Our 2008 Return to the Pearl - May 11, 2008 (Wednesday in Skagway)

[Cruisin' Nana]

WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 2008 - SKAGWAY

Early rise at 6:00 a.m. and we ate at the Summer Palace. They have great omelets and very crispy bacon - the way I like it! We met our first tour at 7:35 which was the White Pass and Yukon Railroad and Klondike Gold Dredge. The weather was cold and rainy. The ship's log channel said the temperatures were in the low 40's; however, no doubt it was much colder. We traveled slowly up the mountain to the White Pass Summit - the border between Alaska and the Yukon. About halfway up to the Pass, it began to snow and continued to snow in an almost whiteout condition until we returned to Skagway. Unfortunately, almost immediately after we started up the hill, our tour guide's personal microphone, as well as the railroad's announcing system both quit working at the same time in our railcar. So we had no narration on our trip. Someone spotted dall sheep on the opposite mountain, but we did not see them. I think the local wildlife was probably still sleeping as there were no more sightings. At the summit, we were given a lunch that consisted of a salmon salad wrap, baby carrots and ranch dressing, a small fruit compote and 3 pieces of candy. It continued to snow on us all the way down to Skagway. When we returned, each family on our car was given a free DVD of the railroad as a consolation gift for the lack of narration. For our next leg of this tour, we took a bus to the Klondike Dredge. Most folks were panning for gold behind the store, but it was SO cold, we weren't willing to stick our hands in the freezing water. Besides, I found the gold I was looking for in the nice warm gift shop!

Our next excursion was to a musher's camp. Now this was an incredible trip in spite of the cold weather. When we arrived, we boarded a sled on wheels that was pulled by 16 dogs. Traditionally, folks may think of these dogs as Huskies, but very few of the over 350 dogs they had on site were true Huskies. Most of the dogs are mixed breeds and truly incredible! They were jumping up and down, making lots of noise by howling and barking, because they were so anxious to start pulling us! When the six of us were loaded onto the sled, the musher gave the signal and off they went as if shot out of a gun! What a thrill! And to add to the ambience, it began to snow heavily again. After the sled ride, we went back to the main area to listen to a professional musher talk about his experience and the necessary equipment for his four Yukon Quest races. Then, the absolute best part of the whole excursion was going to the pen where we were allowed to visit with a beautiful 4-month-old sled dog named Sasha and in another pen, we were allowed to hold one of seven 4-week-old puppies. They were SO cute and cuddly! I felt bad for Sasha, though, because she was laying on the ground shivering from the cold while we all stroked her beautiful coat. Too soon, the excursion was over and we headed back to the ship.

The tour bus dropped us in town and we did a little shopping, then headed back to the ship. As we were getting thawed out and ready to go find some dinner, the Captain made the announcement that there were a couple of reports of suspected “N” virus, and warned that we all had to be extra special careful with our hygiene and wash our hands often. From then on, we were no longer allowed to serve ourselves in the buffet which caused serious backups in the serving lines. We couldn't even salt and pepper our own food or use the ketchup or mustard containers. We could not pick up our own utensils wrapped in the cloth napkins - they had to hand them to us. They also blocked the drink stations and had crewmembers give us our drinks. Many new hand cleaner dispensers suddenly appeared all over the ship, including inside the elevators, and a crewmember was at every entrance to the Garden Cafe and at the gangplanks to spray our hands with the disinfectant. I truly applaud Captain Lars Bengtsson for being so straightforward in letting us know about the situation, but not over dramatizing it. Throughout the cruise, Captain Bengtsson showed throughout the cruise what a wonderful and personable man he is! He never once talked down to us in his many informative, funny and entertaining announcements. It will be an extreme honor to sail with him again in the future!

We ate a late dinner at Indigos, then hit the sack after a long, cold, snowy day of touring.

 

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[retiredAF]

Another great read.. I am enjoying this so much.. Thanks again!

[judyf]

I'm also enjoying your review. Great details