Page 290 - Vacation Country Travel Guide

contributing to the building of Skagway’s first
church and founding an “Adopt a Dog” program.
When Soapy’s gang robbed a man of his gold dust,
tempers flared and events culminated in a final
showdown. The audience witnesses this historic
moment and the conclusion to the story, keeping
Skagway’s colorful history alive. The Days of ‘98
Show features can-can dancing, ragtime music and
Robert Service poetry.
Visitors can see The Days of 98 Show in the
beautifully restored Eagles Hall, located at 6th and
Broadway in downtown Skagway, with multiple
shows daily. Phone (907) 983-2545 or visit www.
thedaysof98show.com for additional information.
White Pass & Yukon Route
“Scenic Railway of the World”
The White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad, a
See Video narrow gauge rail line, offers several different
scenic train excursions from Skagway along the
first 67.5 miles of the original 110-mile route that
once connected Skagway, Alaska with Whitehorse,
Yukon Territory. The journey traces the historic
“Trail of ’98” which led thousands of gold-seekers
from the staging grounds at Skagway to the gold
Days of ‘98 Show fields of the Klondike in Canada’s Yukon Territory.
photo by:
VC TRAVEL GUIDE Today the railway provides passenger service in
comfortable restored and replica coaches pulled
by diesel-electric locomotives through the coastal
is served by both motor coach and rail. A ticket Windy Arm of Tagish Lake. mountains between Skagway and Carcross, YT,
on the historic White Pass and Yukon Route Near the summit of the Klondike Highway along Lake Bennett in British Columbia.
Railroad includes bus service between Whitehorse Pass you’ll encounter a scene that resembles a Construction of the WP&YR began in 1898
and Fraser, British Columbia via the Klondike moonscape more than any earthly vista. Ancient, during the height of the Klondike Gold Rush and
Highway. At Fraser you’ll board the narrow-gauge twisted trees cling to rocks polished smooth by was completed only 26 months later in July 1900.
railroad for the rest of your journey to Skagway. prehistoric glaciers, or crumbled by years of Considered at the time to be one of the greatest feats
This is a spectacular trip over White Pass and the erosion. Waterfalls, glaciers and glimpses of the of modern history, the $10 million project involved
famous Trail of ’98 Gold Rush route. White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad and White 450 tons of explosives and tens of thousands of
By Sea Pass Trail are among the highlights of the drive men laboring in harsh and challenging conditions
Skagway is a popular port on the Alaska Marine from the summit to seaside Skagway. to construct this breathtaking engineering model.
Highway System. A fleet of modern, car-carrying The Days of ’98 Show celebrates 100 years in In l994, the railway was designated an International
vessels serves all of Southeast Alaska. Northbound 2023! Presented by Goldrush Productions Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, a designation
travelers can access the system at Bellingham, When Princess streamships made their town a shared with the Panama Canal, Eiffel Tower and
Washington and Prince Rupert, British Columbia; port of call in 1923, the people of Skagway created Statue of Liberty.
southbound travelers usually embark at Haines a Vaudevillian musical show for the tourists, in One of the Railroad’s most popular excursions is
or Skagway. Some vessels have an observation hopes of raising money for their local hockey team a three-hour, forty-mile round trip from sea level up
lounge, bar, cafeteria and solarium where camping to compete against Whitehorse. The Days of ‘98 to the 2865 foot summit of White Pass, considered
is allowed free of charge. Mainline vessels also Show with Soapy Smith was an instant hit, drawing one of the world’s most spectacular train rides,
feature stateroom accommodations. on real historical records to portray the last day of with steep grades and cliff-hanging turns. The fully
By Land this terrorizing outlaw’s life on July 8, l898. narrated tour features two tunnels, sky-high trestles
If you are traveling by car or RV, you’ll join the Jefferson Randolph “Soapy” Smith was born and bridges, historic sites and spectacular scenery
growing number of visitors who travel the Alaska in Georgia in l861 and ventured west as a young affording panoramic views of glaciers, gorges and
Highway each year. Skagway is only 110 miles man. He learned his trade as a con man during the cascading waterfalls. The steel cantilever bridge
south from the Alaska Highway, via the South silver and gold rushes of Colorado and eventually was the tallest of its kind in the world when it was
Klondike Highway. The lakes of the Yukon and made it to Skagway in the fall of 1897. Skagway at constructed in 1901.
British Columbia that you’ll pass along the way that time was described by Canadian Mountie Sam White Pass & Yukon Route evolved into a
are the headwaters of the great Yukon River. This Steele as “a little better than hell on earth!” fully integrated transportation company operating
modern two-lane highway is an easy drive and Soapy formed a gang and reigned supreme for docks, trains, stage coaches, sleighs, buses, paddle
passes through the historic community of Carcross, nine months as Alaska’s most notorious outlaw. wheelers, trucks, ships, airplanes, hotels and
with hotel, gas, food and other visitor services While his men did most of the dirty work, Soapy pipelines, ultimately pioneering the innovative
available, and past the ruins of the Venus Mine on tried to establish himself as a solid citizen, inter-modal (ship-train-truck) movement of
containers. The company suspended operations in
1982 when Yukon’s mining industry collapsed due
to low mineral prices. The railway was reopened
in 1988 as a seasonal tourism operation and today
carries over 380,000 passengers during the May to
September tourism season.
Come discover your own personal gold rush
with the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway as it
steams through its second century of history. For
detailed information, visit their website at www.
wpyr.com; phone: 1-800-343-7373.
The Red Onion Saloon
Now a National Historic Building, the Red
Onion Saloon was Skagway’s most exclusive
bordello. Built in 1897 with planks cut by the
founder of Skagway, Captain William Moore, the

288