Month: February 2015

Everyone who travels a lot develops their own style, their own preferences. For me, it’s all about the journey – in most cases, getting to a “destination” is anticlimactic and I want to get moving again. When Home is the destination, however, different rules apply, and it was wonderful...

The joy of being retired is that you can accept any fun thing that comes up. While I was in Dawson doing the last fun thing a couple of weeks ago, Cathy accepted a new job for me – helping a fellow she works with get the rest of...

I never thought that I’d get 2 great Northern Lights photography nights in a row, but it just happened. This morning’s aurora didn’t last as long as it did yesterday, but for a few minutes the display was even more spectacular. The aurora forecast was good, so I went...

Usually, getting up before 04:00 isn’t a good start to my day. However, today it was, in a major way. As soon as I fired up the computer I saw some notices on the Yukon Aurora Alert page I set up a few months ago, saying that there had...

Saturday was Day 11 of our Yukon Quest tour – the final full day. It was a day to see some Yukon wildlife, and one last look at the world of dog sledding. Our first stop was at the Yukon Wildlife Preserve, which opened early for us and had...

On Thursday, we spent another full day immersed in Yukon Quest action at the Dawson City checkpoint. The morning dawned clear and cold, though a bit warmer at -29°C (-20°F). I got to the checkpoint just before 8:00 – after missing 3 teams by arriving minutes too late, I...

Wednesday was our first full in-depth day surrounded by Yukon Quest action at the Dawson City checkpoint. Official sunrise wouldn’t be until 09:24, but I was out for a walk just before 07:00. This was the view to the southwest from the front deck of the Eldorado Hotel. And...

On Tuesday, we had our longest driving day, about 530 kilometers (330 miles) from Whitehorse to Dawson City on the North Klondike Highway. Then we’d spend 3 nights in Dawson City watching the Yukon Quest mushers arrive and depart, as well as seeing their camps during the mandatory 24-hour...

After a rather challenging travel day on Sunday, I was hoping for much better yesterday, and as I was writing the blog the weather and road reports looked very promising. The view from the deck in front of my room at 07:15 was wonderful. This is a big part...

Yesterday we drove from Whitehorse to Skagway, and took an Alaska Marine Highway ferry to Haines where we spent the night. The weather forecast was for a severe winter storm, and we had come up with 2 backup plans for various situations such as weather closures that might come...