Thursday, August 25, 2011

TO THE KLONDIKE

We boarded the White Pass and Yukon narrow gauge RR to experience a little history.
There were 2 routes to the Klondike, blazed by those intrepid, gold-seeking 49'ers. The steepest, hardest route was also the shortest: Chilcoot Pass.
The slightly "easier" way was White Pass, but it was longer. (Also, it was pre-railroad!)
Our RR trip today was up White Pass:

 I stayed as long and as often as possible out on the connection between RR cars.
This was taken straight down - a long way down:
 And this, so close as we whizzed by, I got wet:

I was inside the car when the conductor announced "Caribou on the left!"
The windows were steamy, and I was standing, trying to keep  steady against
the perpetual rocking. Plus, the caribou were on the move.  I was lucky that they are
even half-way identifiable through the lens:

 Outside again, and obviously, I got my head, shoulders and camera back in time:

 Near the top, the landscape changed to scrubby trees and lots of rocky, mossy ground:

 Looking for a moose!
At one point, the original Chilcoot Pass was visible:

1 comment:

MaryLou said...

My favorite day of your cruise! Love the ruggedness and the train ride. We went on this RR. Like you, I stood on the connector of the cars, taking pictures while Fred stayed inside. He was very uncomfortable with the height. For some reason, it did not bother me at all. You truly captured the beauty and, lucky you, even got some caribou!