On The Meandering Road: June 18, 2017

Early in the morning we toured downtown Skagway for a bit before heading to the parking lot by the cruise port. There we met with half of the caravan members before boarding on a cruise to go to Haines, Alaska to visit Kroschel Films Wildlife Center.

Upon arriving in Haines, AK we boarded a bus that took us directly to Kroschel Films Wildlife Center, which is about 25 miles from the town. Steve Kroschel owns and operates a wildlife park, and is a naturalist. He has been an independent filmmaker for over 30 years, and is known for his work on Avalanche (1999), Running Free (1994 and The Beautiful Truth (2008). He cares for orphaned animals, such as grizzly bear, lynx, wolf, fox, porcupine, wolverine and many other creatures.

Red Onion Saloon that was built in 1897
It was once a dance hall and saloon during the gold mine rush.
It was also a brothel upstairs with 10 rooms

Our bus driver

Kroschel Films Wildlife Center

Steve Kroschel

Mario

Porcupine Quill

Porcupine

Karen getting a kiss from the moose

Wanda got one too!

Feeding Caribou

After the tour at Kroschel Films Wildlife Center we boarded the bus and were transported back to Haines, AK. Since it was too early to board the cruise back to Skagway the bus driver showed us around the town and Fort Seward for a short while.

Fort Seward was named after William H. Seward who negotiated the purchase of Alaska from the Russians. In 1922 the fort was renamed Chilkoot Barracks because of the confusion in the Post Office. The original name was brought back when the fort was declared an Historic Landmark in 1972. Most of the buildings still stand, some are private residences, some into galleries and dining establishments

Fort Stewart

The dock at Haines

Going back to the cruise

After we got back to Skagway we toured downtown again because the weather was better and we did not see everything early this morning.

Walrus Tusk Ivory

Hand etched scrimshaw

During the gold rush era the saloons in Skagway were in tents. The "Mascot" was one of eighty saloons back then. In 1899 most saloons were closed because of the imposition of the license fee, which was about $1,500. The "Mascot" closed in 1916 because of the prohibition movement that banned the sale of all alcohols except medicinal alcohols.

We went on a tour to visit the Red Onion Saloon and the Brothel Museum with the caravan members. The saloon was dimly lit, and on one side of the wall, opposite the bar, were lined with antique bed/urinal pans. Truly a conversational piece...