Gemini Rising

Looking for Sarah Palin #2

The Rugged Outdoors



Skagway is a town near Glacier Bay. It’s in the southeast arm tucked in the Inside Passage. It has a Gold Rush history. Prior to 1887, Native Americans (Tlingit tribe) lived in the area and established the Chilkoot trail. This was a steep trail which began at sea level and climbed several thousand feet into British Columbia. They used it as a trading route to Yukon.

The Chilkoot trail was very steep and not recommended for animals. It was a 33 miles trail from Skagway, AK to Bennett, British Columbia. When Gold was discovered in the Yukon Territories, many a gold rusher would take this steep trail. You can still hike this trail today.

A less steep, trail, White’s Pass, was developed as thousands to gold rushers flooded the area seeking their fortune. Soon, in the early 1900’s the White Pass and Yukon Railroad was built, making passage that much easier but the route is a narrow gage rail and there are many tight curves. There’s no more gold rushers, but the railroad still takes tourists up the twisty and curvy route.

Who knew?

Well, I got up at 7 am and walked to my balcony and discovered the cruise ship was snuggled up against a granite cliff. We had the whole day in Skagway.

We got off the ship early and walked on over to Skagway proper. There was a lot to do in the middle of the town/tourist area and it was swamped from 3 or 4 cruise ships. There was no gang plank, so we had to take a shore boat to the docks.

The Klondike Gold Rush National Park was down there, but none of us realized it. We just followed the flow of the crowd. Soon we discovered the Red Onion Saloon. In 1897, it was brothel, but now it was just a place to eat and drink with a lot of ambience. We didn’t go in because the line was loooong. We continued to walk around town, and I found the Alaska Christmas store. I just had to go in. Who doesn’t love Christmas?



Sorry, no pictures inside but they had some awesome ornaments, and I must have bought at least 4!

After that, Andy and I found the Fry Dough place. Again, another line out to the door, but it went fast, and we really wanted to try to the Fry Dough! It was delicious. Brent had some coffee from the local place next door.

I got some sticker souvenirs, and we made our way back to the Train station. We must have waited for about 30 mins before it was time to get on the train. We were going to ride the White Pass train to the Canadian border and then come back. It was a 2.5 hour ride. We learned how the railroad was built alongside White’s pass. The train went from sea level to 3,000 feet and there were lots of twists and turns. It was a nice ride. The views were amazing and I’ll share a few here.





We finished around 5 pm and got back on the ship. We had dinner at the Italian specialty dining place which just blew me away with its selection. I had veal cutlets. Afterwards I went to the cabin and relaxed. The sunset around 10 pm which was wild to me.

I would definitely go back to Skagway again and spend a leisurely amount of time checking out the shops and the area . Believe it or not, when Sarah Palin was just a few months old, her family moved to Skagway and she spent a good amount of her childhood in Skagway before her family moved to Anchorage. After seeing the woods, the water, and the hills of Skagway, I can definitely see where Sarah Palin gets her “outdoorsyness” from. I didn’t find her in Skagway, but there was time…

Next: Glaciers.

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I thought I'd share this You Tube Clip. In it, Sarah Palin, 42 yrs old, takes the oath of office for Governor of Alaska. She choose to be inaugurated in Fairbanks, Alaska, and not in the capital of Juneau. It's a 10 minute clip, but in it, she appears poised and ready to tackle the job in front of her. She's very endearing in this clip.