Lazy Sunday

A decision to go to the Driving Range rather than play a full game was probably a good idea for today. The rain clouds kept coming and going and the driving range was relatively quiet. Also it's never a bad idea to practice once in a while.

The driving range was under repair all last year and this year there is nice green grass rather than sand and clay on which to hit our balls.

Then it was off to Bean North Coffee House on the Takhini Hot Springs Road for a cuppa. The sun once again reappeared while we were sipping and chatting.

This was kinda cute - I imagined a youngster setting these picked flowers in a puddle on a rock so they could live just a little bit longer.
Timing was perfect as the rain started just as we left Bean North. Now it's sprinkling off and on - a good excuse to watch the Confederation Cup final which I taped - USA v Brazil - should be a good game and no guilt not doing my gardening on my day off.

Not Quite a Midnight Sun

Everyone 'outside' always asks "how much light do you have now?" So two nights ago I walked past the window at 11:00 PM and gazed at the sun turning the mountains gold. So, this is what it looks like at one hour before midnight on June 25th (on a clear night).

Mexican High Heel Race

This is fun to watch. This is their first one although I can't find their 2nd or 3rd one.

Pole Dancers

This is a taste of the Dancers as the pole was carried along the street and highway to its final resting place.

Raising the Totem Poles

Finally, the crow stands majestic with the wolf on its other side.

After many speeches, dances and drums, the poles were lifted to their resting place. As they were lifted the drums increased in intensity and you could feel the adrenaline racing to the drum beats throughout your body. This is the Wolf being raised.

The Carcross/Skagway Highway was closed off to let the procession through. (It was funny to see the Harley Davidson motorcyclists in their leather garb pulled off to the side of the road to let the dancers and poles through)
Here are the volunteers carrying one of the poles down the street to its new home.


The totem poles - one crow, one wolf - were raised in a large and colourful ceremony. The poles were carried along the street amidst dancers and drummers. It began with a prayer and request for volunteers to carry the two heavy poles.

Met the Family

We knew Cody and her family were going to be in Carcross. A new daycare was opening up and two totem poles were made to adorn the entrance of this facility. First Nations bands from Carcross and beyond were taking part in the ceremony, so Cody's husband and stepkids and father-in-law were there as was little Ella. Above is Cody & little Ella.

Everyone was excited to see the wee one.

Cody's father-in-law was in full traditional dress.

And before the ceremony began, I was able to get together the family. Peter is holding a wolf's head in his hand, which is actually his headdress. Of course, he is of the Wolf Clan, and the two older kids are part of the Frog Clan, as will be Cody & Ella sometime later this year.

Carcross

I never tire looking at the scenery on the road to Carcross. My friend had work to do there so we accompanied her to the beautiful little town. Saw a bear on the way - just. Had passed it before we actually saw it.

And here is one of my favourite scenes - Bennett Lake. As you can see from our hair, the wind was a' blowin' off Bennett Lake, and not a warm wind I might add.

Dog Show

Who couldn't love a face like this ?? This weekend is the Yukon Kennel Club's Dog Show, the northern most dog show in Canada. So many breeds were represented, all of them exquisitely groomed and mannered.

Some groomed to the extreme.

All of these were 1st place contestants. It is always fun to visit this show and watch the people parade the dogs around the ring.

I just heard the CD that SR's friend cut. They - Brooke and her 3 sisters - have just finished recording and mixing it in Brian Adam's recording studio and their agent will be distributing it in Nashville to see if it is picked up. If sounds amazing - they are writing and singing their own music. She is so excited about this new development in her life - and with good reason. If it does come out in a public CD I will certainly share it with you.

The afternoon wrapped up with coffee at the Bean North roasting house on the Takhini Hot Springs road. Other than the mosquitoes it is a lovely place to share a cuppa.

Life in Whitehorse

I was telling my colleague that my cousin will be in Anchorage in August and I said I would drive over to visit him, then we could drive back to Whitehorse. First he was looking forward to a road trip, then he looked at the map. He didn't realize that it would either take me 2 - 7 hour days to reach Anchorage or one very long 14 hour day, weather and road conditions permitting ... it is just over 800 kilometers away. He then decided he would fly to Whitehorse and emailed me saying "do I really have to fly down to Vancouver, then up to Whitehorse??" My colleague laughed and said "welcome to our world".

I thought of this today as we were talking about a contractor who advised that his classes begin at 8:30 AM and end at 6:00 PM. We all laughed. Yukoners don't sit anywhere for that length of time, unless perhaps there is a 3 hour lunch break (or perhaps we're on a plane to Australia). Only in the Yukon, eh?, came up again today when we were without long distance telephone service and internet service for the afternoon as a fibre-optic cable was cut by a backhoe working on the Alaska Highway. That also meant no shopping unless you carry cash, as credit card and debit card service was out as well. Also today, cell phone service was disrupted apparently by the smoke in the air from the 17 forest fires that are burning.

Many businesses live for the tourist trade, but come summer most still close up shop at 6PM. And even in the summer, you can roll a bowling ball down the middle of the Main Street on a Sunday.

I guess we're a different breed up here. We get used to the have and the have not. We get both. Currently we are cut off from the south by the closure of the Alaska Highway between Watson Lake and Ft Nelson (the 2nd time this season) due to forest fires. By the way, that is the route our food comes, so some of the shelves may be a bit emptier these days, but that's the way it is. So, as Sue says, "welcome to our world"!

Arts in the Park

As mentioned earlier, every summer, the Yukon Art Society puts together Arts in the Park. Monday through Friday performers stand on stage in LePage park in downtown Whitehorse during the lunch hour and perform.
Today it was the Debbie and Bruce Bergman, playing a lot of bluegrass. Thoroughly enjoyable.

LePage Park began in 1985/6 when Heritage Canada was promoting downtown revitalization. I worked for Target Downtown in the small blue house that you can barely see in the photo below. It was in the process of being renovated as a Heritage House (The Smith House). The white house you see is another heritage house (The Captain Martin House). We started a park between the two houses and it slowly developed into what you see above. It is well used and a very pleasant place to eat your lunch.


For those of you who once lived in or visited Whitehorse, there's one of our two theatres across the road.
This is also the stage the White Stripes performed at a couple of years ago when they came to Whitehorse and decided to put on a free concert. They discovered they were playing that evening in a facility that held only 500 people and heard that a lot of people couldn't get tickets, so they phoned a radio station to announce an impromptu concert at 4 and word spread like wildfire. There must have been close to 1,000 people that came to the park, spreading onto the streets to watch them.
And speaking of wildfires, a forest fire closed the Alaska Highway today between Ft. St. John and Watson Lake. Fireside and a couple of other stops were evacuated. The highway is our lifeline with trucks carrying our food and materials north. Hopefully it is soon under control.

Bear-y Hungry

My friend Terry sent these pictures to me in an email. That bear must have been very hungry and that clothes line must have been very strong to support it. Glad that isn't my back yard!

We're Having a Heat Wave!!

The Yukon has been having record breaking high temperatures for a week now. We deserve it considering we missed summer completely last year. I strolled through Rotary Park at lunch and snapped a few shots of the kids having fun in the wonderful waterpark we now have there. Old Rotary Park with only a small swing section and a band stand has transformed into a wonderful area with beach volleyball courts, water park for kids, a great play area for kids and of course the band stand and lots of grass to plop down on and sun tan.

The Yukon River still has ice on it despite the heat. For those that know the area, you can see the clay cliffs which border the South Access (now called Robert Service Way) and there is a walk way right along the river that meshes into beautiful trails in Riverdale.

There must have been a wee fire as I was walking. The helicopter which flew overhead was carrying a water bucket. That is always the fear during the dry times. I have heard of a couple of forest fires, but not near Whitehorse, thank heavens. Apparently this one was small as there was no smoke in the air.


And I walked past the paddle wheeler. Yes Bev and Bill, this is what it looks like with no snow.
It is so hot ... how hot is it? ... It is so hot we are almost saying it is TOO hot, but are afraid to voice that opinion as it may be the only summer weather we get. (I hope not).