Whitehorse

June 23rd
We are spending the last couple of days in the Yukon at Whitehorse. Last evening we went out to dinner with Penny and Tom; it will be the last time we see them for a while as we head to Edmonton tomorrow and home to Ontario on Sunday. Although we look forward to seeing Nick and Lindsey we will miss Penny and Tom, they are great friends and hosts. Last evening after a caribou steak we walked it off by going on the Millenium Trail Hike. This morning we finally caught up with Ross Findlater, a nephew of Russ Srs best friend. Ross is active man in the community of Whitehorse and an advocate for social change as it pertains to homelessness and poverty. He told some interesting stories about my father in law in his youth. Today we to traveled into Whitehorse to see the SS Klondike and the Frantic Follies. The Frantic Follies was a scream and an appropriate way to end our Yukon Vacation with there vaudeville show circa the gold rush era.

Skagway to Whitehorse-Summer Solstice

June 21st- Summer Solstice
Today is Summer Solstice and we left Skagway, heading towards Whitehorse. Yesterday evening we went, one last time, for a stroll along Broadway Street where we took in the atmosphere of the Red Onion. It was the 'real deal' in that all the cruise ships were gone and only the locals were at the saloon, while a 7 piece local 'hippy' folk group entertained the patrons. On our way to Carcross we saw a large black bear eating leaves. When we arrived at Carcross we were surprised to find that the large native community in Carcross was celebrating the solstice by dedicating a totem pole to the community. We arrived just when they started to parade the totem from the carving studio. The people were dressed in traditional dress and included drummers and dancers. It was emotional to participate in. We then toured Carcross more extensively and what could be a 2 hour drive from Skagway took all day-it's about the journey. 0n our way to Wolf Creek campground we saw a fox, it was larger then the fox we see in Ontario. We arrived at Whitehorse by dinner time and in the evening we went on a hike. Typical of our hikes we got lost- I felt like Gilligan; we were well on our way to Dawson once again. We turned back and once again became confused; thank God we had daylight (and bear spray, although ugh we didn't need it). On this trip with the RV we covered 4600 km. It was our plan to stay up to experience the midnight sun on this longest day of the year and we did, although we were both tired.

Skagway

June 19-20
we have spent the last 2 days exploring Skagway Alaska. We have our RV parked at the docks, which is convenient to getting to the action of Skagway. We shopped yesterday and returned to the Red Onion Saloon, thanks to Tom we are getting to be regulars there. Yesterday we also hiked over to the Gold Rush Cemetery and Reid Falls. The cemetery has some interesting history with gunslingers, con man an tragedy. This was a hard existence 100 years ago. Today we took the White Pass and Yukon Railroad train to Fraser BC and back, It was amazing and we took lots of pictures. Again it has a great history. Rebecca and I are now getting a little fatigued from the constant travel so we think we may head back to Whitehorse via Carcross versus taking the ferry to Haines and travel through Haines Junction. We will have to save that leg of the journey for another trip.

Carmacks to Skagway Alaska

June 18th
We got an early start and headed from Carmacks to meet up with Tom who is going to join up with us on our trip to Skagway Alaska. We traveled 367 km, passing through Carcross, formerly Caribou Crossing. Carcross has a a dessert and a beautiful beach. Our trip into Alaska took us through some desolate terrain, referred to as the Tormented Valley. We camped up in an area called Dyea, which we had to drive 8 miles up a twisty, narrow dirt road on the edge of a fiord to get to. For dinner we dined at a fish restaurant by the ship docks and later went to The Red Onion, formerly a brothel, for a couple of pints. 

Tombstone to Carmacks

June 17th
Today we were heading back to Whitehorse to reconnect with Tom, who is going to join us on our trip to Skagway Alaska tomorrow. We made it as far as Carmacks Yukon where we will stay the night and tomorrow we will be on the road early in the day to cover those 100 miles to Whitehorse. Today we covered the same route we took to get to Dawson. Our trip is planned such that this seldom happens and generally we are exploring new areas each day. Today we saw a couple of moose and a bear by the road as we travelled. The bear was a fair bit larger then what we have normally see, perhaps a grizzly but we were not close enough to tell for sure.

Dawson City to Tombstone

June 16th 
Spent another day in DC. We visited the museum,  Pierre Berton's home, Robert Services Cabin and Jack London's Cabin. We revisited some of the shops in DC and then headed off to the Dempster Highway, towards Tombstone, Yukon for the evening. Today we have been dealing with a fair bit of rain but the last few days have been warm and sunny. We arrived at Tombstone around 6:30. It is 72 km along Dempster Highway towards the NWT, it is a dirt road but in pretty good condition, although it has been raining and it looks as if we are in for a storm this evening. This park is just north of the tree line less then 200 km from the arctic circle. Tonight we to dined on some moose that Dave Robinson gave us at the trading post in DC. It was delicious. After dinner we did a hike on Grizzly Trail along the North Fork Klondike River, we took along our bear spray and a bell just in case We built campfire in the evening and watched as the rain which was falling on us was putting a thin layer of snow on the high mountains around us.

Dawson City

June 15th
We spent the evening in a Yukon Government Campground, outside DC, and in the morning headed into Dawson City. On the way to DC we went up on the dome where we enjoyed the vista that the metamorphic mountain provided for us. we then went up Bonanza Creek Road where the discovery of gold was made over 100 years ago. There we saw a tour of a former gold dredging operation. We then went into town and after visiting the information office and the Danoja Zho Cultural Centre. The town is the real deal-no paved streets and the sidewalks are boardwalks! I met up with a patient of mine who, when he travels home to see his family, pays me a visit. His name is Dave Robinson and he operates trading post and outfitting business. He was kind enough to give us a piece of mastodon tusk, found in the vicinity by gold prospectors, and a small gold nugget and promised us 2 moose steaks if we returned in the morning. We then shopped and ate and later watched the Stanley Cup final in a local saloon where none of the floors were any where near level. These buildings were built on permafrost over 100 years ago and it is surprising they still exist. At the Sourdough Saloon both Rebecca and myself proved that we capable of almost anything by each consuming a SourToe Cocktail. It was a shot of Yukon Jack with a amputated/frostbitten toe in it. Google it! it's the real deal! Tonight at midnight we are going to Diamond Gerties-a sassy Klondike show and casino.