Another beautiful sunshiny, blue sky kind of day. We have not had rain since Vancouver. Everyone says it is unusual but we are happy! Today’s bus ride takes us into Canada so we need to bring passports. We will go from a temperate 70 degrees into freezing cold and see where the goldrushers walked into the Yukon Territory with their required 1000 pounds of goods. This meant at least 10 trips up a treacherous mountain pass and many did not make it. I wouldn’t want to do it once with no pack!

On the way we were so fortunate to see these black bears foraging on the side of the road – a mother with her two cubs! This was not too far out of Skagway and she was quite unconcerned about the bus.

Notice the lupines, there are so many flowers here.

Continuing on we progressed through about 5 different climate zones til we were in this inhospitable area much like where the men crossed the mountains. I didn’t get a picture of the actual pass as it was gone before I got the camera ready. And just think – this is SUMMER – they mostly did it in winter when they could take advantage of frozen lakes and rivers to aide their passage!

The area is not without natural beauty with many waterfalls and ponds which freeze clear to the bottom so contain no fish.

Back in Skagway we opted to get off the bus in town and visit a couple of museums to learn more about the history of the area and actually see the display of the goods required for the aspiring gold seekers to attempt entry to the Klondike. It’s amazing to me that any of them made it and sad to realise that very few that did, achieved the level of success they expected.

The town is about half made up of jewelry stores as has been the case of the other towns we have stopped at, too. The other half is mostly touristy junk shops with at least one saloon with the requisite “brothel girls” and photo ops.

Back on the ship, we attended afternoon tea, which is offered every afternoon and is somethng I have wanted to try. A formal high tea served with a musical background – quite elegant!

After dinner we attended the evening’s theater offering which was another comedy show starring Kevin Jordan a former LA police officer who has been on Comedy Central. He was SO funny! One of the lounges had a local entertainer doing a musical journey of folklore, songs and poetry of the area. We could only see a little of that as they overlapped. There is so much to do sometimes it is hard to choose!

Tags: Alaska, Travel