Skagway

Skagway is at the top of an inlet (fiord?) (fjord?!) and is notable historically for being a major debarcation point for the 1897 Yukon Gold Rush. It is in the US, on that curious narrow strip of land that separates Canada from the sea all the way to Juneau and beyond. We shall see more of this strip later on. We had not stopped at Skagway in 2002, but knew of it from cruiser lore, and decided to visit it to break up the Alaskan Highway monotony. Skagway would be a ghost town but for the US National Park Service presence there and the many Alaska cruise ships that, for a few hours, put in there. The town shuts down immediately after the last ship departs, about 5PM. Seriously. Really. If  you want a quart of milk you'd better find the grocery store before the ships hoist the Blue Peter. We stayed in the local campground. 

The road to Skagway became fairly scenic

Tourist train; a must if you're a cruiser: only way to see the beautiful upper 
canyon

Ghost signs on a canyon wall

"What do you mean, there are no doggie biscuits?!"

In the excellent Park Service visitor center

The Canadian government required all the gold-rushers
to carry a year's worth of provisions and equipment...1,000
pounds or more; I guess a carry-on and a day pack would
not have cut it

Two of the four cruise ships in town the afternoon we arrived

Industrial-sized snow blower; also makes hamburger

Popular saloon

Now on a hike, up the canyon a bit, beyond the giant faux nugget

To see the waterfall

And the gold rush era cemetery

Sort of a Haunted House feature

We'd see more of the Klondike as we continued on through the Yukon
and back into upper Alaska