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6/15/02 AM Skagway
Yesterday after we returned to the ship, we attended an excellent lecture
on glaciers. Then dinner in the formal dining room. In the evening we
listened to two opera singers (male and female) accompanied by a pianist.
Great show.
This morning it's sunny (local people are amazed at the amount of sun
shine recently) and warm.
The sun is up when we hit the deck (about 7:00 - 7:30am) and it's still up
when we go to bed (about 9:30pm). The days will continue to get longer as
we go north and also approach June 21. It is always light outside to us.
Sept 11, 2001, has affected the cruise industry. The cruise ship has to
carry a security staff and equipment. All people on the cruise now must
have a ship-created photo ID. All cruise people entering the ship after
disembarking at a port must go through metal detectors and have bags
checked.
6/15/02 PM Skagway
Today we were in Skagway. The weather is warm and sunny (again, unusual
for this area).
This morning we walked to town from the boat dock and took a guided tour
of the National Gold Rush Historic Park. We came back to the ship for
lunch, then took the White Pass and Yukon Territory train to the top of
the pass, which is just pass the continental divide and just into Canada.
The train loads right on the ship's dock. That's catering to tourists! The
train goes from 10 ft elevation to 2800 ft. The scenery is fantastic. So
fantastic that I took 180 pictures today. Thank goodness for digital
memory that gets reused.
The local people say that tourism is the second gold rush.
Much of Skagway was under water in 1898 at the time of the gold rush.
When the glaciers receded from this area, the glacier weight was not
pressing down on the land, and the land has been rising. Since 1898,
Skagway and the surrounding mountains have been rising at the rate of
0.75" per year, so the town has much more land now.
The tide is 17 to 24 feet.
Tomorrow is Glacier Bay. Please view the pictures by using
the button links at the top of the page.
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