Skagway vacation

Depiction of the Gold Rush trail

When thinking about how to spend my birthday (early August), planning with friends who have birthdays around the same time had us deciding on a trip out of town.  Of course, "out of town" in Juneau means a flight or ferry ride - no such thing as a driving vacation here.  Since we only had two days (Saturday/Sunday) due to work schedules, we knew we had to consider the small towns in southeast Alaska as our destination.  Coming along for the ride was birthday girl Chris and her husband Bill, birthday boy Bryan and wife Cori and, of course, Bill and I.  Ferry's are slow and, since we only had an overnight to enjoy the town, a decision was made to fly Alaska Seaplanes to Skagway, about a 45 minute flight.  The planes were ultra-small - about seven total passengers - but the scenery was magical as we flew in and out of the mountains following the fjords that make up this part of Alaska.  Bill actually took the co-pilots seat (hands off the controls!) which he has done before when flying in these small planes and we touched down safely mid-morning on a Saturday.  Back in the day, Skagway was filled with saloons and brothels as a gateway to the Yukon during the Gold Rush in 1898 and it still boasts that same "feel" today.  In fact, our first stop was the Red Onion Saloon, a local landmark of dubious reputation!  The place is steeped in history, having served as an actual "house of ill repute" during the Klondike Gold Rush and it looked like we just stepped back in time, filled with dance hall girls in bustiers and a "madam" who was hosting tours of the upstairs "rooms".  Bloody Mary's, martinis and screwdrivers - even "birthday cake" shots (tasted like chocolate cake - not kidding!) - were made more entertaining by our wonderful bartender Dynamite since she was dressed the part of an 1800's saloon girl (the men in our group found the view very pleasant!).  We had seats on the White Pass & Yukon Route railway and the day was turning out to be sunny and very pleasant, so we reluctantly left the Red Onion and waited for our train along the tracks.  A steam train, the WP&YR  was built in 1898 to accommodate all those who needed to get over the mountains to reach the gold fields in the Yukon.  Today, it climbs a steep track that winds around the mountains, goes through two completely dark tunnels and over numerous mind-blowing trestles.  The pamphlet said that travelers could bring food on board and we kind of over-did it - crackers, sausage and cheese, mixed nuts, cookies and candies - even the train staff had to admit that it was a good spread!  The trip up, all twisty and turny with views on every side was great - the trip back down (the same track) was a great time to nap off the drinks from earlier that morning!  Back at sea level, after shopping and touring the downtown area, we settled in for a fantastic dinner at the Chilkoot Dining Room at the Westmark Hotel - prime rib, steak and King Crab with all the trimmings!  Delicious!  Not wanting the evening to end, we spirited some "spirits" out past the train track and up the mountain to a quiet place overlooking the town.  Sometimes it is hard to believe how one can laugh so much at so little, but we managed to stay put until almost too dark to see (remember it is summer in Alaska - land of the midnight sun!).  A very comfortable bed was blissful as we had awakened very early that morning. 

Sunrise (well, more like 10 a.m.) saw us looking for breakfast which was hard to find so we stopped in to our favorite Red Onion Saloon for breakfast in a glass.  Actually, they had just opened and our favorite bartender was tending.  She actually admitted that, when we walked in she thought "oh great - tourists" but then saw that it was us and brightened up considerably.  I have to say there was something "off" about her outfit this morning - still beautiful, she didn't have quite the "oomph" that was evident the day before.  Then, it happened.  Someone behind her tightened the corset strings and ZING there it was!  We took a tour of the upstairs brothel with the madam with the guys joining said madam on the bed (photo op only, please...) before heading out of town to the Gold Rush Cemetery where stones marked the resting place of a number of people who had made their mark during the gold rush days and were instrumental in developing early Alaska.  Back in town, we did a quick pub crawl and had a late lunch on the waterfront before heading to the small airport and our trip back to Juneau.  I'm not sure why people don't travel overnight more often - I'm sure there are plenty of places in your neck of the woods that would be fun to investigate with friends or alone - and YOU can drive to them! 
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