12 Jun Week of Many Firsts.

Hello everyone! I just completed my second week in the KLGO. It was a week of many firsts. We completed our first week of training and we learned all about audience center techniques to allow visitors to connect with history on a personal level. We visited the trailhead for the infamous Chilkoot trail. This was a trail that was used by the goldseekers to reach the Gold fields in Dawson City (i.e., Canada). The trail is 33 miles long, however, because goldseekers were freezing to death, dying of starvation, and disease. The Canadian Government implemented the Ton of Goods law. This required goldseekers to carry 3 pounds of food per day for one year plus equipment. If you are reading this. Can you carry 2,000 pounds up a mountain on one trip? Most likely no, but if you do, write your info in the comments. I would like to meet you!. Back to history, goldseekers on average hiked over 2,000 miles just to transport their goods through the Chilkoot Trail. 

(Other KLGO Interns and I posing in the start of the Chilkoot Trail)

Also, we visited the Gold Rush Cemetery for the first time. We learned the history of famous con man and mysterious unsolved murders that occurred in Skagway. We visited a place called Reid falls and the remains of the only documented pirate boat in Skagway. We also visited the ghost town of Dyea. However, what stood out to me the most was visiting the grocery store for the first time. I’m from Los Angeles where grocery stores are food heaven. I was shocked when I went to the grocery store and the shelves were empty. There was one beautiful green bell pepper that cost 5 dollars. My mind was blown away. But being me I asked the butcher: “where is the chicken?” He was like “there is no more chicken. You have to wait until the barge comes in on Tuesday.” So, for y’all reading Skagway, Alaska is a remote area that gets its food shipment deliver every Tuesday. When I go back home it’s going to be pretty cool to say “yeah, I lived in an area were the food came in on Tuesday’s and if you got sick you had to get medevac out.”

(Remains of the once booming Dyea town) 

Other than that, everything is going swell. I am making friends. I entered my first egg roulade competition to win 50 bucks, but ended up losing in the first round and had a bunch of egg juices on my cloth. I went on my first hike with a fellow co-worker. I accomplished all 7 miles uphill. To be honest, I was scared, but I pushed myself to complete it. I also attended a “hood nights of horror” and watched Pet Sematary and ate a bunch of cookies. So, all is good. Stay tune for more tales from the hood of Skagway, Alaska. Bye.

(view of Upper Dewey Lake after an intense 2 hour uphill hike. Worth it!)