Whitehorse, Yukon Territory

We spent the day in Whitehorse and saw a lot of things. We had a really good time. Next to our campground is a lot of equipment that was abandoned here when the U.S. Army built the Alaskan Highway. Grant took pictures of many pieces of equipment. Next we drove to Miles Canyon and took pictures of the Yukon River. The walls of the river canyon are basalt columns. From there we went to the Beringia Museum to learn about the migration of man and animals across the Bering Strait during the time when the water between North America and Asia was at a much lower level because so much of the Earth’s water was amassed in the glaciers. They have remains of many animals from that time and quite an interesting and informative movie. In addition, they taught Grant how to throw an ancient atlatl lance, that would have been used for hunting at that time. I got a picture of him hurling the lance and instructions how to make one. Then we went to the Transportation Museum, and among other things, saw the World’s Largest Weathervane

We had lunch at a Subway in town. After lunch, we went to the Fish Ladder by the Schwatka Lake Dam. It’s not time for the salmon to be here. They are up near Dawson City right now, and should be here in another week. There were white fish using the ladder. They tell me you can see the fish entering the ladder here in Whitehorse on a live camera at www.yukonenergy.com. After that, Grant went to the White Pass Yukon Railway Station (train no longer comes to Whitehorse; ends at Frasier Flats), while I went to a quilt shop and bought “Northern” half quarters for a quilt!

At 4pm we treated ourselves to a cruise on the Yukon River on the Schwatka River Boat. The river is amazing. The Yukon is a huge river, but it squeezes through narrow canyons just out of Whitehorse. There are white water rapids and eddies on the river. We really enjoyed our 2 hour ride. Saw a mother bear and cub on the hillside. Since the dam was built, the average depth of the river is 28 ft. When the river was lower, before the dam, it was much more dangerous.

Off to Dawson City early tomorrow morning…