travel log: skagway, alaska

Sep 6

Written By Katie Cook

Skagway was our kind of place....

the entire town was part of the national park,

which entailed us to free tours

a free movie of the town's history

and free trails for hiking.

did I mention that our family ~~likes~~ IS OBSESSED with free stuff?

{as a side-note, there were like 500 jewelry stores lining the streets and each one had a sign outside that said "free gift" as a way to coerce you into the store. I kid you not my sisters spent the ENTIRE 5 hours in Skagway cashing in on free crap. Didn't matter if it was the lamest piece ever, free was free! Polly has a nice aluminum foil ring to prove it. }

i digress.

back to alaska....

there is some incredible history in Skagway.

if you were a gold miner in the late 1800's,

you would have been a part of the 100,000 men who traveled to Skagway

in search of gold in the Klondike.

these crazy men climbed 500 miles in the SNOW in WINTER.

PEOPLE! Gold is cool but not at the expense of your sanity.

and unfortunatly almost all these gold seekers either didn't make it to the Klondike

or once they got there couldn't find any free land to stake their claim.

but what made it even more fascinating was the little town of Skagway

that really became a boom town

Skagway's own infamous con-man was named Soapy Smith,

and you couldn't go more than 5 feet without hearing his name.

kev and I even paid good money to watch a musical about Soapy!

a few people in our family actually rode the old train around the White Pass

which followed the footpath of the miners,

where some spectacular scenery abounded.

{thank you to my sweet brother Peter for the pictures}

in some small way I was encouraged in Skagway by the thousands of men and women who chased their dreams. It may not have turned out as expected, but they persevered on. I hope i'm remembered as someone who chased the dreams God has planted in my heart.

enjoy your weekend dearest loves...let's chase dreams today.

love Katie