Frozen Alaska

In Skagway, we followed the route that the gold prospectors used to reach the gold fields. We had an advantage, though. We simply got on a train. The train was built to support the gold rush, but the rush was over before the train was finished. It is now a popular tourist attraction.

The prospectors had to hike over miles of mountains in the snow. My grandmother's uncle died in the Alaskan gold rush. He broke his leg and never made it back. The train ride was fun. That is my reflection in the glass. I rode on the outside to get a better view and enhance the thrill ride. The route is chiseled into the side of a mountain with spectacular drops. Lindsay is afraid of heights, so he stayed inside.

I'm afraid of tunnels, so I was upset that we went through two of them. I was especially upset that I was outside for one of them. With horror, I saw the tunnel up ahead and didn't have time to go inside and hide. The suffocating hot, train exhaust in the tunnel combined with the total blackness closing in on me led to a disagreement with Lindsay. He insists that he told me there were two tunnels on the route and I'm sure that he said that there were no tunnels. I had agreed to take the train ride only if there were no tunnels.

It was cold. On the mountain, the lakes were still frozen over and snow covered the ground. I spent the two hour journey outside.

The little train depot in the picture below is where the ride stopped. There is nothing up there except for that and a little Canadian customs hut. We got our passports stamped just for the fun of it.

We got off the train and were met by Dave, our tour guide. To be continued.