the last ferry

The last ferry was only about 6 hours long so we didn't get any state rooms. Unfortunately we still had to show up 2 hours early for check-in and then stand around for quite a while, mostly in the rain, but the guys loading the ferry let the bikes on first for once so it wasn't too bad.

It was still dusk when we pulled in to Skagway at 11 pm. Rode thru what felt like a ghost town cuz everybody was already asleep but it didn't feel like they should be. This coming from a guy that likes to be in bed by 9.

Finally came across our swanky digs. I remember when booking it that I picked the nicest one I could find. Good thing. I'll leave it at that.

Skagway is another stop on the cruiseship circuit. When we were pulling into port there were 4 or 5 ships leaving. When I got up in the morning there were another 4 that had replaced them.

The town is all done up like it was in the goldrush so it feels like you're at Disney cuz of all the chachkie crap for sale. Apparently they don't sell that stuff where all these people come from.

The town does have some very cool history though, which we checked out at the visitor center/museum. Good thing cuz the kid told us about a gravel road that leads to the start of the Chilkoot Trail where the miners had to literally carry a ton of supplies up this killer pass. You've seen the pictures of these lines of guys carrying boxes strapped to their back up this 45degree slope. And, there were tolls along the way!!

Next time here and the trail will definitely get hiked.

Anyway, we got to start our journey with some dirt road riding. We were all thinking 'holy crap, 400 miles of this, one way to Prudhoe Bay and then turn around and do it again to get back!'

Spectacular doesn't describe the scenery up and over the pass thru the sleet and rain. The scale of everything is gigantic. Once we got up and over there was a bit of ick on the way to Haines Junction but for the most part it was pretty breathtaking. The road from H J down to Haines, the port before Skagway, is supposed to be even better so a very cool 400 mile loop could be done on the bicycle by getting off the ferry in one port and getting back on in the other.

Looks like I might have to sell this motorcycle when I get back cuz there's clearly too much stuff on my bucket list to get done in time if I go back to work. i must be getting even older than I thought since we keep getting offered senior discounts. :-))

We did get a proposition to play strip poker on the last leg of the ferry. Well actually Mark got it but he told us it was for all of us, probably just to make us feel good cuz we know we're not half the stud he is.

We declined. Let's see. The male to female ratio is 10 to 1 in AK so how hard up is that chick that she has to proposition guys on the ferry?