With each setback, there are opportunities. While we waited for parts to repair our coach, we took advantage of the time to visit a favorite town on the Alaskan coast.

We left Whitehorse for Skagway right after breakfast. We traveled the South Klondike Highway following the Watson River, one of the many tributaries of the famed Yukon River.

It was a beautiful morning, with green valleys and snow-capped mountains ahead. The countryside was wild and natural with few vehicles on the road.

Carcross, our first stop, was a small picturesque village at the head waters of Lake Bennett. It derived its name to the seasonal gathering of great herds of caribou. Much of the rich history and traditions of Carcross rest with the Tlingit Clan who first settled this land.

During the gold rush of 1898, prospectors crossing White Pass following the Chilkoot Trail stopped, hunted and rested at Carcross before moving on to the Klondike. Carcross lies at the base of the Coastal Rockies and is the northern terminal of the White Pass & Yukon Railroad. You can park your car and board the train over White Pass to Skagway.

What attracted our attention in Carcross was the serene beauty of the West Arm of Bennett Lake. It is one of those picture postcards in real life, and near the water's edge was a beautiful lodgepole log cottage. A woman relaxing on the front porch caused Diane to admire the beauty of her home. Before I knew it, we were invited in for coffee and a second breakfast.

Ben and Bea Lingle's lodgepole log cottage in Carcross. (Photo: Diane Owens)

The cottage was owned by Ben and Bea Lingle of Skagway. Bea grew up in Alaska, and Ben in the Lower 48. However, he has spent most of his adult life living in Alaska. As a young man, Ben bought a hardware store and has been the owner of Skagway Hardware for the past 30 years.

On a trip to Carcross years ago, Ben and Bea fell in love with the view, bought the land and built the cottage. It has a spectacular vista from the porch and family room not to mention the great fishing from their backyard. They are retired now and maintain the cottage as their summer home.

"I still keep a hand in the business on a weekly basis but spend most of my time here," Ben said. "In the winter, we travel to Mesa, Arizona."

Leaving Carcross, the highway narrows and begins its climb toward White Pass. This is the birth land, the headwaters of the Yukon River locally known as the Southern Lakes Region. It is such a beautiful area — still wild, untamed and mostly in its natural habitat.

We traveled surrounded by breathtaking scenery, blue-green crystal mountain lakes, alpine meadows and snow-covered peaks. It felt like we were touring Switzerland with rocky peaks, snow banks and ice-covered ponds.

White Pass in the Coastal Mountains. (Photo: Diane Owens)

Remnants and ghosts from the past marked the land with forsaken mine shafts, buildings and roadhouses along the shores of Tagish and Marsh Lakes. The viewpoint at Dove Island provides a stunning vista of Tagish Lake's Windy Arm. If your dreams include a hike on a frozen glacier, a walk with ghosts along the Chilkoot Trail, or drinking hot chocolate from an open wooden porch, then spend several days at Southern Lakes.

Finally, we reached the summit in British Columbia and started our slow but steep descent toward the U.S. Customs station. A few questions later, we were allowed back into our country.

Skagway is an interesting little seafaring town. It was the home of William Moore, Soapy Smith, Klondike Kate and thousands of gold-fever prospectors. The Tlingit Clan called it "skaguay" meaning "shifty wind rippled waters."

Skagway owes its notoriety to the Gold Rush of 1897, and it boomed with the thousand of wannabe gold miners. The North West Mounted Police reported in 1897 Skagway had grown "from a concourse of tents to a fair-size town, with well laid out streets, and numerous frame structures, stores, saloons, gambling houses, and dance halls."

A year later, the Mounted Police reported "Skagway was little better than a hell on earth."

Today, Skagway is a town of false fronts going back to 1898 with tourist shops of precious stones, jewelry, antiques and old-time saloons. It is also the port of call for cruise ships traveling the Inland Passageway. Diane and I first visited Skagway and the Red Onion Saloon years ago when our cruise ship stopped in this beautiful country.

Downtown Skagway, Alaska. (Photo: Diane Owens)

The Red Onion was an exclusive rowdy bordello built in 1897 by William Moore. It served liquor and gambling on the first floor "while the upper floor satisfied more than a prospector's thirst." A hodgepodge of the original wallpaper still clings to the planks. Some of the ladies that graced the saloon were Big Dessie, Popcorn Lil, the Oregon Mare, Pea Hull Annie, the Belle of Skagway, and of course Klondike Kate.

By late 1899, business began to suffer, and the ladies moved north to the gold fields. The wild days are gone, but the fun remains. Walk through the doors, and you step back in time with a honky-tonk piano player, barkeeper and waitresses in 1890 dress and rowdy noise from the patrons. It couldn't be better. I sat back with a cold beer in hand and imagined what it must have been like in 1898.

After a spell at the Red Onion, we visited a few stores before walking to the local sweet shop to buy a double-decker ice cream cone. Under a shady tree, we found a sidewalk bench and made calls to our family.

At 5:30, it was time to leave and return to Whitehorse. The sun was setting on the mountains and lakes, making the return ride quite enjoyable.

From our first visit, we have found Skagway to be one of our favorite places. Perhaps some day you will make the great adventure and enjoy Skagway and the local flavor of Klondike Kate, Soapy Smith and the rowdy noise of the Red Onion Saloon.