Skagway. Like other tourists, there was ONE thing we were going to do (even though we've done it before) - we were going on the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad. Yes, it's super duper touristy, but we liked it so much when we did it last time we decided for our friends that they MUST do it too. And of course we were going to do it with them. I mean, what else are we going to do? Spend 4 hours on Skagway's 2 (very lovely) streets? Our friends have never been to Skagway (or anywhere else in Alaska) before, so of course they had to do the train. I had wanted to take the bus up and the train down (because that tour started an hour later and I'm a lazy ass) but because we left at 5 pm, Chilkoot Charters asked for us to move to the 7:30 am (an ungodly hour I assure you, if one does not have to go to the office) tour where we took the train up and the bus down instead. So that's what we did.
Because we had such an early start we had originally planned to do room service again, but then opted to meet up so we can head out together. As I was the only person who diligently read the Freestyle Daily, I was the only one who knew that we could go to Seven Seas for breakfast where they had an express buffet. Why don't more people take advantage of this? Unlike other cruise lines they don't make you share a table with strangers if you don't want to. We were seated at our own table and headed for the express buffet. It was perfectly fine...honestly, with the exception of the omelet station, I didn't feel like we were missing anything. You could also order from the kitchen, which my dad did when he got his eggs over easy. We met up at Seven Seas at 6:45 am and the food came out quickly. I just had the scrambled eggs from the buffet. They had bacon (yum) and pastries along with fruit, cereal and I'm pretty sure I saw oatmeal. They also had the thick brioche French toast I became enamored with. It was so nice and calm. Really a much better alternative to the buffet. I wish more people took advantage of it, they would have had a less frustrating vacation. We stuffed ourselves because we could and then waddled off the ship because we all ate too much.
Because we had such an early start we had originally planned to do room service again, but then opted to meet up so we can head out together. As I was the only person who diligently read the Freestyle Daily, I was the only one who knew that we could go to Seven Seas for breakfast where they had an express buffet. Why don't more people take advantage of this? Unlike other cruise lines they don't make you share a table with strangers if you don't want to. We were seated at our own table and headed for the express buffet. It was perfectly fine...honestly, with the exception of the omelet station, I didn't feel like we were missing anything. You could also order from the kitchen, which my dad did when he got his eggs over easy. We met up at Seven Seas at 6:45 am and the food came out quickly. I just had the scrambled eggs from the buffet. They had bacon (yum) and pastries along with fruit, cereal and I'm pretty sure I saw oatmeal. They also had the thick brioche French toast I became enamored with. It was so nice and calm. Really a much better alternative to the buffet. I wish more people took advantage of it, they would have had a less frustrating vacation. We stuffed ourselves because we could and then waddled off the ship because we all ate too much.
When we came to Skagway in 2006, I did the unthinkable. I booked our Skagway tour through NCL (gasps of horror ringing through the room). Why? Because they offered a tour that included a salmon bake and I couldn't find an independent tour that did. Yes, that was totally hokey, but who can say no to fresh delicious all you can eat salmon??? Not me. Also, a friend at work raved about the salmon bake she went to (it's all her fault!) so of course I couldn't resist. What's funny? My brother is STILL talking about that salmon bake - and he's not a foodie at all. He actually wanted to know why we didn't go to one on this trip. Actually, I did look into it (because I'm a loving and awesome sister, not because I'm a fat ass who likes food. Okay, so it was both) but I didn't see anything about a tour with a salmon bake. Also, I was enamored with Chilkoot Charters at this point and wanted to go with them. Why was I enamored? Because all reviews indicated that Chilkoot got their own train car and had much smaller shuttles - and I didn't want to be stuck in a big bus with 100 other people and stuffed into the train car like sardines again. Being a diligent reader of Cruise Critic, I knew (going down the mountain last time) to grab seats on the RIGHT side. But since EVERY single seat was going to be taken, I had to shove people aside (and felt a little bad about that) to nab a seat on the right side. Okay, so I didn't exactly shove people aside. My mom did. And she didn't exactly shove, she gently pushed her way to the front and grabbed my slow ass dad and hopped on the train and they each took a row on the right side. So yes, we had great seats. But the entire time we were on the train we had people hanging over us who had seats on the left side...which they clearly didn't use since they were hanging over me. At least they wore deodorant. And forget going out to the platform - they were packed. No bueno.
So of course when I read that Chilkoot had its own car and there were like, 15 people in their tours, I was sold. Since I'm the trip planner, no one had any say (I am drunk with power) and I booked with them. It. Was. Awesome. Except for the part where we had super thick fog and couldn't really see anything. But we had 16 on our bus and train car. Yay! And we ALL got a seat on the left side going up. Literally - the right side was empty. We all ended up using the right side for storage. Not just my family - but everybody - we dumped our backpacks and heavy jackets on that side so our seats would be roomier. My dad ended up moving to the right side to stretch out when the fog got too thick to see anything and a couple others migrated over. There were so few of us we could have each gotten our own row!
And we won the lottery. Well, the train lottery. We got the very last car! We had totally unobstructed views out the back, which was even more awesome than I thought it was going to be. So we had the platform in the front and an unobstructed aft view! Yay! We had 2-4 people out on the platform at any given time - but we were all nice (or pretended to be) and when something cool came up like the train going around a bend or about to go in a tunnel) we all yelled a heads up and took turns taking photos from the side.
This is the interior of our train car. Note the lack of people. I love it!
I became totally and completely infatuated with the view out the back. It got a little out of control. I couldn't stop taking photos of the train tracks - it was like a sickness. Allow me to share my sickness with you. Because I'm giving like that.
And we won the lottery. Well, the train lottery. We got the very last car! We had totally unobstructed views out the back, which was even more awesome than I thought it was going to be. So we had the platform in the front and an unobstructed aft view! Yay! We had 2-4 people out on the platform at any given time - but we were all nice (or pretended to be) and when something cool came up like the train going around a bend or about to go in a tunnel) we all yelled a heads up and took turns taking photos from the side.
This is the interior of our train car. Note the lack of people. I love it!
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| from the back - seriously, this was it. Awesome! |
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| I'm pretty sure we're not awake yet. |
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| more photos of Chinese people not awake |
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| this was the White Pass Train service depot or workshop or something. This is where the trains are stored and serviced. |
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| and I got to stand in the back |
I became totally and completely infatuated with the view out the back. It got a little out of control. I couldn't stop taking photos of the train tracks - it was like a sickness. Allow me to share my sickness with you. Because I'm giving like that.
Did you notice how it get progressively foggier as we head towards Fraser? Because towards the last...5, 6 (?) miles - we all went inside since we couldn't see beyond a few feet.
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Yes, I realize that was also a photo from the back of the tracks, but I separated it because it had hikers! I don't know if they were going on a day trip or an overnight trip - but they cray cray. It was wet and foggy and the train stopped for a few minutes so they could get off and hike. I know there are people who love hiking. I even have friends who love hiking. Me...maybe if it's flat. In good weather. Without mosquitoes and flies. And if there are clean restrooms along the way. The kind with running water that doesn't give me PTSD induced flashbacks of bathrooms in China. So yeah, I'm not a hiker. There are lots of people who would pee their pants from laughing if someone would mistake me for a hiker. I'm a couch potato. I admit it and embrace it. I love nature - as long as I can stay clean and warm and have access to potato chips. Even though getting off the train and going hiking when it's foggy and wet outside isn't my idea of fun - I gotta give them props. They all looked excited and I really hope they had a good time. And they had little kids! Those little kids have way more balls than me!
More photos from the train:
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| uh, of course I'm going to take ANOTHER photo of this. I think it's almost illegal to take the train and NOT take this photo. It's like a badge of "yes, I have visited Alaska and ridden the rickety train" |
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| I love getting to see the train go into a tunnel! |
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| I also love taking pictures while in the tunnel |
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| AND coming out of the tunnel. Because I'm uncreative. |
It was so foggy we couldn't really see the steel cantilever bridge that apparently is a landmark and a feat of engineering when it was built. Too bad we could barely see it. I couldn't see it until we were literally right in front of it. But I got a photo! Yay!
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| yes, once again with the tunnels. This one was kind of long too. The nice lady with me in the back said this felt a little creepy. Maybe because of all the fog? |
Yeah...after awhile we went back inside since we really couldn't see anything. I tried to snap some photos out the windows though. Even though it was super foggy, I still thought what I could see was pretty. The guide on the speakers joked that this was the real reason it's called the White Pass train - because everything is white.
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| replica RCMP shack |
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| telegraph lines installed during WWII (I think - but I could be totally wrong) |
And we arrive in Fraser!
Just a note about Chilkoot. I had a really good experience with them (thus all the great Tripadvisor reviews for them) from booking all the way through the tour. The only thing I wish they would do is to list the prices for each of their tours online (we paid $179 per person) - but I just emailed them and got a reply very quickly listing more details for each tour as well as their prices. The shuttle bus from Chilkoot was waiting for us where their email said it was going to - the driver there actually wasn't our driver/guide - he was there to pick us up so he could ferry us to where the Pacific Princess was docked (they had a lot more people booked with Chilkoot - we were the only ones from the Sun) and we were dropped off and placed on Brian's bus (or is it Bryan?). But he was awesome. He was my favorite guide for this entire vacation. He was super sarcastic, but really funny and also really knowledgeable. The man has a knack for imparting knowledge without it being dry - he really should be a teacher (hell, for all I know he is a teacher when it isn't tourist season). He actually made living in the boonies of Skagway sound really attractive! He was waiting for us when we got to Fraser and was kind enough to tell us to pee on the train (well, in the bathroom of our train car) since the line for the bathroom at Fraser can be up to 45 minutes long when you have an entire train's worth of women rushing for 3 stalls. So being good students, everyone in our train car went to the bathroom on the train. It's soooo small! I mean, I knew it was going to be small, but even with my short legs my knees butted against the sink when I sat! It was smaller than the lavatory of an airplane! I don't know how tall chicks were able to pee in there.
Anyhoo, on with the tour! I think it's because I'm from southern California (a place without real seasons. It's hot, then it's less hot, then it's kinda warm, then a little cold, then it may rain a day or two, then it's kinda warm and then hot again) that I was fascinated by all the fall colors. I feel like we get green leaves, then they turn brown and fall off almost overnight. We don't seem to get all the fascinating colors of autumn other parts of the country get - so I couldn't stop taking photos of all the pretty golds and reds and yellows a Yukon autumn exhibits.
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| I don't remember the name of any of the other sights. But I remember this as Bove Island! |
I can't remember at what point we entered the Yukon, but lots of people went out to take a picture with this sign. I was cold and lazy, so I stood up, slid one of the upper windows over and stuck my lens out to snap a photo. This is how we lazy people do it.
We also saw a few remnants from the mining days - I can't remember what they're for - but one is old school and the other was something from the 80's - a smelter or something?
We also stopped briefly at the Carcross Desert, which apparently isn't a desert at all (liars!), but just a sand dune. But it looked kinda cool :)
Right before lunch at Caribou Crossing we stopped by Emerald Lake because well...the tour said we'd stop there and because it's pretty. It was pretty, but maybe we didn't have the correct lighting for it to look as green as it does in pictures.
I knew not to have high expectations for Caribou Crossing - but apparently it's owned by a very nice couple who purchased it from the original owners 3 years ago. The current owner is a retired RCMP officer according to Brian. Lunch was okay. It wasn't gourmet, but it was hot and filling - and there was plenty to eat. I think we had a choice between dark or white meat chicken, but all I saw were leg quarters, which made me happy since I'm a fan of dark meat. Then we got half a baked potato, a scoop of cole slaw and we could go and pick up rolls and donuts in the middle of the room. I liked the chicken, but I love chicken. And it's slathered in barbeque sauce - how can it be bad? The potatoes were bland until I slathered that in butter and seasoned it with salt and pepper. The rolls were cold and a little hard though the donuts...they were really good. I don't know what they used - there was cinnamon and sugar - but also a hint of something else. But it was both dense and chewy. Good stuff. That was probably my favorite part of lunch. Uh, I had two donuts. The coffee though...that was pretty nasty. It didn't taste like coffee. It was like brown water. And this is from someone who will drink instant (provided I get lots of flavored creamer).
After donuts we went to explore. You could pay $35 or so for like, a 10 minute dog cart ride. We also looked at their dogs - I was sad they were chained up, but they had a sign explaining that the dogs have to be chained for their safety "at work", and they can run free when they go home for the night. We spent a few dollars on dog treats to feed them though. It was fun especially since I missed my dog. They had a funny petting zoo portion with really stinky goats, really sad looking Shetland ponies (I think they were Shetland. They were these little horses just standing in mud), and a wild animal museum or something because the original owner was a taxidermist.
After lunch we head over to Carcross...which is really boring. But you do get to stamp your own passport. Literally, there's a wooden table outside the general store (you can find it by looking for the horde of people with ice cream cones. It was freezing, but people were still eating ice cream - perhaps because there's honestly nothing else to do there and we were stuck there for a half hour or so) with two stamps (chained so you can't steal them) you could stamp your passport with. Once I stamped my passport (because I'm a dork. I actually went back to the bus to grab my passport because I didn't think to take it off the bus) and walked through the 3 shops, there was nothing to do. They had a burnt down paddle wheeler they built into a kind of memorial, and they fancied up their buildings, but we were done and bored in about 8 minutes. So we sat on the shuttle and waited.
Once we were done in Carcross we went back to Fraser to drop off a few people who were taking the train down (we had picked up a couple of people when we got to Fraser who had ridden the bus up and were taking the train back). It was still super foggy. Crap.
Our drive DOWN the mountain towards Skagway...a lot of people were on pins and needles because the visibility was so poor. It was actually worse on the bus than on the train. It wasn't until we were about halfway down that we could start seeing more than 10 feet ahead. Brian though, he said he could drive this route blindfolded and not to worry. My mama still worried. But we pulled over and took pictures at a pretty waterfall! (after we could see that is).
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| Look at how bad the visibility is! And this isn't even the worst of it. |
Because we were tired and lazy, we were the ONLY people on the shuttle who didn't opt to get out in town and walk back to the cruise ship. Uh...it was going to be a 22 minute walk if we went at a good clip. That's a no. Also, one of our friends had foot surgery awhile ago and she has problems walking long distances, so there's no way she could walk over a mile back to our dock. So we were the lazy asses dropped off literally outside our ship.
And of course, even though we weren't hungry, Raymond and I went to the buffet and got ice cream. And coffee. Then I saw a croissant sandwich (I can't say no to croissants. Because they are delicious. Duh.) and grabbed that. And the carrot cake. Oy.
You know what's super nice about NCL? When you arrive back on the ship, they have music playing for you - hot coffee and hot cocoa being dispensed (literally on deck 6 where you enter) as well as trays of cakes and other treats to refresh yourself with. Last year when I went to Europe on Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas and we parked next to an NCL ship, I was sad when the NCL Jade literally had a welcoming committee waiting for their peeps to come back - they had a little band playing upbeat music, crew members dancing around, ice water and lemonade as well as cookies being handed out as their passengers returned after a day in Sicily. The Navigator had people spraying hand sanitizer on our hands to welcome us back after a day in Taormina. That sucked. I got ship envy. And I liked the Navigator.
While in the buffet, we stuffed ourselves and looked at the Pacific Princess. Then we sailed away - but that was after we got back to our room.
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| Pacific Princess across the way |
Goodbye Skagway!
We decided to have dinner at Seven Seas. The menus were identical between the two restaurants, but we opted for Seven Seas because Raymond and I decided to catch the show at Stardust Theater next door after dinner:
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| roasted tomato soup. It was good. Not great, but it's tomato soup |
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| I got the prime rib - and I enjoyed this very much. Yay for delicious red meat! |
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| The special - pappardelle pasta with roasted duck. My dad got this and really liked it. But he ate a lot of bread afterwards because he said it wasn't super filling. |
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| The mahi mahi. My mom said it was a little dry. :( |
The show tonight was a comedy juggling show by Scotty Cavanaugh* which we enjoyed more than I thought we would. My parents didn't go because it was considered a comedy show, and though they understand what's being said at a comedy show, they don't understand why it's funny. I think it's a cultural thing since when I watch Chinese comedy acts, I also don't get why something is funny when everyone looks like they're going to pee their pants from laughter. But they went to the buffet where they had desserts and coffee and talked.
Like many others, we hit the buffet after the show for dessert since we skipped it to make the show. After filling up on coffee and delicious carbs, we head back to our cabin to watch more Arrested Development, shower and crash. It was a good day. :)
* I had originally said that tonight was the Rock You Tonight show. I was wrong. This is what happens when you're typing stuff up at 2 am. Rock You Tonight was actually the next night, on 9/13.
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