More wilderness, and then Blues, Brews, & BBQ in Skagway
Things didn’t go the way we had hoped at all for the weekend. Cathy had hurt her neck somehow and was in a great deal of pain, unable to even sleep, much less go for walks. I got out for a bit of wilderness time on Saturday, and we went down to the annual “Blues, Brews, & BBQ” in Skagway for a couple of hours that night.
By 09:30 (08:30 in Skagway), the first of the cruise ship tour buses were going by. Most would be on day trips to Carcross and Emerald Lake. This was a fairly quiet cruise ship day, with the Coral Princess, Volendam, and Azamara Quest in.
The world fascinates me. Look at the boulder in the next photo, slowly but surely being reduced to sand by Mother Nature. Water gets in the cracks, freezes in the winter, and that expansion expands the cracks until another piece peels off the side of the boulder, joining the other slabs on the right.
The boulder is in our regular dog-walking area – the next photo shows a broader view over Summit Lake.
I decided Saturday afternoon to get out for 2-3 hours, with the Summit Creek canyons the target. There are at least 3 possible routes in, none of them good. I picked the one that starts at the north side of the Summit Creek bridge, just a few hundred meters/yards from where the RV was parked.
The milky, glacier-fed waters of Summit Creek are what gives the lower part of Summit Lake its gorgeous turquoise colour.
This was a very short hike. I had re-injured my Achilles, and that tendon quickly made it abundantly clear that I wasn’t going anywhere.
Returning to the Tracker, I drove down the highway to another possible access route at Km 30.1. From there, one of the higher sections of the dramatic little canyons could be seen.
I didn’t get very far – I could barely walk much less hike over rugged ground. I found a survey marker dated 1989, though. What an odd place for one – I can’t imagine what it’s marking.
A bit further up the highway, I spotted a dyke of basalt (the dark rock in the centre). I’d seen it before but had forgotten about it. Signs of volcanic activity are very unusual in this area.
Not willing to return to the RV just yet, I drove a bit further to get some more photos of Summit Lake. The next photo was shot at Km 30.8.
The next panorama of Summit Lake was created with 3 photos shot at 24mm.
A friend from Whitehorse arrived to go berry picking while I was at Summit Creek. I’m much too lazy to pick berries and make stuff out of them – I’m happy to buy the berry creations of other people.
It’s prime berry season right now, and there are many varieties with healthy crops in the White Pass.
I had been looking forward to attending “Blues, Brews, & BBQ” in Skagway, and Cathy decided that she could handle going even though her neck was still giving her grief. I had tried to get reservations at Pullen Creek RV Park for one night, but they were full. They had space at the other park, Garden City, but to me it’s not worth anything close to the $63 Canadian they charge. It’s a short drive from and back to the RV, anyway. So, we started our visit off at BBQ, with excellent sliders the Skagway Fire Department cooked up.
There were about a dozen vintage vehicles on display, so they were my next focus. This 1970 Chevy El Camino is very nice.
The Jaguar was another of my favourites. I’ve always been a fan of British sports cars and had a couple of Triumphs back in the day – a Spitfire and a GT6. The 2 badges from New Zealand are a nice touch on this Jag, and make me curious about the car’s history.
Riding in the rumble seat of a Model A Ford looked like a pretty awesome way to arrive! 🙂
As well as I thought I knew Skagway, I didn’t know about Seven Pastures and the Dedman Stage. The stage, was built about 4 years ago, is beautiful.
Still photos don’t do music well, so here’s a bit of sound from Krowd Kontrol.
The sound and the vibe were both great, but Cathy was getting really uncomfortable, so we left about 7:30. We sat in the Jeep and listened for a few minutes but that wasn’t working either, so headed back up into the pass to the motorhome.
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