On June 29 we arrived in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. The geographical size of the Yukon Territory is about the same as California. However, the population of the Yukon Territory is about 44,000 with about 27,000 of them living in Whitehorse. Whitehorse is the Capitol of the Yukon Territory with a population about the same size as our hometown of La Verne!
On our way to Whitehorse, many of us stopped at the George Johnson Museum. George Johnson was a Tlingit native man who was a visionary. He bought a camera in the early 1900s and taught himself to develop the film. He documented life in the Yukon of the 1900s. He took a trip to Skagway, via the rivers, and believed automobile transportation was the future, so in 1928 he bought a car long, before there were even roads so he built a short road in the area he lived and in the winter used the frozen lakes to drive on. That same car has been restored and is in the museum. We spent about a hour before heading the rest of the way into Whitehorse.
We took a bus tour of the city of Whitehorse on Friday, June 30. The trails and the Whitehorse River were truly beautiful. We had the BEST guide, basically because she was amazing, her name is Patti AND apparently, we both talk with our hands, regularly knocking items over and occasionally smacking the person sitting next to us. We saw things on the tour that we definitely wanted to go back and visit. So, after the tour Danny and Judi Martinez picked us up and we went back into town. First, we headed to a glass blowing shop called Lumel Studios. I bought two beautiful wine glasses and one of our friends had a water bottle designed. The glassblowers will create it in the next few days and he’ll pick it up on our way back through Whitehorse in August. The fun thing about Lumel Studios is that they had a little café attached and we had a delicious lunch. As usual, we ran into some other caravan members and because seating was limited, we joined them and all six of us enjoyed lunch and a local craft beer.
After an early lunch we went to the Adäka Festival which celebrates the First Nations that live in the Yukon. The word Adäka roughly translates “coming into the light” as they are now recognized for the individual peoples they are. We watched First Nation dances, viewed their handmade items, and learned about their culture. It was a fun day.
Later, we went to the grocery store and a place called Canada Tire that is actually a sporting goods store, not a tire store! When we were on our way back Judi Martinez texted that they were at a local brewery and wanted to know if wanted to join. Of course! We put our groceries away and joined them. Fun fact, this was a very busy place, but last call was at 2:30 p.m. and they close at 3:00! We had time for a couple of glasses of beer and some popcorn.
July 1 is Canada Day, and we went to the annual Canada Day parade in downtown Whitehorse. It was rainy and cold, but the parade went on and the parade route was lined with people. I would compare it to a local, hometown parade with more of a multicultural flavor. After the parade we walked to Shipyard Park and watched the raising of the Canadian Flag and “O Canada” sung in three different languages, English, Navajo and French, their three official languages.
When the politicians and dignitaries began speaking, we walked back down the street to the McBride Museum. It celebrates the history of Canada by spotlighting native animals, First Nation artifacts and information and Canadian innovators. We spent a couple of hours and had a great time. In case you don’t know we love a good museum!
Later that afternoon we had a bar-b-que with our caravan group with grilled chicken and sides provided by caravan members. Since the sun doesn’t set until 11:30 or so there is plenty of time to do everything! Sunday, July 2 was our last day in Whitehorse, so we had our own bar-b-que with the Martinizes. Everyone brought their own steak to grill and each of us brought a side dish to share. On Monday July 3rd we left for Skagway, Alaska. Finally!
Tom and Patti's RV Adventure 