Guest Blogger Trish; Whitehorse, YT

GUEST BLOGGER!
It is my great pleasure to introduce Guest Blogger for a Day, Trish! She went into the big city (Whitehorse), saw and did all sorts of fantastic things, took some fun pix and is anxious to share this with y’all.

I have been invited to post a guest entry on the Edge blog, and have accepted with some hesitation. I only hope I can do an adequate job, and not disappoint the distinguished readership. This is Trish. In an earlier installment Mike introduced me as the navigator. My primary responsibility during this epic journey of the Edge, is to inform the driver when the destination we seek is 180˚ in the opposite direction from the way we’re going. The driver usually makes a correction within a mile or two, once he has satisfied himself the information he’s been given is, in fact, correct. As you can see, being the navigator is an important job.

After leaving a terrific campsite at Muncho Lake, Yukon Territory (YT), we continued north and west to Whitehorse, YT. The clouds moving across the mountain tops made for wonderful plays of light; first a collision of dark clouds, soon replaced by a thick tumble of snow white cumulus. I’ve included a couple of pictures taken through the windshield while I was supposed to be navigating.

Since it was once again time for laundry, we camped for 2 nights in a private RV park 16 km south of Whitehorse. Upon rising the first morning, Mike declared he was going to perform a day of RV maintenance and improvements. (He is a great guy to travel with.) He and I both knew the best way for me to help was to get out of the way. Ranger and I loaded up into the truck with camera and guidebooks and set out to explore Whitehorse. Here are some of the highlights of what we saw:

· Miles Canyon – This is a narrow canyon on the Yukon River just east of the town of Whitehorse. Since the construction of a dam in 1959, the water is calm as it flows through the canyon. It was a different story during the Klondike gold rush. Supplies being brought down river had to be transferred to tramways on either side of the river and then loaded into boats waiting below the canyon.

· Colorful Floatplanes – They’re everywhere: in the air, gliding on the water, tied to docks, lining roadways near docks. They are a happy sight.

· The Klondike – This stern-wheeler was built in 1929 and is a National Historic Site. With a capacity of over 300 tons, it was the largest cargo vessel on the Yukon.

· Bearclaw Quilt Shop and No Knot Yarn Shop – While I’m neither an accomplished quilter nor knitter, I have a long standing passion for fabric and fiber. Both shops were a treat. A real quilter might never leave the Bearclaw – lots and lots of creativity is present in that place. While I enjoyed the colors and textures, Ranger basked in the petting and affection he received. He was provided a handmade quilt to lie on while I shopped. Those people have the right attitude. Sorry, no pictures. Ranger and I were having too much fun.
· Murals Around Town – My favorite is on the backside of a row of city businesses fronting a surface parking lot. The rear of each building has been painted to look like a building of years gone by.

· 400 Pound Beaver– A life size resin replicate delighted me on a nature trail outside the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Center. These creatures lived along with the wooly mammoths during the Yukon ice age. (Note to John H. – Canada is Mecca for us OSU grads. Beavers abound.)

· World Largest Weathervane – Some clever Canadian decided to recycle an old DC 3. After the interior components were scrapped, the exterior was repainted, and the plane is now mounted on a pivot. Darn if it doesn’t spin right around so its nose is always pointed into the wind. I’d like one just like it for the top ridge of our garage.

It’s been fun to share with you blog readers. Thanks for your indulgence. I’ll now relinquish the computer keys and return to my responsibilities as navigator.
Signing off,
Trish