Saturday – busy days and bears in camp at Liarsville

Please note this belated posting is from an entry around May 10.

I’ve been in Skagway a short time and already the days are running together. Weekends are just the same as week days, since we have ships in port every day. That means the show at Liarsville (including the gift shop where I work in costume) and “dock rep” work meeting the cruise ships happens seven days a week. The only distinguishing factor between a Saturday or Sunday and a Wednesday is the number of ships in port and therefore the number of people in town.

Liarsville Goldrush Camp - our camp dog Denali (malamute) lays under the hot apple cider table near the fire ring in between shows. Denali is about 10 and moves slow but loves the guests -- and they love her. Notice the "do not feed me" sign on the table -- it's to keep well-intentioned guests from killing her with kindness by feeding her snacks and treats. We're under strict instructions from her vet to keep her away from people food to help keep her weight down. He made it clear that her life depends on it.

Our biggest days are by far Monday thru Thursday (peak day is Wednesday with four ships in at once, so the streets and shops and shows are crowded on those days). On the busy days we have more people in camp so that means more bakes and shows and fewer breaks in the action, and on the dock repping side that means more jeep tours and other tours to meet at the ships. It’s chaotic sometimes but interesting.

One of Yukon Jeep Tour jeeps on the road (well actually this is in a parking lot, but you know what I mean). :>)

Personally I like the challenge of never knowing what’s going to happen next, and I like that I move around a lot each day. I spent so many years sitting in the same office for days on end, that this is a very nice change of pace. Of course there are those days when it’s more challenging than others. On those cold and windy days standing on the docks with my little signs and trying to complete paperwork with numbed hands can be interesting. But personally I prefer that to the rainy days. We have jackets and I wear hats under the hoods, but my paperwork gets wet, the guests get kind of cranky and anxious to get on the bus (and typically THAT is the day the bus gets stuck waiting for the White Pass Narrow Gauge train crossing the tracks before they can make it to the dock).

We wear two-way radios to communicate with the base and the bus drivers as we send guests there way, or to notify them if the numbers go up unexpectedly and they need to prepare additional jeeps for the Yukon Jeep tours, or prepare additional food for the salmon bake in Liarsville, or if they need additional buses to have enough seats to get everyone where they need to go. (I dock rep for both the Yukon Jeep Tours and the Salmon Bakes). Those busy days or bad weather days keep the adrenaline pumping!

Guests panning for gold at Liarsville during a downpour.

In recent days we’ve had several bear sightings in camp at Liarsville, including seeing them on the trail we take through the woods between housing and the camp area. We make lots of noise so they know we’re coming and stay on alert because we never know where they’ll be. So far they have all been black bears, but once we saw a female and her cub, so obviously we have to be especially careful to give them a wide berth. We also have bear horns and use those to try and “encourage” them to move back up into the hills and away from the public areas. One of our musicians was riding one of our loaner bikes between town and camp one night and the police saw him and escorted him the rest of the way because of the recent bear activity. Just best not to take chances.

Two of our performers chat between shows in front of the mock "saloon."

Handling the sightings in camp is always a challenge because you never know what guests will do. It’s amazing how people seem to forget that this is not a zoo, and these are WILD animals. Hellooooo! We have a code word among the staff for when one of us sees a bear, and then we try to herd the passengers back onto their buses before telling them anything – better they take pictures from the safety of the coach than running down the road after it. (And no I’m afraid I’m not kidding).

In Liarsville I wore a costume for the first time yesterday. The dance hall girl costume is not really my style (at least not until it warms up a bit more, then we’ll see), so for now I chose something a bit more conservation. Think Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman (that sounds better than Little House don't you think?). I wear a grey high-waisted, ankle length skirt with black and white lace bloomer pants peeking out above my black lace-up boots. The top is a white high-neck blouse with red ribbon around the high collar and "poofy" sleeves. And the outfit was completed by a purple cape with tie string at the neck – needed that for warmth, and I used a garter belt to tie up my hair. When I’m in costume I’m part of the cast, so everything I do must be in character, and we never eat in front of the guests since it sort of ruins the “play acting” character (sort of like hearing the Disney characters talk in the park – that’s why they don’t). It was fun and I look forward to doing that again.

Downtown Skagway from the docks on a cloudy and stormy looking day.