Category: History

Cathy and I were up early yesterday to maximize our single day in San Francisco. We already wish that we had more time here – it truly is a great city, and although neither of us is “city folk”, a few days would have been great. San Francisco was...

One of the highlights of the Okanagan Valley for anyone with an interest in history has to be the Myra Canyon section of the former Kettle Valley Railway. Now a hiking and biking trail, this 12-kilometer section of the rail line has 18 trestles and 2 tunnels, and the...

Fairbanks now has an antique car museum. Not a few old wrecks in a warehouse but a fine collection of classics! The museum has been established by Fountainhead Hotels, and is on the grounds of their Wedgewood Resort. Have a look at the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum website for...

Back in the mid-1990s when I was researching the history of the mines around Carcross, I knew of the existence of a cabin that was built high above Windy Arm in 1901, but in my dozens of exploratory hikes I never did get to that site. Over the years...

Yesterday was a combination of exploring Whistler Village on foot, and driving down Howe Sound to see some of the attractions. The first photo was shot near the gondolas, and is very much a typical Whistler scene. Cathy and I are really enjoying this place – it’s a wonderful...

I took the long way around from Kelowna to Abbotsford today, and as usual, I wished that I had more time. I’d really forgotten how much time I used to spend along the Hope-Princeton Highway and the southern Okanagan, but as location after location triggered memories I stopped quite...

I often see what little value many people place on their family’s history, and today I have the pleasure of showing you the other side of that coin. A collection of photos shot on a cruise and land tour of Alaska and neighbouring regions in the 1930s has now...

I’m somewhat limited in both my physical and mental abilities until my body gets used to the dilantin I’m now on to deal with my seizures, so I’m undertaking some “occupational therapy” by doing something I love – digging into Yukon-Alaska history. A few years ago I started a...

My Dad has a few pieces of Yukon memorabilia in his collection, including this gold pan. Every Yukoner (I hope) knows about the burning of the sternwheelers Casca and Whitehorse in 1974, but do any of you know who the artist of this pan, F. Johnson, is/was?...

I was in Carcross working on the cabin this past Friday, and lucked into the dedication of the Caribou Hotel as a Yukon Heritage Site. Although reconstruction is a slow process and it won’t be open until 2010, the new owners have a vision for the property that promises...