ExTerra Adventures: July 5 – 12 Our week in Whitehorse

July 5 – 12 Our week in Whitehorse

welllll.......making lemonade out of lemons. Today, after a 5 hour ($$$) shuttle bus ride from Watson Lake to Whitehorse we are ensconced in a hotel for 5 nights to do sightseeing we had planned, then we will return the Watson Lake via shuttle and hopefully the pickup and new tranny will at least be in the process of being united with each other. We did very briefly see a cow and calf moose finally (!) as we whizzed by a small lake this morning. So, the elusive moose is at least in the country.

We continue to jet down the highway, going way faster than we do when in our pickup and trailer. We enjoy First Nation’s presentation of dance along our walk to the hotel and we land in the Canadas Best Riverview Hotel. The hotel shows its age but is relatively comfortable and nicely located, overlooking the Yukon River and close to downtown. Venturing out for dinner we stumble into “First Friday Art Walk.” Galleries are on the agenda as Sam is very much into art, ceramics, music and acting. In addition to a nice variety of art, each gallery has finger food and we munch and enjoy along the route. I even snag a glass of red wine. It turns out there is no need to find dinner after all.

We enjoy the Riverfront Town Square, think “Saturday Market” where Pam and Sam each make a silk screened t-shirt at one of the local artists presentations. We wander the town to get a feel for what else we might want to do. Whitehorse is the capital of Yukon and in addition, is very cognizant of the First Nations history. We will have a nice variety of activities to choose from. We do start a search for a new hotel as our has no hot water today and the room is also sweltering despite two fans going full time.

On July 7 we take an all day excursion to Skagway on the White Pass and Yukon narrow gauge railway. We took this train years ago with Sam’s dad Zach and Uncle Jacob. It was fun to return with Sam. We board a bus for a ride to Fraser where we catch the narrow gauge train for a ride down the White Pass canyon.

Scenery is breathtaking and the steep, curvy route is an engineering feat. As such it was designated as an international historic civil engineering landmark by the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering and the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1994. It was constructed in 1898 as a means for prospectors to more easily journey from Skagway to the gold fields around Dawson City, Yukon.

Today we enjoy the “riverwalk” along the Yukon River and go by the S.S. Klondike, one of Canada’s few remaining steam-powered paddle-wheelers currently undergoing lead paint removal. This is a National Historic Site so there are lots of interesting information panels to read even though we cannot go inside the Klondike. Up until the 1950’s sternwheelers were one of the primary ways to contact the outside world for people who lived in this area.

We find ice cream along the way home, soft serve with root beer slushy mixed in, it was quite good. We tour and enjoy the “Old Log Church Museum.” The guides explain much about the early history and the people who made the church and helped establish the town. This goes beyond the normal gold fever and First Nations history and it is quite interesting. Even the layout and presentation of the displays is very nicely done and not what I expected when we walked through the doors. Housed in the Anglican Church, it is one of the oldest buildings in town. The rectory, a separate building next door is still in use today.

When we return to the hotel there is still no hot water and no plumbers have been found to come to repair the boilers so we move down the street. We also have determined that the pickup will not be ready for at least a few more days so we decide to stay in Whitehorse for three more days. Today is Carl’s birthday and he has chosen the Klondike Rib and Salmon restaurant, one of great ambience having started its life as in 1900 as a bakery housed inside a tent with the other half of the restaurant originating in 1929 as a mail and freight business. The ambience is great, as is the food and Carl enjoys halibut for his birthday, “Oven baked Alaskan Halibut Filet topped with Fireweed Honey Butter, a melted slice of double crème Brie cheese, finished with Yukon Haskap & Saskatoon Berry Sauce,” yum!

Eating way too much in restaurants this week is offset by our walking. Today we do about 4 miles roundtrip from our hotel to the Whitehorse Fishway. This is the longest wooden fish ladder in the world and allows fish to pass around the Whitehorse Rapids dam, part of the Yukon Energy power program. Primarily Chinook salmon but today we only see Arctic grayling. The Chinook counts are at historical lows in the last couple of years. We enjoy a sack lunch along the way taking the trail up onside of the Yukon and back down the other. At the foot bridge we enjoy watching a kayaker play in the rapids. We hopped on the local trolly briefly at the beginning of our hike and of course stop for ice cream on the way home!

So many museums and heritage centers. We spend time throughout the week at:

· McBride Museum of Yukon History – wildlife, Indigenous and gold rush history

· Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre – First Nations event center and resident artists

· Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre – how the Bering land bridge affected north America

Sam demonstrating the use of a Paleolitic period atlatl

· Yukon Transportation Museum – from dogsleds to interpretive EV charging port

Note the Tesla truck utilizing the "live" outdoor exhibit - charging port

Using the local bus system we travel out to the Guild Hall for their “Round Back at the Guild Hall” evening small theatre offering, “WYRD - A Musical UnFairytale: Staged reading of phase 5 of development. Rock concert. Musical. Unfairytale. WYRD has it all, without even a hint of a handsome prince. Think Alice in Wonderland or The Wizard of Oz – just add eviscerating social satire and a lot more mud.” It was all that and more. Priceless were the looks of delight on Sam’s face as she watched local small theater in action. She also learned that one of the authors of the play, who read this evening’s play, is co-author on the Ride the Cyclone play that Sam’s school will be presenting this coming year.

Our last evening in Whitehorse finds us enjoying the sled dogs at Braveheart Adventures. Paul and Jenna introduce us to their dogs, all semi-retired dog sled working dogs. They harness 7 of the pack who are very excited to go to work. We meander through trees along well worn pathways in a side-by-side “4 wheeler” while the dogs strain at their harnesses. Partway through Paul stops them for a water break and then we head back for a nice evening around the campfire roasting sausages and enjoying lively conversation. Paul returns us to our motel and it is just starting to get dark around midnight when we turn in for the evening. Tomorrow, we hop back on the shuttle to Watson Lake to see what progress has been made with the pickup.