Alaska- Day 4

Skagway was awesome. It was so awesome I was half serious when I told Jim we should move there for a summer. This entry could be 8 paragraphs long and I’d feel I wasn’t doing the town justice in description.

Why is it so cool? First off the town is still mostly in it’s original format (that is original building structure and fronts) that it had when it was established at the time of the gold rush. Second, there are about 800 full time residents and 3000 summer residents who support local tourism from May – September. Third, it gets to be about 40 below in the winter – so cold that people hardly ever leave their houses in the winter!

For reference, Skagway is at the top most spot of an inlet in Alaska; the closest point to the inside of the state which made it ideal for all the people who wanted to participate in the gold rush- all the closer to the jackpot! So, tens of thousands of men, women and families came to Skagway to settle and unload the gold that they had found back on the docks to be sent to Seattle.

When we arrived in town the Sacks, Sturgises, Ting and Jim and I all went on a brothel tour. A summer resident conducting the tour picked us up in her “madame” clothes and for 2 hours she showed us the back alleys, brothel houses and dance halls that the 300 local ladies used to service the 15,000 klondike hopefuls that flooded the town. She told us really interesting stories about the hierarchies of prostitution (alley girls being the lowest, cottage girls next, brothel dwellers next and finally the dance hall girls; above all of these levels were the French girls who commanded 5X the highest going rate for an American woman) and why so many woman chose the profession in lieu of other jobs. She gave some bios of the notable women and told of the hardships that the Asian children faced specifically. I found it really fascinating. At the end of the tour we had a champagne toast in the Brothel Museum above the Red Onion Saloon.

From there Dale, Jim, my parents and I headed on a train ride through the inside of Alaska and actually crossed over into Canada. This was a neat train because it was only 1 of 2 chances we had to see the interior of the state and because we saw some really high waterfalls and the actual path that people used to get to the Klondike. The stories the tour guide told were interesting too – the path, which was only about 2 feet wide, carried well over 100,000 people, many of which crossed back and forth as many as 40X in order to get their 2 tons of supplies required by the Canadian government. Over 3000 pack animals died by being pushed off the path into the ravine below. Really really cool history.

By this time (4:00pm) most folks were tired, but Dad and I went and watched a video in the visitors center about the Klondike and the ridiculous lengths these people went to strike it rich.

Ok, so you got 6 paragraphs. If you want to hear more I’ll be happy to expand!

Up Next: Sitka!