A Wet Whitehorse

Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada – Tuesday, July 19, 2011

I wonder if the folks in Whitehorse know what what dry is?  It’s hard to believe parts of Canada are suffering from drought conditions and forest fires.  It’s been raining so much around here I don’t think you could start a campfire with a blow torch.  But the grass, flowers and trees love it.

The cupboards are starting to get bare again as we near another border crossing.  So we decided to do a little shopping to get us by until we reach Alaska.  We also found out that we are not allowed to take certain things into the US such as goat or lamb meat in any form.  This caused momentary panic as we have about 2 months of wet cat food as well as 4 months of dry cat food on board.  Detailed analysis of the contents of both items revealed them to be goat and lamb free.  Now we just have to consume any citrus, peppers, and tomatoes we have squirreled away.  I didn’t know citrus was a threat to Alaska.

We ended up going to 4 different stores to find the groceries we wanted. Some items we consider common are hard to find here.  But in some cases, shopping is easier because there is only one brand and style of an item.

After our chores were completed, there was a lull in the rain and we took advantage of it.  First stop was the SS Klondike which used to ply the Yukon River delivering cargo.  It hit an obstacle in the river and sank.  The Canadian government eventually purchased it, restored it, and moved it to Whitehorse.  They towed it to its present location using 3 bulldozers and 8,000 pounds of flaked soap.  And yes, they towed it overland.

 

Then we wandered around downtown to see the tourist stops.  This fellow, a miner,  was memorialized for his courage and perseverance. The dog got no mention.

This is a picture that tickled EJ.  We came up with all kinds of stories about what this was doing in the ladies bathroom. Are women really that messy? Or do they really get snow at least once every month like several people have told us.

And finally, it seems as though the RVs on the way to Alaska are beginning to bunch up.  Whitehorse is full of RVs circling looking for parking spots.  The Walmart looks like an RV sales lot.  We counted over 25 RVs here last night around 10PM.  Today we met several fellow RVers and one couple even said we had leapfrogged each other several times since northern Alberta.

Next big decision is to head for Dawson City, YT or Tok, AK.  One way has about 60 miles of gravel road, the other is noted in the Milepost Alaska Travel Planner as “End improved highway”.  Hmm…not sure what that means.  With all the rain though, we’re leaning away from the gravel road as we’ve heard it can get real muddy.

BG Miles Today	0	BG Total Miles	5074
Eat Out total $	405.81	BG Total Fuel $	2825.95
Entertainment total $	135.62	Total Camping $	563.88
E Miles Today	13.05	E Total Miles	1595.3
E Total Fuel $	341.04	Day # of Trip	49