SKAGWAY, Alaska

Rain in Skagway! Though I had to admit rain was a walk in the park compared to the torturous (and often fatal) snow-trek of the tens of thousands of prospectors that made Skagway the gateway to the Klondike Gold Mines heading out over the White Pass or Chilkoot Pass at the end of the last century. The White Pass and Yukon Railroad, an International and Historic Engineering Landmark, that I took to the summit traverses the tracks constructed in 1901 and is a much cushier way to make the ascent and view the stunning mountains, ravines and waterfalls.

I took the 12:45 round trip - the very last train of the season - which had an unexpected surprise. It is a rite of passage for the new train operators to dive into the glacially formed lake (34-degrees warm) at the summit on their last ride of the year. Watching our initiate dive in, swim a few strokes and then wave before running back to the train made my already frigid feet shiver. For most of the three-hour ride I staked my claim on a small patch of platform outside at the end of our car to take photos and experience the thrill of huge drop-offs. Brrrrr ... when I made it back to the ship all my clothes were hung to dry on the retractable clothes line in our stateroom.

Our morning was spent wandering the boardwalky historic streets of Skagway (in the rain) which maintains two-story wooden clapboard buildings just as they were 100 years ago, though the jewelry and curio shops of today were saloons, gambling houses and brothels during the gold rush days. The National Parks Department maintains several small museums: a saloon, an original house with furnishings and an exhibit featuring the Klondike Goldmines and those that came to seek their fortunes here, which add to the historical vibe of Skagway. Another moment of interest, the U.S. military took over the town after Pearl Harbor to stage the building of the ALCAN Highway.

At 9pm, while peacefully processing photographs in our stateroom, we observed another Skagway tradition. We heard shouts and hollers and assumed it was some kind of scheduled event on board. Then Benedicta peered out our porthole and saw a swarm of young people running along the pier after our ship. Oh no, had a few busloads of stragglers missed the boat? No, these were not castoffs of the Veendam, they were about 200 Skagwayans waving and partying and mooning us as they waved-off the last "out-of-towners" and reclaimed their quiet town for another isolatory winter. Ahh, the perks of being one of the 1200 passengers on the last boat out of town.