Travel l view of mountain peaks in Kluane National Park Restored 1897 Skagway Brewing Co. building Carcross Station, a Canadian Heritage Railway Station Yukon Suspension Bridge above the Tutshi River Scenic route to the U.S. The next day, we drove 180 kilometres south of Whitehorse on the Klondike Highway to Skagway, Alaska. It was a scenic drive. Bristly pines and snowstreaked mountains surround Emerald Lake. Sunlight reflects off powdered limestone in the shallow water, creating its gemstone colour. The nearby 260-hectare Carcross Desert is locally known as the world’s smallest desert. Lodgepole pines punctuate the sand dunes that were formerly a glacial lake bed. In Carcross, we stopped for waffle ice-cream cones at Matthew Watson General Store across the road from Carcross Station. Built in 1910, it’s a designated Canadian Heritage Railway Station. Ten minutes from the U.S./Canada border, the South Klondike Highway crossed British Columbia and took us to the 65-metre-long Yukon Suspension Bridge. The spectacular views of the raging Tutshi River, its gorge and mountains were well worth the vertigo as we traversed it. (Yes, it does sway, but it’s sturdy enough to hold 300 people.) Gold Rush-era city We arrived in Skagway in time to have lunch at the Red Onion Saloon, followed by cream puffs at the Sweet Tooth Café. Although Skagway’s population is only about 1,000, its streets bustle with cruise ship passengers in summer because the city is at the northernmost tip of the Inside Passage. Strolling along the wooden boardwalk, we admired restored historic buildings that look much like they did during the Klondike Gold Rush. The most unusual building is the 1899-vintage Arctic Brotherhood Hall, which has more than 8,800 driftwood sticks nailed to it. The restored 1898 Railroad Depot houses the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park Visitor Center. Three blocks north, in the Trail Center, the U.S. National Parks Service and Parks Canada provide Chilkoot Trail permits and briefings. This historic route to the Yukon gold fields includes 27 kilometres in the U.S. and 26 kilometres in Canada. CSANews | SPRING 2017 | 19
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