Alaska - Skagway and Canada

After boarding our ship we hit the buffet where I had the most delicious flourless chocolate cake. It was like a dense brownie or fudge. I was quite bummed when they didn't offer it again all week, so I came home, found my own recipe, and made it. So good if rich chocolate is your kind of thing.

When we booked our cruise, we paid more for an exterior room but a little less to have a partially blocked view out our window. I think we scored the right room. On either side were the lifeboats. I loved being able to look outside when were coming into a port or just watching the scenery from our room.

Tyler's type of vacations are go, go, go, see, see, see everything. We paid for it, we're going to see it. I like the hit-the-beach-and-read-all-afternoon kind of vacation. This cruise was a perfect compromise. We saw, saw, saw on land but had to take it easy on the ship. I found my perfect reading nook where I could sit inside by the window and Tyler could watch the water outside. If he happened to see anything, he knew where to find me.

After two days at sea we arrived in Skagway for a day of touring. Skagway was the jumping off point for the gold rush in Canada's Yukon territory. When we got back from our trip, the kids and I watched White Fang where Skagway was briefly shown and mentioned. Our first excursion was to the dog sled mushers camp where we got to ride a wheeled cart while the dogs pulled us, much like a sled. These dogs do their training here with all the tourists that come through and are very ready to compete in the Iditarod, a highly competitive dog sled race of a 1000 miles in early March of every year. Tyler's not terribly fond of dogs and really came along with me for the ride in the unimog.
The dog sled ride was a ton of fun. Those dogs are not the typical Alaskan huskies you think of when dog sledding comes to mind. Huskies are used to pull weight, these other dogs are bred for speed and are often a mixture of different dogs.

 

I had to get a picture of this particular dog for Ashlyn. It isn't hard to tell that that dog has two different colored eyes, just like our Ash, although her's aren't as distinctive.

And no. Tyler wouldn't let me bring this little pup back. Holding that puppy took me back to my childhood when our dog "Lady" had a litter of pups. 

We arrived back at our ship in time to catch our next excursion to Canada and the expansion bridge which I learned was only built six years ago for the tourists. It's nothing more than a chain bridge that extends over the river below and goes really nowhere. It was kind of lame, but I did get a stamp in my passport and got to sample some yummy maple cookies. Tyler even spotted a black bear right next to the bus on the ride up, but our young, Utah bus driver didn't see it and didn't stop. The good tour guides will faithfully keep their eyes peeled for wildlife and will try to stop if reasonably able to because they know that's what people come to Alaska to see.

Back in Skagway we enjoyed a salmon bake for dinner where Dolly, a beautiful 9-month-old Alaskan husky, enjoyed it with us. I would have taken her home with me too.