We spent six days in Skagway, Alaska. We arrived on July fourth and went to the Independence Day Parade where the participants threw candy. In the parade there was a fire truck, a bus full of dogs, bag pipers and floats in all different shapes and sizes!
After the parade we played some old fashioned games from the 1800s like Graces and Cup-and-ball! Later in the day we went to the Rubber Duck Derby. One thousand numbered rubber ducks were released into a river. The first one to cross the finish line was the winner. If the person’s ticket was the same number as on the duck they would win. We didn’t win but we did get to keep a rubber duck and we named him Quackers.
We spent time wandering around town. We walked to the Gold Rush Cemetery and Reid Falls. We also got popcorn from a popcorn shop that had wacky flavors.
We learned about the Klondike Gold Rush. In 1898 gold flakes were found near the Klondike River. People who heard about the gold came from all over the world to seek their fortune. They had to hike over Chilkoot Pass from Skagway and from there take the Yukon River to Dawson City. It was a treacherous journey and many people died but about thirty thousand people made it to Dawson City to search for gold. Most of them only found little flakes of gold, not what they were hoping for.
We went on the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad. The train was originally built to take people and supplies from Skagway to Whitehorse where they took a riverboat to Dawson City to work the gold claims.
We hiked on the Dewey Lake Trail. I got to ride a kayak and a canoe that were left at the lake by the community. I went swimming in the lake and got bit by horseflies but they weren’t too bad.
I loved staying in Skagway, but now we are moving on to new adventures. We are heading to Canada and the Arctic Ocean!