Our next port of call would be Skagway, a small town developed when it was discovered there was gold in them thar hills…or mountains of Canada. We took the White Pass & Yukon Railway up to the Summit, learning of the rich history of the land along the way.

Our tall conductor

The train climbed past expansive vistas, colorful wildflowers, through tunnels and over bridges. The cloud cover was low which gave the scenery a spooky feel. Along the way there was constant narration describing some bizarre stories about the lives of railroad builders and gold diggers. The White Pass & Yukon Route climbs from sea level to almost 3,000 feet over a course of 20 miles. It’s amazing that this kind of construction could occur around the turn of the century in such harsh terrain.

A ghost bridge to nowhere…looking even more ghostly in the clouds

The trip takes several hours, returning from the Summit covering the same route but everything looks different traveling the other way. At the top, the engine is moved to the other end of the train and the seats are flipped to face the other direction. Once back in Skagway we returned to the Nieuw Amsterdam and then, later explored the town.

A refresher in The Crow’s Nest before heading back out to explore the town

View of downtown Skagway from the Crow’s Nest on the ship

Ready to head out to Glacier Bay