Great light for a drive to Skagway
An hour after getting home from my 12-hour, 538-kilometer aurora-viewing drive to Kluane Lake, I was back on the road to Skagway. I had an exciting eBay win to pick up at the post office, and hey, it was sunny – what more reason do I need? 🙂
Starting down the South Klondike at 09:40, 32 minutes after sunrise.
Bove Island. The 90%-plus humidity has resulted in a lot of fog and low cloud, which in turn has resulted in some wonderful hoar frost along the highway.
This view of Tutshi Lake had a dramatic contrast between the light and dark areas, so worked nicely as an HDR image, combining 3 images shot at different exposures.
The light was wonderful, and I found myself stopping a lot. The low clouds and blue shadow with the winding gold road here got a few shots.
Some interesting patterns have formed in the ice on Shallow Lake.
After my long night on the road I wasn’t feeling particularly energetic, but after picking up my mail I got a few shots of the WP&YR’s first locomotive, #52 (originally #2), which was recently moved to a position of honour beside the rotary snow plow on one of the most visible pieces of property in Skagway.
This 2-6-0 engine was built by Brooks Locomotive Works in 1881 for the Utah & Northern Railroad; it was sold in 1890 to Columbia & Puget Sound and sold again in 1898 to the WP&YR. After working the main line for many years, in 1931 it was moved to Taku to run on a 2½-mile long line connecting Tagish Lake and Atlin Lake. On the Atlin Lake side, the steamboat M/V Tarahne would carry guests to and from the railway’s large and luxurious Atlin Inn.
Broadway after the cruise ships leave – calm again! 🙂
A deep cold last week froze all the waterfalls, but temperatures slightly above freezing have got the water flowing again.
Waterfalls fascinate me, especially when there’s ice as well as water.
Hoar frost and spectacular peaks – it’s quite a drive.
I was back home by 2:30, and went straight to bed without opening my prize package. When I got up, though, opening it was my first priority.
This collection from the estate of Francois S. Brodeur was in my Skagway mailbox. He was a member of Company A, 340th Engineers and served on the Alaska Highway and in the Pacific. The two lower books were printed specifically for 340th members – “Lower Post or Freeze” is one of the rarest of construction-era books and I’ve been looking for a copy for many years – it has scores of photos I’ve never seen before. The letter is a 1978 letter of sympathy to his widow, signed by the governor of Rhode Island.
My “to-do” list seems a mile long at the moment – it’s tough to set the right priorities at times. But, I’ll see what I can get accomplished today. Isn’t retirement supposed to be when you sit back and watch TV a lot? 🙂
About The Author
