From Valdez we retraced part of our route, climbing the 7.5 mile steep grade up through Keystone Canyon and over Thompson Pass. This time we diverted via a loop road through the old mining town of Copper Center and enjoyed a lunch there with Dave and Susan at the Copper Center Roadhouse. Shortly after, we turned from the Richardson Highway to the "Tok Cutoff" part of the Glenn Highway. The bible for northwest Canada and Alaska highways is the publication "Milepost", and it describes the Tok Cutoff as "a good highway gone bad". That was a good description of the many patches, frost heaves, gravel sections and steep grades. The caravan overnighted at Tok, where we had been 24 days earlier, then on into the Yukon, but via the Alaska Highway rather than the very rough Top of the World Highway we used coming into Alaska. If the Tok Cutoff was a "good highway gone bad", the Alaska Highway from Tok to Destruction Bay could be called a "bad highway gone evil". the serious frost heaves were almost continuous for much of the day's travel. A nice stop, though, was the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge visitor center. It was small but filled with exceptional displays. A Native American woman was working on some lovely beadwork destined for mittens and mukluks she was making, and teaching the other employee how to do it. We once again got some good information on some aspects of early native life.

We finally arrived for the night at an RV park in Destruction Bay, where the owner was the builder, maintenance man, excellent barbecue cook and musical entertainment. We have noticed that it is common in sparsely populated area here for people to have more than one occupation. Early in the morning we again headed east and south, through Whitehorse and on the South Klondike Highway to Skagway, Alaska.

The scenery was again wonderful, as we transitioned from forest to higher levels almost devoid of trees. There were many beautiful lakes, then an 11.5 mile steep (often 11%) downgrade from White Pass into Skagway, a town noted for its role in the Klondike Gold Rush. Two important trails used by the "stampeders" originate here: the White Pass and the Chilkoot Trail. The latter is often pictured in old photos, with a line of potential prospectors carrying heavy packs up an impossibly steep snowy mountain pass. The Chilkoot actually begins in nearby Dyea, which is now a ghost town. The first night's activity was attending a wonderful burlesque follies show based on the true story of "Soapy" Smith, an early resident famous for running cons, especially against the gold rushers passing through Skagway. Before the show, patrons are admitted to a casino room where each is given a $1000 bill to use at the games. The one who ends up with the most play money gets recognition during the show. A highlight of the show for us was when Annette and Paula Vance were selected from the audience to do a Can-Can on stage with the show "floozies". They were great!

The pace of life in Skagway is governed by the number of cruise ships in port. As we arrived there were 5 giant ships, decreasing to 3, then 1 over the next two days. Whenever the passengers had to go back to their ships, almost every store and restaurant in town shut down. Our caravan group took a ride on the narrow gauge White Pass and Yukon Route train to the summit of White Pass and back. Quite relaxing and scenic, with waterfalls, views of the city and harbor, and points of historical interest, such as the "Trail of 98", "Brackett's Toll Road" trail and the Gold Rush pioneer cemetery where Soapy Smith and his nemesis Frank Reid are buried. They mortally wounded each other in a shootout in 1898.

The following day found the group taking a passenger ferry, the catamaran "Fjordland" over to Juneau for a day of touring and shopping. Juneau is the only state capital not reachable by road. We toured the state capitol building and enjoyed the shops downtown before re-boarding the catamaran for the trip back. The bus which had brought us from the boat dock to downtown now took us to the Mendenhall Glacier visitor center for good views and photo opportunities of this natural wonder. During the boat trips over and back, the boat captain took us by waterfalls, a sea lion rookery, a beautiful lighthouse on an island, several bald eagles, sea otters, and a pair of humpback whales.

The next day we drove out of town to see the site of the old town of Dyea and the start of the Chilkoot Trail. While stopped at an overlook for a good shot of Skagway, I realized I had locked the keys in the Jeep! Luckily there was cell phone coverage, so I called our friend Dave Donaldson back at the RV park and asked if he could bring a coathanger. Dave arrived shortly and we spent the next several minutes trying our luck at snagging the inside door handle with not much success. Dave called AAA, who eventually (after figuring out where Skagway was) told him we were "on our own". Luckily, someone (we never found out who) told a local policeman about our plight, and he showed up, armed with the right implements for the job. His only complaint was that (he claimed) he had been told that there were "damsels in distress" at the overlook. Looking at Dave and me, he said laughingly "you can imagine my disappointment". So, back on our way, we did tour the faint remains of Dyea, and walked (and climbed) the first few hundred yards of the Chilkoot Trail. It is very hard to see how the gold rushers managed even the start of that trail with the required 2000 pounds per person!