A typical summer street scene in Skagway: lots of people, the yellow shuttles and the ever-looming cruise ship.

One of the most interesting buildings on Skagway's main street (named Broadway) is this one, the Arctic Brotherhood Hall, built in 1899. Lodge members collected more than 8800 pieces of driftwood on the shores of Skagway Bay and nailed them to the facade.

I'm a collector of driftwood, so I can relate to this interesting fact: In 2004, the front of the building was restored, and all the pieces of driftwood removed. Only 3500 pieces had rotted and had to be replaced. The remaining 60 percent (5300 pieces) were in good enough shape to be reattached - after 100 years!

Currently, the building is the home of the Skagway Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The Mascot Saloon, one of 80 bars in town during the gold rush era, dates back to 1898. Prohibition closed it in 1916, but it reopened in 1937 when Prohibition was lifted. Today, the bar scene is replicated in its original colors and owned by the National Park Service.

Skagway can be reached by land, air and sea. This is a picture of the airport.

These boots are way too cool to be worn by a dummy. If you've not guessed it already, the four characters at the bar in the two photos above are mannequins staged to represent the hey days of Skagway when the gold rush was in full force.

Skagway's small-boat harbor

Call it as you see it. These mountain ash tree markings put a smile on my face.

The Skagway Fish Company Restaurant is one of two located down at the ferry dock.

The great thing about Skagway is that many of its buildings are originals from the days of the Gold Rush when the town was inundated with gold seekers. Some of the structures have been relocated and, of course, repainted, but in the same colors as their earlier days. As a result, little has changed in the way of appearance. They were constructed between 1897 and 1900. Skagway offers a wonderful self-guided walking tour with an excellent brochure; the tour brings the history of each building to life.

To know Skagway's history is to know of Frank Reid and Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith. Soapy was the 'slickest' of guys who led a gang of more than 200 no-gooders, gamblers, swindlers and thugs. He pretty much had control of the town during the winter months of 1897 and 1898 until he was shot dead on July 8th of 1898 in a dual by the town's quick-to-become hero Frank Reid. Both Soapy and Reid died in the gun battle; Soapy instantly, and Reid 12 days later.

Both men are buried in the town's Gold Rush Cemetery, but the townspeople saw to it, with good reason, to give Reid a more prominent spot and a more distinguishable tombstone than Soapy Smith. Soapy, well, he didn't get much.

Other gold diggers, named and unnamed, are buried at the Gold Rush Cemetery. The cemetery is located a couple miles out of town to the north.

When a break from the crowds of town is needed, a very relaxing stroll over to Yakutania Point and Smuggler's Cove (above) is just the ticket. Located south of the airport and over the Skagway River footbridge, one is quite aware of the seclusion and silence of the area overlooking Skagway Harbor.

I don't know what it is about cairns that capture my heart, but I go to them like a magnet to metal. They are a symbol of playfulness, a whimsical, quirky sense of humor by those who make them. I've seen them in all parts of the States, Canada and Europe that I have traveled, sometimes only one or two, sometimes in mass. I have yet to pass one up without a smile and a chuckle.

The more serious purpose of cairns is to mark a trail, to show the way of the path, and in even earlier days, they were used by hunters to show the direction of herds.

This cairn and one other was found at Yakutania Point.

Yakutania Point and a view of the Chilkat Mountain Range

This looks like a cold, wintry scene, but it was actually just a little overcast and chilly here at Smuggler's Cove across the harbor from the Chilkats.

Another pleasant walk we took was an approximately 3.5-mile hike around Lower Dewey Lake. After passing a reservoir, the trail takes off left and right since it is a loop around the lake. We headed to the right and were glad we did. There were a couple of places three-quarters around the lake where we had to climb over boulders. Had we taken off to the left, we would have come across the climb sooner in the hike and be worried that more of the trail would be that way. (Of course, had we read the trail description, we would have been aware of what was to come. ) All in all, it was a very nice hike through thick forest and huge boulders. Also, by heading counterclockwise, we were pleasantly surprised by a small waterfall at the end of our loop. Patches of wildflowers also greeted us on this trail.

A nice view of the Skagway harbor can be seen from the Lower Dewey Lake trail.

One might wonder where exactly the trail is in this picture. There is a marker on the tree that marks the path. This is the area where the boulders had fallen into the trail at some point and are too big to move...just a guess. Climbing over them might be fun for most people. We did fine. And the trail all the way around the loop is actually very well marekd and maintained.