Chuck:
Sunday: Hard surfaced road, perfect weather and friendly hills made this an easy day. Betty had the RV parked and hooked to utilities when I arrived. We had wine & cheese outside while chatting with our neighbors who are from New Brunswick.
It is good to be back in Whitehorse; we like this town. It is the capital of Yukon Territory and is a clean, growing and upbeat little city. Whitehorse is very outdoor oriented; they have an extensive network of trails for both road and mountain bikes and for walking. Lots of lakes and the Yukon River provide paddle and fishing opportunities. Fall and winter activities include: downhill and cross-country skiing, dog sledding, snow shoeing, ice fishing, trapping, hunting, snowmobiling and more. Some bikers use super-wide tires (4 or 5 inches) on special bike frames for recreation and competition on snow.
Monday: We planned a day off to catch up on life’s little chores: laundry, resupply, cleaning bikes and equipment, etc. In the early afternoon we visited Miles Canyon, a deep channel cut by the Yukon River over thousands of years, very impressive. There is a suspension walking/biking bridge that crosses the canyon and connects trail on both sides. Ten years ago, my canoe partner, Bill Quayle, and I paddled through that canyon as we started our long trip down the Yukon to the Bering Sea. Water in the river at this location is very clear and fast. A few hundred miles downstream it gets very chalky from tributaries carrying silk from glacial melt runoff.
About mid-afternoon, we toured the Klonkike an old paddle-wheeled steam boat that was once used to haul supplies to miners down river. The Canadian Park Service has restored the “Old Lady” and they proudly explain her service. Later, Betty and I had dinner at the Klondike Beef & Salmon Bar-B-Q. A decade ago, Bill and I ate here two or three times because he liked their wide variety of wild game dishes; I think he had buffalo, caribou and elk while I liked both the salmon and halibut which is what Betty & I had tonight. After dinner we went across the street to the Frantic Follies, a turn-of-the-century Vaudeville like show focusing on North Country humor and events. Whitehorse was in the middle of the “Stampeders” journey to the Klondike during the gold-rush of 1898 – 1904. The most common route was by ocean steamer to Skagway, pack over Chilkoot or White Pass, make or buy a small boat or raft and float past Whitehorse to Dawson City about 300 miles farther inland. Today was a good day!
Tuesday: We had such a good time yesterday we decided to take today off as well. Actually, today we did a lot of the chores we copped out on yesterday. I rearranged the CRV so I can carry both the road bike and the mountain bike in the back. The plan is to use the road bike as the primary and only use the mountain bike on long stretches of gravel or construction work. This afternoon, we found Wal-Mart and also found the Yukon Brewery. Since we left Alaska, I have adopted Yukon Red as a local taste test winner. Afterward, we all went for a bike ride through Whitehorse. Mitzie (small Yorkie) has a carrier that fits on the front of Betty’s bike. It was a good time.