Sadly we are leaving Skagway.   But one more stop before we really leave.   Less than 2 miles from downtown Skagway is Gold Rush Cemetery.

This is the final resting place of Soapy Smith, the human.

Quite the obituary.   Our Soapy Smith Duck wanted a photo with only him and his famous human.   This is a sad moment for Soapy Smith Duck.

Now for Frank H. Reid, the reason Soapy is resting here.

The sign continued saying Reid died from the gunshot wound.  Credited with fatally shooting Soapy Smith, Reid is still considered a hero of Skagway.   Ried, the surveyor, was responsible for laying out the Skagway townsite in early 1898 and he named many of the streets in Skagway today.    Frank Reid, the town hero, has the tallest and biggest tombstone in the cemetery.

Plenty of room here for all our Colorado Traveling Ducks.   Of course the wild days of the gold rush provides many stories.

There are a few unknown men, but this story is the most interesting.

A couple tombstones for unknowns.   We believe one is our not successful bank robber.    The last tombstone that caught our attention is that of Martin Itjen and his wife, Lucy.   **

This may be the world’s largest golden nugget.   Really a gold painted boulder, chained to a tree.   Martin created the ultimate tourist attractions.   **

These signs in Skagway’s Gold Rush Cemetery say it best.   Further research told of Martin taking his street cars to Hollywood to promote tourism to Skagway.   Martin was born in Germany, immigrated to Florida, then to Skagway to find his fortune.   That didn’t work out so well, so he became an undertaker, and then turned tour promoter.   Such a varied life he led.   Martin and Lucy Itjen were the last people buried in Skagway’s Gold Rush Cemetery.   A nice path leads from the graveyard, up the hillside, to Lower Reid Falls.

We all love the sounds of water.   And, yes, these falls were named for the town hero, Frank H. Reid.   Along the sides of the rock, we like these crevices.

The vegetation is rain forest type; the temperate climate from the water makes this an interesting place to visit.   Before we leave, one more photo.

Mom must have taken scores of waterfall photos, but I told her, only two can go in this blog post.   After all, this is Colorado Traveling Ducks, not humans.