Rain Rain Go Away

Drove to Skagway Friday morning to meet my cousin who was making a stop there on his way to Whittier Alaska on a Princess Cruise Line. Unfortunately the weather was rainy, rainy so the drive there was a bit boring. Instead of mountains I saw rain clouds. The White Pass was extremely socked in, so the drive was very slow.

But, alas I arrived. The first thing we did was shop. His wife needed warmer clothing than she brought, so we went into a local sports store and she picked up a fleece vest and long sleeved shirt. Second thing we did was snack and drink coffee. Shop & eat, two of my favourite things!

Clouds or no clouds, we hopped on the White Pass & Yukon Route narrow gauge railroad (the one I used to be dispatcher for) and took the summit tour, which is a 3 hour ride from Skagway, elevation 0, up to the White Pass Summit, elevation 2865 feet or 888 metres (remember the fog I drove through up there ... yup, still the same unfortunately). The ride was still very interesting for the guests and below the summit, the scenery was visible.


They were travelling with friends so I flicked a pic in front of the parlor car we rode in. Made our way to the Red Onion Saloon - established in 1898, it was originally a dance hall and bordello - for appies and Alaskan Brewing Company refreshments.

We meandered over to our dinner spot via some shops (saw the $26,000 totem pole which was already purchased by some [rich] individual) and supped at The Starfire restaurant, the new Thai food eatery that everyone in Whitehorse is talking about - one word about that restaurant - EXCELLENT.

I then bade them farewell as they had to board their cruise ship and made my way back home. Interestingly for the first 110 km, the only things I saw were 2 bicycle riders, one black bear and one big rock in the middle of the road. I did have one truck pass me between Carcross and the Alaska Highway, but didn't really see cars till I hit the AK Hwy. Still raining but made it home safe and sound.