: shorter, steeper, old established trail, prone to avalances, difficult for horses

Deya..10 miles from Skagway

The White Pass Trail: less steep than the Chilkoot, can use pack horses, so you don't have to hire packers, its crowded, rains a lot and this can make the trail muddy and impassible.

Broadway was a street in Skagway ..not a place

Well, lets not forget winter. You know you get a lot of snow when you need this piece of equipment!

The blades were 10'. The snowplow was pushed by 2 locomotives behind the plow. The caboose was for the office and train crew.

Going 'home' to Carcross by bus from Skagway the same day.

The scenery is spectacular! Around every corner, a new scene. Some of the most beautiful I have ever seen. Having said that, I love the mountains, rivers, and lakes the best.

An inuksuk or inukshuk is a type of stone landmark or cairn built and used by Inuit, other peoples of the North American Arctic. The inuksuk may historically have been used for navigation, as a point of reference, a marker for travel routes, fishing places, camps, hunting grounds, places of veneration, drift fences used in hunting, or to mark a food cache. The Iñupiat in northern Alaska used inuksuit to assist in the herding of caribou into contained areas for slaughter. Varying in shape and size, the inuksuit have ancient roots in Inuit culture. Steve and I built one at the Arctic Circle when we went through the 1st time. On our way back we stopped to see if it was still standing..it wasn't so we built another one. Yes, there is more to this story but you will have to stay tuned to the 'rest of the story'.