May 29

Alaska has started. I flew a United 737-800 from Chicago to Seattle, then a Delta 737-800 to Juneau, yesterday. The Delta plane had video screens on the back of each headrest; United did not. To say the least, I was more satisfied with Delta.

30 mph winds today, starting in Juneau and all the way up to Skagway. Made for a bumpy plane ride. The big Boeing jets do not go to the small landing strips in Alaska, so planes like Beavers, Otters, and Cessnas do the hauling. Skagway had three cruise ship behemoths docked, and a fourth about half the size. That easily explained the thousands of people walking the one “main” street in town (goes for about 15 blocks). Tourism is the 21st century gold rush for Skagway, with eye popping prices and plenty of folks willing to pay them. The main attraction is the White Pass and Yukon RR train ride. New technology engines have replaced the smoke belching iron horses, but the riders are wholly emersed in nature’s scenery. This is one of the top five train excursions in the United States. There is time before and after a train ride to do the requisite shopping and food tasting. And one can stop into the Klondike Gold Rush VC to see a 20-minute movie on the trials and tribulations of the men who made a mad rush for gold in 1896-1897. The Canadian police became so concerned for the health of the “Stampeders” (the name given to those who stamped their way up the two available trails) that they imposed a requirement of bringing one-year’s worth of food before you could cross into Canada. That is roughly 2,000 lbs. With a man maybe being able to carry 80 lbs on each trip, that was around 250 trips up and down the trails. And then, as quickly as the gold had been found, the Klondike River dried up… no more Au to be discovered.