LJ was up and off the ship early this morning to walk the town, taking photos and tried to do some shopping but then realized he forgot his wallet on the ship.  We needed to get off the ship for our railroad adventure before the regular lunch opened so we ordered Numie some room service, waited to get it and whisked her upstairs to the Grill area on the 10^th deck where LJ and I had some delicious hot dogs and she had her sandwich.  Then, off we went!

We made a quick call home to Emily – today is her birthday!  Happy Birthday Em!

We boarded the train near the ship and quickly had a full train car.  There was a group of 12 together that were lots of fun and we enjoyed chatting with them and hearing about their trip.  During the first part while we were still in Skagway, we were right beside a small river just stacked with salmon heading back home to spawn.  It was incredible how little water there was and how many fish.

As we made the climb, LJ spent most of his time out on the platform at the back and front of the train cars – kind of like a puppy… so excited and happy to be outside and moving.  The mountains and ravines were extraordinary.  Glacial rivers and amazing scenery.  Mom said she enjoyed it more than the Grand Canyon with all the different types of vegetation and gorgeous views.

At the top of the train we did the “Railroad shuffle” where we flipped our seats over so they would be facing the “right” way going back down the mountain and also switched seats with the people across the aisle from us so everyone got the beautiful vista views one way on the train.  Fortunately, LJ was in the back of the car and his across the aisle mate was the wood stove so Mom got to have the vista view both ways (spoiled)!

After the ride was complete, we decided to walk into town for a bit (LJ now had his wallet so I could see shopping in our future).  On the way we ran into a group that he had talked to earlier in the day about a special program being held at 5 PM at a local school softball field.  For the 150^th Birthday of Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police “Musical Carousel” Riders were performing in every Canadian Province, the Yukon Territory and Skagway, Alaska!  This would be their only performance in the United States.  It was a little after four and they were providing free shuttles to the field and after consulting Numie, she said she felt like we just had to go – we wouldn’t have this opportunity again!

So off we went, we saw them warming up on our way to the field.  Mom and I got settled in and LJ was off to photograph them.  They had not been there to perform in more than 20 years, and this small town of about 800 year round residents, were very excited.  They had several local musicians, children and adults, performing before the RCMP.  They came right behind us as they entered the field and were simply breathtaking.  It was just amazing to see them all in sync as they performed so many different maneuvers.  We were definitely glad we went!

By the time we took the shuttle back and got on the ship, we were just in time for dinner so I took our bags to our rooms and LJ and Mom headed to the Dining Room.

The show tonight was called “Piano man” and he performed several great songs from Elton John, Billy Joel, Ray Charles and Jerry Lee Lewis.