We visit Skagway
Day 4 May 17, 2014
When we woke up, our ship was already moored at a dock in Skagway.
Today we had three separate trips.
Rick – gold mining history:
Rick was taking the famous day long trip on the Yukon Expedition and White Pass Railway. As well he planned to try out some dog sledding.
Cathy and Bruce - glacier:
Cathy and Bruce had booked the Davidson Glacier tour, taking a motor boat and then canoes to get there. They could actually touch the glacier.
Barbara and Bill - river:
My trip (Barbara’s) hike was cancelled so I joined Bill for his rafting excursion. We had some time before it left, so we headed for the town of Skagway. On the way, we discovered a campground with a stream and some trails – we didn’t get far after this. Good birding!
Our trip took us on a motorboat out the Skagway harbour and around a point of land to Haines. Along the way, we spotted huge rafts of Surf Scoters and a Humpbackd Whale.
Here we boarded a bus…
to the Chilcat river where we changed into BIG boots and hopped into inflatable rafts for a floating wildlife trip. We had a fun, bumpy ride perched on the sides of the raft. There were eagles at every corner! It was a beautiful sunny day - perfect for a river trip.
When we took out, the guides had a snack ready. Some spotted a far away mountain goat – I did get a photo (check out the tiny white dot).
We retraced our steps to return – back to Haines and a boat trip to Skagway and our ship.
Today we had many good stories to share over dinner.
Bill’s special bird sightings today
1. Marbled Murrelet
2. Wilson's Warbler
3. Steller's Jay
4. American Dipper
5. Surf Scoter
6. Spotted Sandpiper
7. Bald Eagle
8. Arctic Tern
