Cruising to Alaska – Skagway

Next stop on the cruise was a little further north to Skagway, Alaska. It also happened to be the only cloudy and rainy day of the trip. Fortunately it was just a light drizzly rain and nothing too cold.

We got off the ship to wander around Skagway, which is a pretty tiny place. Doesn’t take long to get from one end to the other. We found the grocery store, a place to buy a couple of umbrellas and explored a bunch of shops as well as the Skagway Public Library.

Skagway is really close to the Alaska/BC border and a lot of the utility poles are decorated with the Alaska state flag, the US flag and the Canadian flag. It’s also not very far to get to the Yukon Territory either.

Flags
Flags

Skagway has a few interesting historic buildings still around from the gold rush days.

The Brass Pic - House of Negotiable Affection
The Brass Pic – House of Negotiable Affection
Log building (Visitor Information Center)
Log building (Visitor Information Center)

Avoid the tourist trap cruise port jewelry stores and spend some time wandering around Skagway checking out the other locally owned businesses. Stop by the Radio Shack for electronics gear, movies and a hot dog.

Wander around Skagway past the cruise port jewelry stores
Wander around Skagway past the cruise port jewelry stores

Had a good time walking around Skagway.

Next stop – the fjords.