2024-08-19: Dogs, Trains, and Disappointment

It was another ungodly early morning. We were up at 5:30am to get ready for the day. We had a 6:45am tour in Skagway today. We got ourselves cleaned up and had a quick breakfast in the Windjammer before grabbing our gear and heading to the theatre to check in for our tour. They were running a little behind this morning so we waited in the theatre for a good twenty to thirty minutes before they called our group to disembark the ship.

The weather was nice this morning. It was a little cool around 15 degrees Celsius, but it was sunny. We walked along the pier to where our bus was waiting for us. There had been a landslide onto the pier since we were in Skagway last so they’ve set up shelters along the pier we were docked at to protect from future slides. You can also only walk part way down the pier before they make you board a shuttle bus to take you the rest of the way. We didn’t need to talk the shuttle bus since our tour bus was parked at the shuttle stop. We boarded the bus for a short drive just on the far edge of Skagway to a place called Alaska 360.

We were welcomed by one of the Alaska 360 staff and taken to a small theatre area where they had some sled dog equipment. We were given a short presentation by a woman named Therese about sled dogs and the Iditarod race. She and her husband have been raising sled dogs for 25 years and have raced in several of the Iditarod races. She explained how the route changes between even and odd years to involve more communities in the race. She showed us some of the equipment they wear for the races including the massive boots they wear. She also explained how they control the sled. It was quite interesting.

After seeing the equipment and hearing about the races, they took us to a kennel area where they keep their dogs. They have a viewing area with a bit of a runway that the dogs can run back and forth along. They let out a few of the dogs to say hi. We were able to pet them which was fun. It made us miss Scout and Wicket back home. Then they hooked up six dogs to a sled and gave a quick demonstration of how they pull the sled along a gravel track they have set up. They moved fast! In a race like the Iditarod, they have another 10 dogs hooked up for a total of 16 dogs pulling. Then the climax of the event. They brought out puppies! They brought out about six puppies that must have been about 8 or 10 weeks old. They let us hold them and play with them for a few minutes which was amazing.

After they made sure none of us had stolen any of the puppies, they directed us to their bathrooms and gift shop/snack bar. We were heading on a bus ride and then the White Pass railroad where there would be no food and less fancy bathrooms. We grabbed a couple of snacks and hit the bathroom before re-boarding our bus.

Our bus driver took us a drive for about an hour along the Klondike Highway. This took us across the border back to Canada. It was interesting to see the scenery change from a coastal rainforest to subarctic tundra. The scenery was beautiful. Our drive ended at Fraser, BC which is actually only accessible via the Yukon. A Canada Border Services agent came through the bus and checked our passports before letting us off the bus. The White Pass train was waiting for us at the train station beside the border station. We said goodbye to our bus driver for the time being and boarded the train.

The White Pass Railroad is a narrow gauge train that was built during the gold rush to transport miners and equipment from the coast to the gold mines in the klondike. It was built between 1898 and 1900. We admired the views as the train took us over 27 miles back across the border to Alaska and back to Skagway. The train skirted the cliffs over the valley for most of the trip which gave us awesome views of the mountains and valley below.

When we arrived in Skagway, a US Border agent came through the train and checked our passports again before we could leave the train. We met up with our bus driver again who was going to drive us back to the pier. We decided not to board the bus and to take a walk through Skagway to the pier instead. We explored some of the tourist shops along Broadway Street and picked up some souvenirs. Patrick wanted a shirt from the Del Sol store, but they didn’t have the shirts he liked in his size unfortunately. There is another Del Sol store in Ketchikan, so hopefully he can find one there. As we were walking along the street, the wind picked up and clouds rolled in. As we reached the end of Broadway street it started to sprinkle on us.

We made our way back to the ship around 1:30pm. We grabbed a bite to eat at the Windjammer and then relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Darrell and Amanda had a short nap. The ship left Skagway at 5:00pm. We grabbed some dinner in the Windjammer at 5:30pm in preparation of our arrival in Haines at 7:00pm. Shortly after 6:00pm, we saw the ship approaching Haines. It seemed to approach the dock and then back away. It was fairly windy and they maneuvered the ship around for about half an hour which we felt was probably not a good sign. Sure enough, at 6:45pm the Captain announced that they could not safely dock in Haines due to the high winds. Darrell and Amanda were very disappointed as this was the only port on the itinerary that they hadn’t been to before. But, safety of the ship has to come first. We had an evening wildlife canoe safari excursion booked. In all the cruises we’ve done, this is the first time we’ve had a port cancelled on us.

With an unplanned free evening on the ship, we just relaxed and enjoyed the ship. We wandered through the shops on board. Darrell and Amanda watched the Love and Marriage game show in the theatre before calling it a night.