The mountain walls lining the bay (and the pierside) are festooned with very cool graffiti. Any ship captain who is a first timer into Skagway can assign a group to scale the rockface and paint an acknowledgement of his and his vessel's arrival into the port. This tradition began with a lumber carrier in 1928 and is still carried on today.
We couldn't find Grand Princess' mark, though half a dozen other Princess ship were emblazoned for posterity.The White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad is an International Civil Engineering Landmark, along with the Panama Canal, the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty. It was completed in under 26 months by 30,000 (mostly American) workers, financed by an Englishman and designed by a Canadian. It offered those wanting to get to the Yukon gold fields a better way than climbing the 1700 steps of the Chilkoot Pass's Golden Stairway. You should know that each miner had to bring 1 ton of supplies to the top of White Pass before the Mounties would allow entrance to the gold fields. We learned the Mounties would send miners back down to Skagway if they were even 8 ounces under the required weight. No wonder the railroad was so welcomed! It meant no longer trudging 20+ miles up hill (from sea level to 2,889 feet) multiple times, dragging your stuff after you. We should note the RCMP stored a miner's goods for a predetermined time. (Historical tidbit: among the requirements for the year's supplies were 100 pounds of dried beef and 5 cakes of soap!)
The WP&YR follows the twists and turns of the Skagway River as it plummets from the mountain top. The train car is wider than the narrow guage track, so at ttimes you are floating on air as you look out the window and see no dirt beneath you, just the top of a pine tree just below your car window.
Sidebar: This railroad spike was nestled in the crack of a rock about a yard upslope from our railroad car, hence the slight blur of the image.
Sidebar: This railroad spike was nestled in the crack of a rock about a yard upslope from our railroad car, hence the slight blur of the image. Though the drop off on the left was dizzying, the closeness of the right-hand wall was scary. 450 pounds of explosive were used to blast the railroad right of way - in teams of 3, the men climbed to their assigned blasting spot: one guy hanged from ropes with the drill between his knees, a second banged the drill bit into the rockface with a big hammer while the third turned the drill a quarter turn after each successful hit! When the drill was driven up to its mark, it was removed and the hammerer plugged the hole with blasting powder then lit the fuse while all three dropped quickly to avoid the explosion! And only 35 men died during the creation of this railroad! 
Each car of the train comes equipped with its own heater, as even modern tourists get chilled on this ride.
Halfway up the mountain, today's train passes the original steel bridge which was decommissioned in 1966. 
At certain spots along the railway, you can look down onto the original footpath created by the thousands of would-be gold miners who toted their 1 ton up to White Pass. The footpath looks about 20 inches wide!
Once I saw it, I never mentioned the steepness of the drop off again!!!
Each car of the train comes equipped with its own heater, as even modern tourists get chilled on this ride. Halfway up the mountain, today's train passes the original steel bridge which was decommissioned in 1966. At certain spots along the railway, you can look down onto the original footpath created by the thousands of would-be gold miners who toted their 1 ton up to White Pass. The footpath looks about 20 inches wide! Once I saw it, I never mentioned the steepness of the drop off again!!! At White Pass are one of the smallest RCMP stations and the monument to the men who created this railway.
Heading back to Skagway, we can see the river waaaay down below us, while across the top of the picture runs the modern highway up to the parallel peak - Chilkoot Pass.
Again we go over the Skagway River before we get low enough for the conifers to thin and the deciduous trees to appear. See Skagway harbor in the distance...?
Barbara and I returned to the ship for lunch, then set out to explore the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (all six blocks of it!!) One highlight is the last remaining example of an Alaskan driftwood building! 
But right scross the street, we found evidence that old and new mix well here in Skagway: 
We were intrigued that our cruise ship dwarfs the buldings of this historic town.
But the ship and the Alaskan peaks make a beautiful picture:
We were ready for our day to end: tired and happy with new yarns and new fabrics to use in our memory creations of this picturesque town wrapped around by cloud capped mountains
Heading back to Skagway, we can see the river waaaay down below us, while across the top of the picture runs the modern highway up to the parallel peak - Chilkoot Pass. Again we go over the Skagway River before we get low enough for the conifers to thin and the deciduous trees to appear. See Skagway harbor in the distance...? Barbara and I returned to the ship for lunch, then set out to explore the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (all six blocks of it!!) One highlight is the last remaining example of an Alaskan driftwood building! But right scross the street, we found evidence that old and new mix well here in Skagway: We were intrigued that our cruise ship dwarfs the buldings of this historic town. But the ship and the Alaskan peaks make a beautiful picture: We were ready for our day to end: tired and happy with new yarns and new fabrics to use in our memory creations of this picturesque town wrapped around by cloud capped mountains 
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