Whitehorse — #1 of a few

Jane & I went to Whitehorse to join my brother Doug & some family for his 90th birthday celebration. I'd been to the Yukon before but Jane hadn't so it was great to see it again with her. We also got to a a few places I'd missed on my other visits. And there are always new experiences even when you've seen some things before.

It's still surprising to me that the population of the Yukon is only about 37,000 — of which about 22,000 are in Whitehorse.

Our first lookabout was a visit to the paddle wheeler, on the shore of the Yukon River. 

 

Important cargo in pioneer days.

The guest book was in the engine room.

And yes, it says, you can sit down in the chair and enjoy the engine room. Ok. We passed.

 

A well organized kitchen. The dining room for the officers & first class passengers was very classy for the times. It's at the back in this photo but it was closed for renovations.

The Yukon River from the paddle wheeler.

Inukshuks along the Yukon River.

Fireweed – the Territorial flower. It's everywhere... along roadsides, scattered through town, in fields, etc. It's a gorgeous color—well chosen guys.

Someone feeling artistic.

Jane exploring the shoreline.

Some wildflowers that remind me of the Chicory we have down our way. 

It's similar to Chickory for sure. Maybe in the same family?

The 19 hours of daylight takes some getting used to. It just doesn't feel right going to bed when it's light out.

Our rental started out clean, but it didn't stay that way for long. It's a Kia Rio for the curious. It was fun to drive. Easy to maneuver in tight spots.

Miles Canyon is about 10 minutes out of town. The water is a gorgeous turquoise-green. The picture is accurate color.

Volcanic pillars line part of the canyon.

They have the coolest plates.

 

A town fox. Doug's place is next to some woods so this guy/girl visits now & then.

He/she looks a little hungry. 

Beautiful coloring.

This fascinates me. I only learned on this visit that it's a weather vane! They call it a 'plane vane'.  Somehow I missed that fact when I saw it on my last visit. It's mounted on some very sensitive bearings, and even a slight breeze will turn it into the wind. It's a DC-3, aka Dakota & C-25.

It's hard to tell in the following two shots, but it turned in the breeze while we were there. It's odd standing there, seeing it slowly rotate with the breeze, first one way, then the other as the wind shifted. I mean, really, how cool is that!

Jane got a short video of it. I'll try to remember to post it next time for the curious.

Enough for now. More later if you're interested.

- fini-