Independence Day In Skagway, Alaska

Skagway, Alaska...Its a place of contrasts.  In the winter, it is home to a mere 800 people.  In the summer, curious cruise ship occupants flood the streets, hoping for a bit of the sights and flavor of the Klondike Gold Rush days.  It is a place of snow peaked mountains and it sits on an inlet of the sea. 

 They know how to celebrate, too.  We decided to join the thrill seekers on the 4th of July.  We packed a big lunch and all of the kids into the car and drove 2 1/2 hours.  I suppose we are a border agents' nightmare - two moms, assorted children that nearly have to be physically untangled.  No fathers.  But we were well armed with passports and letters of consent from the Papas.  They made us get out while they recorded all of the passports, and then we were off.

 We arrived just in time to run breathlessly to catch the parade.

 Like the Whitehorse parade on Canada Day, it was varied and expressive of a melding of cultures

 and times gone by that don't want to be forgotton.

 My children and I had listened to a historical fiction book called "The Mystery on the Chilkoot Trail", so we had a skeleton idea of the nature of the Klondike Gold Rush.  We then went to this National Park center downtown Skagway and watched a documentary on the subject.

 The Scottish bagpipes  put on a spectacular and moving display.  When they played a moving rendition of  "Amazing Grace", this bagpiper had a river of tears flowing down his cheeks. 

When they played a lively version of  "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" small children instinctively pressed to the center and danced with abandon.  -Nanette