Alaska Day FOUR - Skagway!

In my last post I told you that I had begun to get sick as we were leaving Juneau.  By the time we got back to the boat I had chills, high fever, nausea, and could not even leave the cabin to have dinner.  

Isn't it funny that what seems like the worst possible scenario can actually become the best?  You see, I found myself pulling into the Lord in ways I had not been doing in wellness.  I was reminded that HE is in charge and I am not.  Jeremiah 29:13 comes to mind, When you seek me with all your heart you will find me.  Oh how I sought Him.  He led me to use Oscillo and to take it easy that night and by the next morning I felt so much better.  I really feel like it was HIS holy healing because I had been so sick.  

I spoke with my mama that morning and she gathered my boys to pray for me.  Christa had texted me and was praying too!  I am so thankful and grateful to His faithfulness.  

The overriding fear that had plagued me all night was that I was going to let my husband down because we had invested most of our excursion money into THIS day.......Skagway!

You know what the Lord says about fear don't you?  He tells me that HIS PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR.  In sickness, I pulled closely into Him and His perfect love covered me completely.  Skagway turned out to be the very best day of the entire trip.  To GOD be the glory!!!

Hello Skagway!

Meet Jess our amazing and incredible tour guide.  This day is still our very favorite of the whole trip.  Sit back and let me take you with us through our jaunt back in time.

We did a tour called, The Best Of Skagway and it really was.  It began with a drive through town where we saw original 1800 buildings still being used today.

We bought some of the best fudge ever.  This store is owned by brothers who came on a cruise and fell in love with Skagway.  It was definitely hopping with business. 

We then hit the open road and traveled up into Canada to catch the White Pass train.  The railway is considered one of the most scenic in the world.  It was a great tour because we traveled by bus one way, train another, and then back to the bus to finish out our day by visiting Liarsville and The Red Onion.

There is no way these pictures can capture the beauty of what we felt and saw on our drive up the mountain.

It was chilly, crisp, clean, fresh, cool, arctic air that kept us company all day long.

We actually left the Alaskan rainforest and traveled into the desert flatlands.

Finally, we arrived in Fraser Canada to begin our journey back by train.

The White Pass Railroad

Look at the beautiful fall scenery greeting us on our arrival. 

(Though it was in the 40's and very windy)

You could feel the excitement amongst all of us on this adventure together.

Hi mom.

Here we go

One of our favorite parts of our train ride was that we were allowed to stand outside on the platform to take in the scenery.  

Though it was cold it was so worth it.

Historic landmark

Though this is a scenic railway you had to be okay with heights to travel the narrow paths.

So beautiful

This shot reminds me of a Christmas card.

The streams and rivers were gorgeous

 I couldn't help but imagine what those early travelers must have experienced as they camped out in this cold beautiful land.

We actually stopped to pick up hikers who had been hiking for hours

LIARSVILLE

 What is a Liarsville?  It was a real place.  It's where three journalist set up camp and made up stories about the great alaskan gold rush.  They fabricated many of their tales and because of their exaggeration caused thousands upon thousands of men from the lower states to travel to Alaska in search of gold.  It was called the Stampede.  Many of these men arrived to find out they had been lied to and named the camp Liarsville.  

Everyone is always in character and they made you act with them to get photo's.  

Our very first stop in Liarsville was the great salmon cookout

Oh My Word!

We had all kinds of goodies

They told us that even the dogs lie in Liarsville.  They pretend to be hungry.  This was a HUGE husky that loved anyone with food.

Yum-mo!

They even had entertainment.  It was horrible.

After we ate, we explored!

 Notice that beautiful leather jacket.  I was so thankful that Scotty bought this for me.

So FUN!

They had real life tents set up like they would have been back in the day.

These were authentic pictures of people who lived in Liarsville.

Hey!  

And then we stayed for the show.  There was singing, acting, and teaching taking place.

This man was hysterical

Finally, we panned for gold before leaving Liarsville

It's not as easy as it looks.

Scott took his panning for gold very seriously.

 Apparently, he was not the only one.

Yukon Scotty found us some gold!

Ya-Hoo!

WELCOME TO THE RED ONION

It was an authentic historical brothel that has now become a museum.

They have had many ghost hunters come to The Red Onion because it is allegedly haunted.

They had actresses dressed as madame's take us on our tour

These are authentic dolls that the prostitutes would use when "working".  If a doll was sitting up that meant they were available for an "appointment".  If the doll was laying down it meant that she was busy.

This was actual furniture and knick knacks saved through the years

Authentic room

The Madame had the biggest room

Time to head back to the ship.  Look at that view!

Welcome Home!

This tour took us almost 7 hours and I felt GREAT!  I was so thankful for the Lord's healing and restoration.

O LORD, you alone can heal me; you alone can save. My praises are for you alone! - Jeremiah 17:14