Summer Solstice

21 June 2010
Monday

Watson Lake to Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory where we haven't seen dark for days. It's the Summer Solstice--the longest day of the year and here, that is really long. All day and all night in fact. But we are able to sleep in spite of all the light. Sometimes we just forget to go to bed at a decent hour.

Today we began with a journey through the Signpost Forest: a collection of signs from all over the world. There are nearly 70,000 of them. Next time we come here we will have to remember to bring something from Winona. We think we may have met the most enthusiastic Tourist Information worker in the world. She loaded us down with so many brochures, maps, books and suggestions that we could barely carry them all. We tried to follow most of her suggestions and were rewarded with a stunning array of experiences: Several movies, some great photo ops and a couple of fabulous museums that we would probably have skipped. The only thing we blew by was the world's best cinnamon roll.

Animal count for the day:
*2 black bears
*1 moose
*a grouse
*a pair of Canada geese with about seven goslings trying to cross the highway

We did a couple of short hikes along the way which made the 300 miles today take a little longer than it should have. In Whitehorse we toured downtown, collected our stamps at the Info Centre and found the Yukon Brewing Company for some samples and a few purchases. Jim got a new toque and found more WinCraft products there. The last frost here was 19 June and they expect their first frost on 19 August. Definitely a short growing season, eh?

It was getting late so we headed out to look for a campground. We are now on the Klondike Highway headed toward Dawson City. We found a great Provincial Park [like a state park] with few services and consequently few people. It is on Lake Laberge which, like Lake Pepin, is just a wide spot in a river, this one being the Yukon River. There are an incredible number of wild roses here. We just cannot get over it. We keep taking pictures of them. We probably have enough to publish a "wild rose" book.

Did you know that in this entire province there are only eleven roads? And not all of them are paved.

And so as the sun slips into the north, we say goodnight.