In search of Spring – in Skagway perhaps…
The wind has a bite to it, and most of the fence post holes I’m digging still get stalled when I hit solid ice a few inches below the surface, so today I took advantage of an opportunity to go to Skagway with my buddy Rob, who needed to pick up some UPS stuff at Wings of Alaska. This is the time of year when we can often change seasons with that 2-hour drive, sometimes with bears as a bonus.
Seeing Emerald Lake free of ice put the trip off to a good start.
The dramatic light and spindrift on Lime Mountain just south of Carcoss stopped us for a few photos. From here south, though, the wind was screaming – probably 70-80kmh. All of the lakes other than Emerald are still locked up in ice.
We got to Fraser just as a WP&YR train pulled in – no Spring here!
One particular tour guide in Skagway has been posting on online Forums for weeks that the flowers are in bloom there. Perhaps in his sister’s greenhouse they are – as you can see here, the trees are just starting to bud. I did see a few daffodils in a yard on Main, but they looked so out of place they could have been plastic 🙂
Despite not finding Spring, though, the Skagway Fish Company was open, so we settled for some wonderful halibut and chips and an Alaskan Amber. The photo below shows the view from our table – what it doesn’t show is any of the folks walking by, wearing everything but extra sheets from their ship cabins! One person in particular was such a sight I should have been quicker with the camera – I don’t even know if it was male or female, as it looked like the Michelin Man in black, with only the eyes showing. People watching near cruise ships on a cold day is just too much fun.
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