Gold Rush Gateway

We made it to Skagway, Alaska the easy way, going downhill in our van from the 3000 foot pass. The “stampeders of 1897” had to climb it 30-40 times to haul their ton of supplies to the top in order to pass the Canadian Mounties who also collected some tariff tax.
There were three huge cruise ships in port and the streets were crawling with overweight tourists. We took the recommendation of the RV park manager and ate at the Skagway Fish Company down on the wharf. It was spendy, but delicious.

It seems weird to be in the United States after traveling north for three days through British Columbia and Yukon Territory. We saw no wildlife today. The scenery today was spectacular with hundreds of lakes, raging icy rivers, and towering glacial covered mountains. The drop down into Skagway was breathtaking. There were numerous rivers flowing almost vertically down the cliffs. The terrain is very rocky, probably from ancient glacial scouring.

We have decided that tourist traps are not our thing. We will go back to the lonely highways with the truckers and bikers. The forests are spruce, lodgepole pine, larch, aspen, and birch. The roadsides have bunches of beautiful purple flowers.Oh yes, gasoline is still $5 Canadian per gallon ($1.24 per liter). Janeil has cooked some great meals on the trip. I’ve dumped the contents of the pantry a couple of times when I pulled off the road at rest stops, but otherwise we’re doing great as elderly road warriors.