Well On Our Way (Wednesday, July 15, 2009) After a couple of good days in Watson Lake, we departed early Wednesday morning, 7:00 AM, driving towards Whitehorse, YT. Animal sightings were far and few between, with only a black bear being seen. With about an hour left to go before our arrival in Whitehorse, it began raining once again, but quit just before our pulling in to Pioneer RV Park. With decent wi-fi, we immediately read and sent email messages, and I sent updates to the journal. We also had decent cable TV, so caught up on U.S. and world news.

Whitehorse, YT, Day 2 (Thursday, July 16, 2009) A good night’s sleep was had by all, at least us, despite near daylight 24 hours a day. The caravan had a planned activity this morning–a bus tour of the Whitehorse area. We saw Miles Canyon, took a tour of the Klondike II, and drove all of the downtown area. The Klondike II is a retired paddle wheel boat that plied the Yukon River in the 1930s, 1940s, and part of the 1950s. It’s about the length of a football field, and was very interesting.

We also enjoyed the driving tours of Miles Canyon and downtown Whitehorse. Upon returning to the RV park, we had a lunch of leftovers, and headed back into town to take care of some business regarding my late dad’s estate. Despite what we thought was going to be an impossible task, a graphics company printed our MSWord file, the Coldwell-Banker real estate office staff notarized the document, and Kay was able to post it, via airmail, back to the US; we were only charged for the posting!

We were then off to do some walking/hiking on the many trails along the Yukon River, but first finding an interesting open market in one of the many parking lots (their open market was similar to our farmers’ market). The 7+ mile trek along the river just about did us in, with recovery coming only after a mediocre meal at Boston Pizza and an 8-minute hot shower (you have to pay $1.50 for the second and subsequent 8 minutes). Reading and journal writing filled out the rest of the evening.

P.S. It’s almost 10 PM and the sun is shining very brightly! We have to darken the motorhome to assist our sleep systems.

Whitehorse, YT, Day 3 (Friday, July 17, 2009) Our morning started with a boat trip up Schwatka Lake through Miles Canyon. Schwatka Lake was formed when the Yukon River wad dammed at Whitehorse in 1958, for hydropower. The portion of the trip through the very narrow part of the canyon was fascinating because of the rapids, but otherwise, it was just a boat trip on a lake! On our return to the RV park, we stopped by the Beringia Centre, a museum representing part of Russia, Alaska, and Yukon Territory that was not covered with ice in the last Ice Age. Several replicas of mammoth and other large animal skeletons were displayed. Their feature display was a Yukon Horse, actually a preserved Yukon horse skin, leg, etc. that had been recently discovered by a gold miner. This horse supposedly lived some 28,000 years ago. The museum was good, and at least served to educate about the Beringia, but not something we’d readily do again. And, to preserve her youthful appearance, Kay got a color and cut at a local beauty shop, wrapping up the day.

Whitehorse, YT, Day 4 (Saturday, July 18, 2009) Are we ever glad that daylight doesn’t keep us from sleeping. It’s quite interesting to see the sun still in the sky at 11 PM, yet looking outside, no one is moving about. Today is catch-up day for us, seeing all the things we wanted to see, but have somehow missed. We began with a hike guided by staff from the Yukon Conservation Society, taking us from the suspension bridge over the narrow gorge at Schwatka Lake to Canyon City and return.

While waiting in the campground, we saw two foxes, the animal kind, running around the parking lot; neither appeared to be afraid of humans. The hike along the lake was quite interesting as one of our guides was of First Nation origin and told us of uses of many of the plants along the trail. One of the interesting things we learned on the hike is that “ladies” of the evening were referred to as Good Time Girls. Hmmm. After this 5.3 km (about 3.2 miles) hike, we drove to the downtown area of Whitehorse for a guided walking tour. It was a rehash of our bus tour on Thursday, but more detailed. Then it was off to the Transportation Museum of the Yukon. We particularly liked the old trucks and planes from the World War II era. The world’s largest wind vane is on the grounds of the museum, an old DC-3; it is balanced so well that a 2 mph wind will move it. We drove back to the motorhome for some rest, and then we’re off to the Fancy Follies late tonight. Tomorrow, we have a long travel day, some 330 miles, to Dawson City, Yukon Territory.

Our Recommendations for Whitehorse, YT We did a lot of things in Whitehorse, and most were worthwhile. Here’s how we rate them, best to worst. The Klondike II is definitely worth seeing, as was the long Centennial walk/hike. We also enjoyed the hike sponsored by the Yukon Conservation Society. The Yukon Transportation Museum was worthwhile, we feel sure the Fancy Follies will be good, and the downtown guided walking tour was also good. The Beringia Museum was OK, but we wouldn’t do it again. Also, the bus tour was OK, but it’s our opinion the driver/guide seemed to have a chip on his shoulder, and lacked credibility, and we wouldn’t do it again, though we did learn where to go on our own. Also, we wouldn’t do the cruise on Schwatka Lake again.

Kay’s Take I took a chance on a strange beauty shop and hairstylist because I was afraid that I would take the scissors to my own hair! Also the gray was coming back strong. That’s what happens when you have healthy hair and it grows so fast. Back to Whitehorse history. One of the fascinating things we learned was that they decided to restore the paddleboat Klondike and use her as a ‘boat museum’. But, she wasn’t seaworthy any more and a bridge had been built over the river too. How did they move her approx. 3 miles from her current spot to the other side of the bridge at the town park on the river? They moved her down the main street of town using soap (Palmolive, I think) and grease, with skids under her and 4 bulldozers pulling her. It took them 3 days! They had the pictures to prove it. Unbelievable!! They hired some engineers to help them figure a way and the engineers told them it was impossible. What did they know? Hehehehe! The Klondike was almost as long as a football field and going down the street she filled up the entire area to the sidewalks. We’ve had a really good time here and enjoyed most of the activities. My feet are ‘sore’ this afternoon so I’m loafing around before the follies.

Campground Pioneer RV Park, Whitehorse, YT, is not great, but good. It’s slightly better than the average in which we’ve stayed since entering Canada. Our sites have electric, water, sewer, cable, and wi-fi, though the wi-fi is sporadic. It’s a gravel lot, which is OK, but has some pools of water and mud left over from Wednesday’s rain, including where we unhooked our Saturn—thank goodness for Crocs. The shower rooms are adequate, but tend to pool water an inch or more deep because the drains are insufficient.

Driving Statistics

Beginning Mileage: 12,612.4

Beginning Time: 7:00 AM PDST

Ending Mileage: 12,877.6

Ending Time: 3:30 PM PDST

TOTAL MILEAGE FOR THE DAY: 265.2

CUMULATIVE MILEAGE: 3,751.3