ALL ABOARD!

One thing you should know about Skagway is that not only is it the coolest town in all of Southeast Alaska, but it is also the home of the White Pass and Yukon Route. It links Skagway to the Great Yukon!

“The railroad began construction in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush as a means of reaching the goldfields. With its completion in 1900, it became the primary route to the interior of the Yukon, supplanting the Chilkoot Trail and other routes. The route continued operation until 1982, and in 1988 was partially revived as a heritage railway.” (Wikipedia)

There is so much history that goes with the train and if you are in Skagway you would be a fool to not ride it! A lot of people come here to specifically ride the train. On Saturday, we were invited by our friends, Tara and Riley, to ride the train. Tara is leaving to go back to Utah this next week and has never heard Riley (her husband, duh) give a tour so what a great way to spend a BEAUTIFUL Saturday! We took the 4 hour round-trip to the summit. Riley gave a wonderful tour!

One of Aisha’s favorite parts is the story of George Buchanan, a successful businessman, a coal merchant in Detroit. During the Depression he decided to help boys to get out of town and see Alaska. He would take 50-60 boys in the summer on a journey across Canada to Vancouver, sailed up the coast to Skagway, spent several weeks touring Alaska, climbing glaciers, panning for gold.Part of the deal was that their parents would donate 1/3 of the money, George would donate 1/3 of the money and the boy would work to raise the remaining 1/3.

On the rocks below the U.S. Customs Station are the words “On to Alaska with Buchanan” which was their motto and was painted as a tribute to Buchanan.

It is a really cool story and shows how there is such good people willing to reach out and help others. 

These pictures have a funny story behind it. We were in Riley's sound car, which is the car where the tour guide sits in so you don't just listen to them over the intercom. We sat right up front, behind Riley and Tara. About half way up there was a little boy that Riley soon became friends with. His name was Reid and 5 years old. A few things about Reid is that he did not know personal space and he LOVED Riley and Tara! He kept jumping all over them and pulling at them. His mother was really nice and tried to tell him not to do that but that did not work out. At some point she was back in her seat and Reid was all over them. It was so funny to watch. We kinda felt bad for Tara and Riley but they took it like champs, probably because they have so many nieces and nephews. 

We wanted to get a picture all together and of course Reid just has to be in it. The first one is cute because he is squeezing Tara and then in the second one he put his head on Riley's shoulder. Basically, it looks like they have a 5 year old kid! Ha!