The 2008 Alaska cruising season is over

Cathy and I went down to Skagway yesterday, as we often do on the last day of the Alaska cruising season. It always leaves me wondering why people choose a cruise this late. Yes I know it’s a few dollars cheaper, but check out the photos below – would you pay to do this? Note the empty streets (at 3:30 in the afternoon). Many shops were closed, and many shop-keepers in the ones still open were packing their wares into boxes as the few stragglers wandered through. The highway down was even emptier – 2 little buses and one rental car were the only vehicles we saw. Almost all the excursion operators apparently closed a couple of days ago. We had hoped to find a bear along the highway, but no luck.

Broadway in Skagway in late September

The final ship was Celebrity’s Millennium. You’d sure never know from the streets or dock that there are any passengers on board!

The Celebrity cruise ship Millennium at Skagway in late September

The tour buses below are staged by the AMS dock, waiting for a barge to take them to Seattle for winter work. A few days ago I saw a couple of Premier Alaska coaches on the Alaska Highway, headed for their winter base in Florida.

Tour busses being shipped out of Skagway for the winter

One of the peaks along the highway, seen from our usual Tutshi Lake dog-running stop.

Peaks along the South Klondike Highway