Alaska Highway

Finished my drive up the Alaska Highway. I have driven this road many, many times and never tire of it. The most scenic portion is between Fort Nelson and Watson Lake - Stone Mountain and Muncho Lake are the highlights. It seems as you turn every corner, it is more picturesque than the one you just travelled. And, of course, the wildlife never cease to amaze. I was alone driving home (without Joan's eyes) but did see a moose with her two babies (would have stopped to take a picture, but had just driven through a cloud as I descended a mountain and didn't think stopping, just as the fog cleared was a wise idea), a black bear, deer, mountain sheep, a caribou, a red fox, a cyote, and buffalo...these sometimes right on the road I travelled.
Here are two of the sheep I captured while driving. Many more were either on the road or clinging to the side of these steep mountains (in Stone Mountain Provincial Park).
The odd lodge is along the route. This one had it's plane parked at the side of the road.
Just another corner turned with amazing scenery.
And the signs don't lie. There are similar signs for caribou, elk and sheep. As well, there are motorhomes on the road. That is the only down-side of travelling the highway, especially when they travel in convoys. The roads can be narrow with little or no shoulders, and curvy and passing them can be a chore. On the plus side, most of them do give you the opportunity to pass and some even pull over in pull-outs if they know you are behind them. This section, just over 500 kilometers bewtween Fort Nelson and Watson Lake takes about 6-1/2 to 7 hours to drive at a steady rate. One day I would like to make this portion of the road my holiday, taking it much slower, and camping along the way. It seems I am always trying to get between Whitehorse and Edmonton, and considering that is over 2,000 kilometers, I don't stop for long along the way.

Here's Tia with whom I shared the condo for 5 days. And below is the clean living room. Outside you can see the man doing repairs on the lawn, so the water doesn't drain onto the patio. Hopefully what he is doing will fix the problem.
As mentioned earlier, I left Edmonton, so I would have some money left when my sisters et al visit this August. The drive was good till I hit construction. I followed a pilot car at 20 km/hr for at least 20 kms! That took up one hour of driving and I only went 20 K. BC was seal coating the road and the dust was terrible. The good part about that was I was the first vehicle in line so at least my dust was minimal. 30 cars down, it must have been unbearable. As well, as I was first in line, I had clear sailing into Ft Nelson. In 350 kilometers, I passed only about 5 vehicles. That was the good part. The bad part was about 150 kilometers outside of the city my gas gauge read between 1/4 tank and E! I didn't know if I was going to make it or not. I have NEVER driven a vehicle with the gauge reading that low, so I was quite worried. Then when my empty gas tank light went on I started sweating bullets. I still had 80 Kms to go. I drove kind of fast so if I ran out of gas, I could coast a ways. Luckily, about 12 k from the city, there was a gas station...the only one till I was right in the city as it turns out. I drove in and got out of the truck to fill the tank - my knees were shaking and I felt weak. I never want to do that again. So here I sit in the hotel in Ft Nelson, drinking a beer, relaxed and finally connecting to internet.

A week ago, my friend Joan (pictured above) & I drove down the Alaska Highway to Edmonton. It is a two day trip (for us - 22 hours straight driving for my son) -we stopped the night in Ft. Nelson. I snapped this photo of Joan at a campground during one of our pit stops. The ride was wonderful - we saw a lot of wildlife. In fact the only thing we didn't see was elk. Joan made a list of what we saw - unfortunately, I've since lost the list...but we did see bison (pictured below), lots of black bears, deer, mountain goats, moose, caribou and I'm sure I forgotten some animals but don't tell Joan. After two long days of driving, we arrived in Edmonton, Joan was picked up by her son Kevin who lives in Red Deer and was transported there (and will continue on to Newfoundland to do some visiting and site seeing) and I stayed at my condo at which I painted and cleaned and repaired - then shopped. I had a good visit with Tia, who is now staying in the condo and to prevent the spending of mucho $$'s I left and am now on my way up the highway.

My prehistoric son

SR arrived home today sporting new tusks! Actually, they find these tusks at the mine and he brought two into town with him (but won't let me keep one even though I really really want one). Below is the wooly mammoth to which they belong. Apparently there was quite a herd of them around the mine as they keep digging up parts of tusks.
The Wooly Mammoth (mammuthus primigenius) ranged throughout North America, Asia and Europe between 12,000 and 40,000 years ago. It had several cousins, many of whom, including the smaller mastodon and are now extinct. Present day elephants and the aquatic manatee are also relations. No one knows for sure why the mammoth died out, but experts suspect it was a combination of climactic change, which reduced the feeding range, and hunting pressure by our early ancestors.

Mammoth tusks were large teeth, made of ivory (dentin), with a protective layer of cementum. They were used for defense, dominance, mating rituals, and may have served as snowplows, clearing the ground for winter-feeding. Mammoth ivory is distinguishable from other ivory by its characteristically unique, oblique crosshatched pattern. It is used in jewelry and for carving. It is uniform and thick, enabling high relief or sculpture in the round. It can hold incredible detail and take a high polish.

Sunday as well...

Since we were half was to Carcross and were craving an ice cream cone, we decided to drive the rest of the way. While in Carcross, we visited the Carcross Cemetery and found Polly's grave shown above.
Numerous Yukon pioneers are buried here, including Bishop Bompas, Skookum Jim Mason, Kate Carmack, Tagish Charlie and Polly the Parrot.

For more than 50 years Polly held court at the Caribou Hotel where he gained international fame for singing opera--and for shocking unsuspecting hotel guests with colourful profanity. Polly died in 1972 at the age of 126 years--older than the gold rush itself--and his grave boasts one of the finest bronze markers in the cemetery. I remember Polly telling me to "f--- off" very loudly when I went to talk to him.

Annie Lake Golf Course

Awoke this morning to searing hot sunshine. Nancy & I decided to golf and decided against Meadow Lakes as their price a month ago was $27 which we thought was very high considering there was still water on the fairways, then we went 2 weeks ago and the price was $32 (and the fairways were a little better, but not $32 worth!) and was told that as the summer progressed, the prices would continue to rise, so today we decided on ANNIE LAKE GOLF COURSE. The price was right and the day looked to be glorious.
Now, for $2 you have to accept less than perfect conditions! Here I am on the t-box. The picture below IS a fairway, but the scenery was perfect. Although it did cloud over, we played 9 holes with only 2 balls lost in gopher holes (which were almost big enough to double as bear dens) but there was no one on our tail and no one holding us up in front. In fact we only saw one other foursome the whole time, (as well as two people riding horses through the fairways, and one man walking 2 dogs). The greens were actually sand which made putting interesting to say the least. All in all we had fun which is what we set out to do.

Sometimes I don't blog for a while and sometimes I blog every day. When I don't blog for a while, remember that I do sometimes blog every day!

OK, here's the same boring picture taken 5 days later. You'll notice the sun is still shining on the church across my road at 10:30 PM. This picture is looking east, the west of course is brighter. I guess I'll have to start taking pictures later into the night for you to see a difference. The longest day (June 21st) is coming too soon - then the days will get shorter which means the nights will get longer -- ugh.

Now, for my northern travellers, I have found this web cam of the highway we will be travelling to Skagway. If you click on the "loop" button, it shows the road during different current time periods. Here's the link: http://www.dot.state.ak.us/iways/roadweather/forms/CameraImage.html?areaId=5&perspectiveId=2&siteId=32&viewId=7
It's a bit slow, but I found it interesting.

And for all you Pirates of the Caribbean fans, if you haven't seen Part III, go! It is worth seeing if only for Johnny Depp. He is made for the part. As well, all you Shrek fans, Shrek 3 is worth seeing, no matter what the critics say. I thoroughly enjoyed both movies.

Not a very interesting picture but one I took at 10:30 PM just to show you how much daylight we are now getting. We LOVE it!!!

Fox update: Found a letter taped to my door this morning. It was from my next door neighbour and read: We watched a fox in our backyard eating a squirrel and then he buried it in your nice veg. garden! So I looked in the garden this morning and sure enough, there was a raised portion in the shape of a squirrel grave. I dug it up, discarded the piece of squirrel and put wire meshing on the top of the garden. Hopefully my plants will grow through the meshing. Interestingly enough, while writing this, I looked out the window and there was the fox walking on top of the meshing. He quickly found he couldn't dig through to reach his buried prey, gave up and wandered over to the 6 foot fence which he jumped and continued his search in my other neighbour's yard. I must remember to keep my camera close by.

Guess who came for tea! I finally got to spend the afternoon with Mrs Nugent & Sue (although I did spend time with Sue during the Canada Games 2-1/2 months ago). 'Ol "Billie" hasn't changed since I was 17 -- heard her war-brides stories, her stories of old England and received plenty of advice -- put yourself first, keep all the money for yourself...
I grabbed them on day 2 of their visit. Usually Sue phones on the last day and we are unable to get together.
Considered tea on the deck, but we had all of our nice weather in the 2nd week of May. Since then, there has been a constant wind blowing directly from the North Pole and although the sun is hot, the wind necessitates the donning of sweaters, coats etc. and blows away the napkins, so we settled for tea at the table. Sue brought pictures of the Games while Iris told her stories. It was a fun afternoon spent with good friends.

Ah, golf season. The fairways may not yet be too green, but the day was glorious and the company entertaining. Couldn't ask for more (except maybe some better shots).
Tried to see Shrek 3 last night, but the theatre filled up too quickly. Why they show the 2 best movies in town - Shrek & Spiderman in the same movie theatre, I don't know. The line up was longer than I've ever seen it and we didn't even recognize the two movies playing at the other theatre where there were no line ups at all.
My fox is now a regular visitor to my back yard. He (she?) jumps the 6 foot fence without a thought. And I have not yet caught my weasel (stoat) though my next door neighbour did set the trap for me and now I'm just waiting.
The vegetable garden is now planted with seeds and I had company for coffee on my deck this morning, so it appears summer is well on its way.
In case you didn't notice, I did put a link on my blog to the Whitehorse webcam, so if you ever wanted to know how dark (or light) it is getting, click onto the link and look down Main Street.

I happened to be outside today when I saw my mystery animal. I was pretty sure what it was and Bruce, my neighbour across the road, confirmed it for me. I have a weasel living in my yard! As if I don't have enough to do, I now have to buy a live trap and catch the little *#!***, although Bruce says he doesn't think they will do any harm unless they get in the house, then they are difficult to get out of the house (his mother had one in her house).

Bruce says this is a "classic" weasel pose. I'm so glad I caught it.... And why hasn't my fox caught it yet? He's been in my yard a number of times now.
Correction: As I have just googled "weasel" I discovered that "although they look similar, one way to tell the difference between a stoat and a weasel is that unlike stoats, weasels do not have a black tip to the tail." So now I think I have a stoat. What the heck is a stoat??? In the winter their fur turns white and are called ermine. So, if you see me in a new fur coat ...

And this is what I looked like from Friday, 5PM to 11PM and all day Saturday!

Happy Mother's Day

As some already know, this weekend I was asked to be photographer for the 2007 (Oldtimers') Indoor Soccer Tournament. Above is the winning team from Whitehorse (the Blues Brothers). The tourney was Friday night and all day Saturday, ending with a lovely banquet at which my photos were screened - and I am happy to say they were a success, thanks to Michele, my editor.
A team from Juneau, Alaska, came and their goalie (above) was the only hospital victim. He dislocated his finger saving a goal (below). Happily the doctor was able to relocate his finger and he made it to the banquet to a round of applause.

And, Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers reading this blog. I received a call from my boy today wishing me well. He is now working south of Dawson City and has strep throat and still has laryngitis. A mother never likes to be far away from her sick child. Take care of yourself SR if you are reading this.

I have had 2 complaints that it is taking too long for me to update my blog -- so here I am already updating. Tonight was day one of ladies' league at Mountain View Golf Course. Unfortunately the carts were still being serviced and as Elaine has a foot problem and needed a cart, we decided to hit a few balls on the driving range instead, which was just a fine for me as I didn't golf at all last year due to my hand operation.

We still finished our stay on the driving range in traditional style, with a cool one at the club house. If you know Elaine, don't tell her I included this picture of her heading up the stairs for a drink as she threatened me if I put it on my blog. Shhhhhhh

Awoke this morning to the sound of THAT dog barking under my deck. It was 5:00 AM! When I awoke again, again to his bark, I looked out the window and saw snow. We have had such good weather - yesterday I was out cleaning up the yard. Now, speaking of the yard I have had a major vole problem - the lawn is riddled with vole tracks (note above where the snow has settled = the vole tracks) A great disappointment as I had such a beautiful lawn these past two years. I was now awake so came downstairs, made coffee and turned on Coronation Street to catch up on the news of the street. Sitting, sipping my coffee, I saw a small animal scamper through my rock garden. It looked like a baby squirrel, but the body was very long - maybe they grow in length, then let their head and legs catch up??? I don't know, I've never seen a baby squirrel... then still sipping my coffee a fox trots by my window and into my backyard. A dog, a vole, a squirrel, a fox (am I trying to compete with you cousin Joe?) - and all this before 8:30 AM.
Before I go on, the picture above was taken on Friday at 10:30 PM - just to show my August visitors - the light will be about the same when you are here.
As most people now know, I now have a laptop and will donate my dinosaur computer to Computers for Schools. It took many a day to transfer all the info off my old computer and to install all the programs I wanted onto the new. A heads up for those thinking of upgrading, wait until the software supports Vista - my downloads included downloading the correct driver to run the software. But here I sit in my livingroom, watching Chelsea v Arsenal, hoping for an Arsenal win (tied at 70 minutes) and wirelessly blogging. Heaven.

For Will

Took these pictures for Will, who will be a first time flyer come August. The top photo is coming into Whitehorse, and the bottom is leaving Vancouver. Hopefully you will see both of these scenes just as well when you fly north. And sorry Will, the windows on the planes do not open, so you won't be able to touch the clouds.

Toronto

My trip to Toronto went by quickly. First came Easter with all the family gatherings and feasts (below is Kate in her Easter dress). Then came my cold. I can't believe that every time I visit the big city I become ill. I had a cold, sore throat, then laryngitis (which is always handy when trying to visit people). I'm still recovering. Besides that, I had a great time. Went to see Kayla's basketball tournament (that's Kayla getting that extra point). Her team won the gold medal which was exciting to see. Visited Aunt Deeny who I haven't seen for at least 10 years, and Aunt Liz & Uncle Joe and of course my mum and all my sisters and nieces and nephews. Spent most of my time at sister Lisa's house as she had the new baby (my whole reason for my trip). In the little time I was there I saw Kate develop her skills - she laughed more, talked more and got 3 new teeth. And, I had to go shopping with my sisters. We went to the lovely town of Troy where a local potter has his shop and as you can see from the bottom picture, Debbie bought the most. I was also treated to dinner at the restaurant (Cafe Troy) attached to the pottery house. All in all, it was a quick trip but a good trip despite my illness and cold weather.

It's a fine time for me to be in Ontario. It's Easter and the whole family was together at the Schepen's for Easter dinner. Here is Kayla and Kristin being sisterly. Kristin just came back from her first tour of Europe so I saw a lot of her interesting photos which made me want to go back for a visit too.

And here's my whole reason for the trip. My new little niece Kate with here parents. She is so tiny - 15 months old and full of beans, running around and poking her little fingers into everything, including trying to get some keyboard marks onto this blog. Now I remember what it was like with a one-year-old around!

Looked out the window this morning after watching Everton beat Arsenal (yeah!!!!) I saw the sun brilliantly reflecting off the snow. A beautiful March Sunday, so I phone my friend Debbie and we decided to take a nice walk. Walking to her house (usually a 15 minute walk), the south wind was blowing in my face as fiercely as a north wind. My face and legs were freezing. The warmth of the sun couldn't penetrate the wind although the brilliance made my eyes water. Sidewalks are not shovelled so I walked in snowmobile tracks. This was like walking on sand dunes, up and down, up and down, my feet sinking in the snow making walking slow. Half way there, I stepped onto the road to continue my journey. As the city seldom ploughs the roads the hard packed snow was slippery and treacherous with ice. But alas, I persevered and arrived to find Debbie waiting at the end of her drive for me. Although I was ready for a hot cup of tea at that point, we had what turned out to be a lovely walk. I did get my cup of tea at her house at the end of our walk. Here is a picture of Debbie at her house standing beside the snow she shovelled off her driveway yesterday.

Great Big Sea

Originally, I wasn't too excited about seeing Great Big Sea, but now I say that if you have a chance to see them, do it! They have so much energy and get everyone stomping and clapping. They were great! A fine ending for all the hours the volunteers have put into making the Games successful. And this is the end of my Games commentary.
Took this picture to give you an idea of how many volunteers attended the final party. The huge ATCO tent was full tonight - I'm sure all 4,000 volunteers were there.

In a sea of orange coats, I found Sue at the Volunteers' Party tonight. She came from Ontario to take part in the Canada Games. Was great to see her. This pic is for Jenn.

End of Games

The photo above shows the flags of all the provinces flying at the Canada Games Centre.
This photo is from Mount Sima, our ski hill about 20 minutes outside Whitehorse where the skiing/snowboarding events took place. The closing ceremonies were yesterday afternoon and throughout the night I could hear the planes taking off from the Whitehorse airport. Tonight is the Volunteers' Party, a thank-you to all 4,000 volunteers that helped make these games a success. Great Big Sea is the feature band and it will be great to see everyone again all assembled under one big tent. The last of my house guests left today and soon life will be back to normal. It was an exciting two weeks!

I'm volunteering for Squash now. The venue is close enough to walk to every day - which is a pleasure now that the weather has warmed. There is only one court at the school, the others are downtown, but this is where the bronze, silver and gold games will be played so by Friday, it will become more exciting. Went to see the BC/Yukon Girls Hockey game tonight. BC won 15-0, but having said that the Yukon goalie had 98 shots on goal, so considering that fact, I think they did OK.

Here's Sue (all decked out in her Volunteer Columbia jacket) and her mum at the airport. She has been here for just over a week and is now on her way home. Was at the airport on Friday and as it was "turn around" day, the airport was packed with athletes leaving and new ones coming in. Unfortunately, due to inclement weather conditions across Canada flights were delayed or cancelled and athletes returning home are now stuck in cities across Canada for days, waiting for flights home. Today (Sunday) our airport had returned to normal. Tomorrow, I start my volunteering at Squash. Keep watching TSN, CBC and APTN to watch some of the action and see glimpses of our fair city.

Now, don't expect me to keep up my blog the way I have in the last week. I am just trying to keep you all up to date with what's happening during the 2007 Canada Winter Games - the biggest event ever to be held in Whitehorse. Today, I drove my house guest down to her venue, and grabbed my camera to take some pictures around town. This snow sculpture is just outside the railway station at the foot of Main Street (the picture doesn't do it justice - it is fabulous - the dogs circle around the mountain of snow).
Atco Place is the huge tent set up for opening and closing ceremonies. It is located on 2nd Avenue across from Northern Elegance and the plaza with the liquor store. In between ceremonies, it is a cultural and entertainment center (in fact, I'm going to see a blues band there tonight). As you can see, there are two new snow sculptures in progress in the front of the tent.
And this in the Canada Games Centre, which houses 2 ice rinks, the pool, and the multi-purpose room for a variety of sports including badminton and judo. I tried taking a picture of the flame, but with the wind chill it was -41 degrees C, and having to park a distance from the centre, I wasn't risking frostbite just for a picture!