Activity Day

Day 41 – Tuesday, July 23

It was a day of sightseeing in Whitehorse, along with a few other interesting activities.  We took a city tour and learned all kinds of info about the city.

There was a really neat view of this suspension bridge over the Yukon river.

 

 

We toured the SS Klondike, an old steamship which is now a National Historic Site.

Although the steamship is in dry dock, we were able to board and see what it was like on a sternwheeler that transported goods and people along the Yukon river.  It hauled it’s fuel which was wood burned to create the steam.  They would load enough logs to provide the fuel to make it to the next wood pile down the river.  In 1930 It took 36 hours to travel from Whitehorse to Dawson City by boat.  We will make the trip in 9 hours by motorhome on Thursday.

The tour guide pointed out a nearby golden eagle’s nest which had 3 chicks.  The city has adopted the eagle, and put up a camera to monitor the progress of the chicks.  They are just now ready to learn how to fly.  We were not able to get a picture of the babies, but the mom was sitting tall and guarding the nest. 

 

We also saw a fleet of float planes by the river, used to transport people to various fishing locations.  It was unusual to see the planes sitting in the water, tied up to docks along the river. 

 

 

Jim got a haircut and we were treated to quite an experience with the local barber, Murd Nicholson (who needed a haircut himself, but said he couldn’t afford it).  He invited Jim to sit down in a barber chair that was 112 years old!  The stories began with the first snip of the scissors, and finally ended almost an hour later when another customer came in. We left with a few pictures and his card—he asked us to write and let him know we made it home okay, and to tell him which of his suggestions we took on the route home. He was quite a character. 

We took one of his suggestions—dinner at the Klondike Rib & Salmon, a restaurant from the 1900’s, in the oldest operating buildings in Whitehorse.…the fresh local halibut was delicious! 

We began the evening at the Frantic Follies, a fun vaudeville revue in downtown Whitehorse.                        Then, we had a beer (Yukon Gold, a locally brewed beer) at Dirty Northern Bastards, a local bar.  It was almost 11:00 and still daylight outside, as Jim is showing the time on his watch!

We stayed up til midnight (the latest we’ve been up since we left home) and it is still not dark outside!!

 

…more activities tomorrow….