I was most excited for day seven! If you have read all of my Whitehorse posts so far (well done!) you will know that I love trains and I love scenery so taking a train to Alaska is really the ideal situation. :)
We started off at the Whitepass Station in Whitehorse where we got on a bus that would take us to the train. We saw some beautiful things while we were driving and made our way towards Carcross.
We saw some absolutely beautiful things on the bus and even though we were going 100km an hour or more I got some pretty decent pictures of the mirror lakes.
Once we arrived in Carcross (fun fact it is short for Caribou Crossing) we were able to get off the bus and explore the little town. We went into an authentic general store and the train station but we still had to get back on the bus to continue to Fraser, British Columbia. I didn't know that we would be going into BC so that was a nice little surprise.
We finally got to board the train in Fraser and at this point I was vibrating with excitement! We got onto our car and hit the track!
There was a couple in front of me who I talked to for quite a while because their daughter was a girl guide and had even volunteered at Pax Lodge.
The train guide came with a map that showed the route to Skagway, Alaska and had the landmarks on the trip pointed out. It was nice to follow along and I really enjoyed being able to prepare to take photos like these!
We even saw a bear!
This Whitepass Railway was so cool and we got to see so much history including this old bridge that used to carry the train. Even as we were going across this beautiful landscape hints of the past were everywhere- broken down equipment down the side of a cliff, old tracks and wooden bases, and even a grave for two workers who were killed while building the railway. I was quite overcome as we travelled.
When we got to Skagway it was a mad dash to get everything we wanted to get done done. We had a quick and delicious lunch at a little cafe and then shopped- like speed shopped. We were only in Skagway for a few hours so I power walked from one side of Main Street to the other trying to take it all in. Once we got all of our shopping done and our time was up we headed back to the bus where we were taken back to Whitehorse.
It was nice that we were able to see where the train had been from the highway just take in how amazing it was that the rail was built on such treacherous terrain.
We got a quick photo at the Yukon border which was fantastic! Another photo to add to my bucket list journal (visit all the provinces and territories in Canada).
We were able to stop in Carcross again on the way back which was awesome! We saw the S.S. Tutshi (or what is left of it) and Skookum Jim's cabin. I also loved seeing the beautiful paintings on the buildings- it is such a splash of colour!
By the time we got back to Whitehorse the girls were exhausted! We had supper and then went back to our rooms to relax, pack up, and get ready to go home the next day.
This is the information centre that grew in my hotel room! We collected things from all of the places we went to as souvenirs to give to the girls.
This was by far my favourite day of the trip and I would definitely do it again! I told my parents that they had to go at some point because they would love it!
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