Carcross, Yukon and Skagway, Alaska

We decided to go to Alaska for Bill's birthday, June 11th. So, while still staying in Whitehorse, we headed south on the South Klondike Highway to Carcross, Yukon Territory and Skagway, Alaska. Despite heavy rain now and then, it was a great day!


An information sign along the way told us that the gorgeous blue-green color of the water in many of the lakes is caused by sunlight reflecting off marl (a white calcium carbonate clay) at the bottom of the lake. This is Emerald Lake.


We had a lot of fun with Barkley in the Carcross Desert, also called the Carcross Dunes. An information sign explains that it's not actually a desert - doesn't have the hot, dry climate of a desert - but the remains of a vast glacial lake that once covered the area. The same sign quotes William Blake:

"To see a world in a grain of sand and a heaven in a wildflower,
hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour."


Barkley, kicking up sand like a horse, to get to his Mister:


And then his little leggies have to rest.


Wildflowers in the Carcross Desert

Yukon Lupines and Wild Roses:








Beautiful Jacob's Ladder and (probably) Long Stalk Starwort:








Wild Roses and Prickly Saxifrage (with beautiful spots):




Entering Carcross, a small town we fell in love with:


An information sign states that many of the buildings in Carcross were moved there from the town of Conrad after it was abandoned. A fire destroyed much of Carcross in 1909, and the general store was rebuilt in 1911 and has been in business ever since. The Matthew Watson General Store:


Motherlode Jewellery, where Karen enjoyed meeting Tanya Kennedy, who designs and makes the gorgeous jewelry she sells. Notice the welcoming tub full of flowers outside.




Here's Tanya working with silver wire.


Bill had a fantastic hotdog at Eddy's Checkpoint.


The retirement home:


















The White Pass & Yukon Route narrow-gauge railroad, that gives folks fantastic up-close views of lakes and mountains, travels between Skagway, Carcross, and Whitehorse. It also has amazing conductors.








Back on the road to Skagway:




Snowcaps and sand dunes:




For a few miles, the terrain changed to mounds of rocky soil with scattered vegetation - and lovely waterfalls.










Truck escape ramp:


US Port of Entry:


Skagway (we couldn't see the tops of the mountains because of the clouds):




A cruise ship in Skagway's port:


Skagway is also a port of entry for goods.


Tourists leaving cruise ships have only a short walk to Skagway's shopping district, with restored buildings and wooden sidewalks. Several shops offer products imported directly from Russia, a couple specialize in items made in Alaska, and one sells beautiful hand-woven fabric goods. It might not be exaggerating to say that every other shop was a jewelry store, with most selling and buying diamonds and gold, and a few dealing in silver and semi-precious gems.






The Historic Skagway Inn with traditional and raised-bed gardens:


A lovely private home:


The Skagway Brewing Co., which offers delicious chile, onion rings, and craft beers:


Skagway is home to the White Pass-Yukon Route narrow-gauge railway. Its railroad was built in two years beginning in 1898, during the Klondike gold rush.


Heading back from Skagway:




A mama and baby black bear along the road:










Another stop in the Carcross Desert:


Back on the road again, we saw a large black bear (cinnamon color), the healthiest looking bear we've seen so far.