Skagway, AK, White Pass train & Yukon, Canada 2010

I booked a tour with Dyea Dave and our van was all cruise critic friends and not crowded at all. Dave was great. With all the reviews about him, I was prepared for a long day of groans with bad tired jokes. Maybe he was on his best behavior that day, but we all really enjoyed him as a tour guide. He really took every effort to keep ahead of the big tour buses and to stop at just the right spot for the perfect photo ops. He was very knowledgeable and informative on our ride to the Yukon. Highly recommend him!

We did see a black bear beside the road, a marmot, magpies and Canadian Geese. The drive was beautiful and we stopped at Carcross to buy our White Pass Railroad tickets from Fraser back to Skagway. Unfortunately the Cinnamon Cache had closed and she was trying to sell her business. We ate at the Spirit Lake Lodge, which was an experience in itself. Dave warned us about the owner. Said she liked things to go her own way and as long as we all did as we were told everything would be fine. Let’s just say that the experience had us all remembering the Seinfeld episode of the “Soup Nazi” We would have loved to have tried the Dutch pancakes, but we were all told we could not order off the menu and could choose from the pre-made sandwiches, soup and pie. The pie was very good and it definitely was an interesting dining experience. (chalked it up to the local “charm”)

arrival in port

walking to meet the tour

Dave gave us a tour of the town before heading out

we stopped here for a short film of Skagway & Gold Rush era

starting the drive to Carcross

Skagway river valley

William Moore Bridge

Sawtooth Mountains

traveling the 12 miles into the Yukon before customs

Tutshi Lake almost 10 miles long

Dyea Dave

black bear retreating from the road

Bove Island

standing in the fireweed....

entering Carcross

Marmott

bought our train tickets for Fraser return to Skagway

view behind the lodge

Spirit Lake Lodge

Dave helping serve

waiting to order from the "soup nazi"

Emerald Lake

a stop at the Carcross Desert

we did a walk to pick blueberries

Bove Island

As much as we hated to leave Dave we opted for the White Pass Railroad back to Skagway. It was a fun experience on the narrow gauge tracks and we spent the whole trip outside on the viewing platforms. Beautiful views!

Dyea Dave

our train arriving

entertainers were leaving as we got on

inside train

kayaks

The train ahead of us

Gold Rush Cemetery (graves of Soapy Smith & Frank Reind & others)

Dave had already given us a tour of the town and was waiting for us as we got off the train. He then would take us back to the ship or drop us in town. We opted to stay in town, found some ice cream and made our way to the Red Onion Saloon. Very enjoyable day here with great weather!