On This Day: Skagway and the White Pass Scenic Railway

18th September 2010: overnight our floating hotel had conveyed us to another beautiful harbour, the town of Skagway (population 968). Our morning began with the walk around the preserved and restored Klondike gold rush era central business district, learning about the history and conditions of frontier life.

Later we took a trip on the incredibly scenic White Pass & Yukon Route Railway. This follows the same path as the prospectors up into the mountains, and crosses into the Canadian province of British Columbia. The train continues to the Yukon Territory but we alighted at the customs post in B.C. and enjoyed an exhilarating bicycle free-wheel back down the road to Skagway.

On This Day: Tracy Arm Fjord and Juneau

The 17th September 2010 was our first day in Alaska, the previous one being spent at sea cruising up from Vancouver. The first item on the itinerary was to cruise into the majestic Tracy Arm Fjord in glorious sunshine. We later docked in Juneau—the State Capital, which can only be accessed by sea and air—and took an excursion to see Bald Eagles and Humpback Whales.

Alaskan Retrospective: Whales and Glaciers

The Alaskan coast is a fantastic place to observe whales due to the abundant food supply, it apparently has more bald eagles than the lower 48 states and has some awe-inspiring scenery, including Glacier Bay National Park. The Pacific North-West is known for its unpredictable and rapidly changing climates so to have such superb weather in September was very lucky.