{"id":2277,"date":"2013-07-16T00:20:10","date_gmt":"2013-07-16T00:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/perrellas.com\/?p=2277"},"modified":"2014-01-26T23:11:34","modified_gmt":"2014-01-26T23:11:34","slug":"july-9-14-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/perrellas.com\/?p=2277","title":{"rendered":"July 9 \u2013 14, 2013, Dawson City\/Whitehorse\/The Cremation of Sam McGee\/Yukon"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cloudy<\/a><\/p>\n

Another 12 hour drive planned today.\u00a0 \u00a0Between the dreadful roads, scenery veiled by fog, rain and mud, it was not the memorable journey that we experienced when leaving Whitehorse for Alaska but we arrived safely without anything else falling down, or off, LilyPad.<\/p>\n

\"Takhini<\/a>\u00a0 \"Pioneer<\/a>\u00a0\"Our<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Eagle<\/a>\u00a0\"Schwatka<\/a>\u00a0\"Land<\/a><\/p>\n

Along our painstakingly slow passage we saw pieces of trailers, parts of RV\u2019s, car wheels and rims all strewn along the road, even a fairly new purple bicycle that must have fallen off unseen and no one returned to collect.\u00a0\u00a0 John kept a close eye out for spare parts that we may need but no luck.\u00a0 A trailer passing by could score a jack crank, new looking ice chest and some nice wood chalks.<\/p>\n

Alaska is now in the proverbial rear view mirror and we are settled into the land of loonies, toonies, pretty paper money, no one-cent coins, fee lending shopping baskets, pay showers, penguin cheddar crackers, 90 km being the new 60 mph, our GPS instructing us in meters instead of yards\/feet and \u201cyes\u201d is \u201cYou betcha\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Loonies<\/a>\u00a0\"Lending<\/a><\/p>\n

Re-visiting the fish ladder now that it has opened was first on our list.\u00a0 Again, we are early for the salmon as they will\u00a0 not appear until later in August but we were able to see how it worked with the Graylings that were using the ladder.\u00a0 The ladder came into being when the Northern Canada Power Commission built the Whitehorse Rapids hydroelectric dam.<\/p>\n

\"Spillway\"<\/a>\u00a0\"Whitehorse<\/a><\/p>\n

Recognizing that something had to be done to insure the continuation of the salmon run, a year later they built the Whitehorse Fishway.\u00a0 It is an amazing network of water and wood that helps the salmon make their long journey back to the streams where they began.\u00a0 \u00a0The wood walkways guide you through the fishway and avail a bird\u2019s eye view of the ladder.\u00a0 Information about the salmon and the history of the Fishway is posted along the walkway and in the information center.<\/p>\n

\"Graylings<\/a>\u00a0\"Public<\/a>\u00a0\"Graylings\"<\/a>\u00a0\"More<\/a>\u00a0\"Whitehorse<\/a>\u00a0\"Top<\/a><\/p>\n

Tonight John got tickets for Frantic Follies, a turn-of-the-century vaudeville revue with amusing readings of Robert William Service, a poet and writer.\u00a0 Robert was often called \u201cthe Bard of the Yukon\u201d and was best known for his poems \u201cThe Shooting of Dan McGrew\u201d and \u201cThe Cremation of Sam McGee\u201d, from his first book, Songs of a Sourdough.\u00a0 John has an original 1907 leather bound copy of the book handed down from his grandfather who often traveled in Canada so he was excited about seeing the show.\u00a0 It was a fun comical evening and included entertainment that would have been seen by the pioneers of the Great Klondike Gold Rush in the late 1800\u2019s. \u00a0\u00a0As with most shows in hotels that cater to major cruise lines, audience participation was included and they carefully picked those that could laugh at themselves to play the dupes.\u00a0 We didn’t think pictures would be welcome, so we left the camera and ended up taking some with John’s phone.\u00a0 It doesn’t like action and the show was a whirl of movement.<\/p>\n

\"Frantic<\/a>\u00a0\"Frantic<\/a><\/p>\n

Planning for another long day of driving in the rain but this time with only a few hours of gravel areas, repaired bumpy areas and winding mountain roads. \u00a0\u00a0As usual \u201cplanned\u201d does not necessarily result in action.\u00a0 \u00a0John tried to hook up Ribbit and the poor thing remained lifeless through all of his efforts to start the engine.\u00a0 The jump from LilyPad backfired and he fried the master and all of the other fuses but luckily, only on the car.\u00a0 We called our road service and they arrived to tow Ribbit to the Toyota dealership.\u00a0 Now we wait.\u00a0 Possible chance of leaving Saturday if the part gets shipped today.\u00a0 As it is \u201calways something\u201d, this might as well be the something.<\/p>\n

Morning arrived and my list of things to keep us busy while we wait for car repair went into full swing.\u00a0 MacBride Museum of Yukon History is up first.\u00a0 The non-profit museum houses several collections, the first being a captivating film about the Klondike Gold Rush and Dawson City in its hay day.<\/p>\n

\"Klondike<\/a><\/p>\n

I was amazed at the tenacity and stamina of the 100,000 prospectors that set out on a journey, some as far as two thousand miles from home, to stake claims in north-western Canada, the Yukon.\u00a0 The Klondike Gold Rush, 1896 through 1899, brought many but only 30 or 40 thousand managed to arrive in Dawson City.\u00a0 Some became wealthy although the majority went in vain and a mere 4,000 struck gold.<\/p>\n

\"1895<\/a>\u00a0\"Mounted<\/a>\u00a0\"Mounted<\/a><\/p>\n

The hardships that they endured were unthinkable and the Mounted Police of the Yukon required each prospector, most being white collar workers with no prospecting experience, to tote one years supply up the steep icy Chilkoot or White Pass trails before they were allowed to enter the territory and build their boats to sail down the Yukon River to the Klondike. The journey up the mountain had to be made over and over to accumulate the years supply, weighing nearly a ton, collected at the top.\u00a0 Snow would cover everything and they would have to dig it out before continuing on their way.\u00a0 Although gold was discovered in the Yukon in 1896, it took a year for news to reach Seattle and San Francisco and trigger the stampede of would-be prospectors.\u00a0 It is hard to imagine the suffering that those first Sourdoughs underwent to reach the Yukon.\u00a0 Sadly, most went through frozen hell only to find that several rich men with crews and supplies had already arrived 18 months prior and had staked most of the good claims.\u00a0\u00a0 The Rush ended in 1899 after gold was discovered in Nome Alaska and resulted in an exodus from the Klondike.<\/p>\n

\"MacBride<\/a>\u00a0\"Original<\/a>\u00a0\"Original<\/a><\/p>\n

Outside on museum property was equipment from the 1800\u2019s and the cabin of the legendary Sam McGee.\u00a0 Viewing the cabin, after knowing the name and poem, was the highlight for John.\u00a0 The cabin of Sam McGee (of The Cremation of Sam McGee<\/span> poem fame) complete with period furnishings along with actual mining equipment used by miners in the Klondike.<\/p>\n

\"Sam<\/a>\u00a0\"McGee's<\/a>\u00a0\"Original<\/a>\"Sam<\/a>\u00a0\"Miners<\/a>\u00a0\"wooden<\/a><\/p>\n

Across the way was a black smiths shed equipped with tools from the late 1800\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\"Blacksmiths<\/a><\/p>\n

Engine No. 51, built in 1881 in New York, was shipped north in 1898 to help build the White Pass and Yukon Railroad.<\/p>\n

\"Engine<\/a><\/p>\n

The exhibits were interesting, although they contained an enormous amount of reading.\u00a0 They had a great wildlife exhibit with stuffed animals and birds local to the Yukon that filled a large room.<\/p>\n

\"Some<\/a><\/p>\n

In the basement was an exhibit and paintings from Jim Robb\u2019s Colorful Five Percent collection.\u00a0 Local artist and historian, he has been photographing, collecting and painting the Yukon\u2019s history for more than 50 years.\u00a0 One of the pieces, an ornate wooden door from Dawson City, was painted with his interpretation of life in Dawson City. (another “no pictures please” room)<\/p>\n

\"Original<\/a>\u00a0\"Yukon's<\/a>\u00a0\"Original<\/a><\/p>\n

All in all, we enjoyed the 2 hours we spent poking through everything.\u00a0 The tour guide was ahead of us so we listened but continued at a slower pace.<\/p>\n

Lunch at a great little diner called Burnt Toast.\u00a0 Eclectic Canadian foods including Poutine (French fries covered with cheese curd, pulled pork or other meat and gravy).\u00a0\u00a0Guaranteed to add pounds, just from the aroma.<\/p>\n

After lunch we picked up a few things at the local health food store and dropped them off, planning to visit another museum after walking KatieBug.\u00a0 A quick call to the Toyota dealership let us know our trip would continue in the morning.\u00a0 By the time I had put groceries away, the air outside was filled with thick smoke blown from the 122 active fires in Alaska so John hurried to pick up Ribbit, I pulled in slides, pulled up levels, John hooked up the car and we left for Rancheria Falls in the Yukon to overnight away from the smoke.<\/p>\n

\"Smokey<\/a><\/p>\n

This was the part of our ride on the way up that I enjoyed the most.\u00a0 Free roaming wild animal zoo.\u00a0\u00a0 We took a lunch break at Teslin Lake and learned that Canada stocks its glacier fed lakes because there isn\u2019t enough food in the icy water to sustain fish.\u00a0 It was a wonderfully peaceful break in the middle of our long drive.<\/p>\n

\"Teslin<\/a>\u00a0\"More<\/a><\/p>\n

To our disappointment, Canada\u2019s roads were in \u201crepair mode\u201d so they were torn up and severely dusty for mile upon mile.\u00a0 Intermittently, on the paved roads, we were able to spot a few of the wild things but, as usual, our big rig still scared off animals.\u00a0 Moose totally freaked as soon as they heard us coming.\u00a0 Bison, on the other hand, could care less!<\/p>\n

\"Black<\/a>\u00a0\"Young<\/a> \"Trying<\/a>\"Bison<\/a>\u00a0\"Older<\/a>\u00a0\"Young<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Grazing<\/a><\/p>\n

Another \u201cit\u2019s always something\u201d is our new sparkling star burst rock chip thrown up by a big rig on a dusty \u201crepair mode\u201d road.\u00a0 Just after we finished \u201cThe Wave\u201d and they passed us, a rock popped and we knew it chipped the window even before looking.\u00a0 \u00a0To clarify, \u201cThe Wave\u201d is what motorhome owners do when they pass each other.\u00a0 It involves exaggerated waves with the complete right arm, right arm because you can\u2019t see the drivers left arm from the other motorhome.\u00a0 Amazing how many participate\u2026even some truckers do it without prompting!<\/p>\n

Our first overnight was spent boondocking at Rancheria Recreation Area and falls.\u00a0 We were parked with two other campers for the night.\u00a0 In the morning, we walked the lovely cool path to the falls through the Boreal Forest.\u00a0 Three rushing water falls, rocky terrain with a forest floor full of tiny pretty flowers and moss.\u00a0 A few more brown egg shaped moose droppings along the path but no other signs.\u00a0 Breakfast, then off for our next overnight in Fort Nelson.<\/p>\n

\"Falls,<\/a>\u00a0\"Boreal<\/a>\u00a0\"Boreal<\/a>\u00a0\"Boreal<\/a>\"Mountains<\/a>\u00a0\"Boreal<\/a><\/p>\n

On the way, paused to enjoy Muncho Lake, aka \u201cBig Lake\u201d one of the biggest natural lakes in the Canadian Rockies.<\/p>\n

\"Muncho<\/a><\/p>\n

More \u201crepair mode\u201d dusty gravel and dirt roads on our journey to Fort Nelson.\u00a0 Driving slow to spot the wild things which included a few black bear, a small herd of mountain sheep and several moose that took off like rockets as soon as we approached.\u00a0 Our overnight is at Triple G in Fort Nelson, right at the edge of the highway and close to a small plane landing field.\u00a0 Noisy semi sleep-deprived night.<\/p>\n

\"Black<\/a>\u00a0\"Mountain<\/a>\u00a0\"Friendly<\/a>\u00a0\"Shy<\/a>\u00a0\"Triple<\/a><\/p>\n

Mountains surrounded us with splendid views in every direction.<\/p>\n

\"View<\/a><\/p>\n

Passing over steep grades up, then down, one mountain after another, through oil country with pick-em-ups and oil tanker truckers flying by all around until we drove into our gated, chain link fenced overnight, Ross H. Maclean Rotary RV Park in Charlie Lake, British Columbia, Canada.\u00a0 The RV park boarders a nature preserve so they fence the humans in to keep the wild things from entering for food.\u00a0 Again, next to the main highway with oil truckers dashing back and forth with their liquid haul so it\u2019s going to be another intermittently disturbed shut-eye.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Another 12 hour drive planned today.\u00a0 \u00a0Between the dreadful roads, scenery veiled by fog, rain and mud, it was not the memorable journey that we experienced when leaving Whitehorse for Alaska but we arrived safely without anything else falling down, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lilypad"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/perrellas.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/perrellas.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/perrellas.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/perrellas.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/perrellas.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2277"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"http:\/\/perrellas.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2277\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2279,"href":"http:\/\/perrellas.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2277\/revisions\/2279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/perrellas.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/perrellas.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/perrellas.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}