Day Five

This time we woke up in Skagway, Alaska, the northernmost point of our trip. Skagway is about 60 degrees north, compared to 45 for Minneapolis. That means we were a third closer to the north pole than usual. The weather forecast for Juneau had been partly cloudy or something like that with a 30% chance of rain. Well, it 30%-ed most of that day. For Skagway, the forecast was 90% rain. Of course it was beautiful and sunny most of the day.
The town is a small one, nestled at the end of a bay. This had been a gold rush town and they're still proud of their history. During the winter their population is just under 900 people. There were three cruise ships in town on our day, each one with over 2000 passengers.
We left the ship a short walk from the town. There was a very popular train tour available here, but we didn't take it. We'd thought of renting a car and driving to Whitehorse but decided to walk around the town instead.
It's a quaint town. There is certainly a tourist district but you could see the local areas very easily. And the locals themselves, including an old car (from the 30's?) driving down the street. We walked around, letting Relia choose the direction. That led us into various shops where she was magnetically drawn to any stuffed animals.
Back to the ship for lunch and then Relia and I decided to nap. The FP Gal went back into town and came back a few hours later to wake us. We dropped off baby and played Liar's Dice with Heidi and Chad.
After dinner, I went up on deck by myself. The ship had pulled out already and was just starting to make it's way back down the channel. The weather was very windy and it had started to rain. I had the place mostly to myself (some joggers are insane). I walked and walked and walked, looking at the scenery around me and thinking. It was stark but not sad. This will always be a cherished memory for me.