Early-season swan hunting in the Yukon

We’ve been having above-average warm weather for weeks now, and I estimate that Spring is about 3 weeks ahead of schedule. Reports that some swans even spent the winter in the Whitehorse area prompted us to go on a tour of the main swan viewing spots yesterday. The return...
Read More

Images of a coming Spring

Sorry, no photos of crocuses yet – I haven’t even seen any swans. But bit by bit Spring is progressing, and today I saw something that confirmed it. On Sunday, we had our first barbecue of the year. I even laid out for a couple of hours and got...
Read More

Natural wonders in our back yard – oolichan

When you’re surrounded by wilderness, every day can be a surprise. Yesterday we had planned a day of spectacular scenery, but in addition to that we got a look at just how incredibly rich the natural world around us is. The weather forecast has been changing often lately, but...
Read More

A Skagway R&R road trip

I hadn’t been down to Skagway since the 18th of December, and for weeks I’d been watching for the right combination of decent weather and a “free” day. There’s actually no such thing as a free day anymore, but a day with nothing really important to be done. I...
Read More

Aurora watching – frustration & fascination

At 9:30 last night I posted this on Facebook: “I should be watching a great display of the aurora borealis right now. The current report from The Geophysical Institute says so! But as usual, there’s nothing – it’s been a very long time since I’ve seen a good display...
Read More

New Zealand never left us

This post was originally made an hour before the devasting earthquake hit Christchurch. Our hearts go out to all the people of New Zealand 🙁 The new slogan for Tourism New Zealand is “New Zealand Never Leaves You“. For both Cathy and I, that is certainly a true statement....
Read More

USAF spy plane in Whitehorse

This USAF Open Skies OC-135B Observation Aircraft was in Whitehorse on February 17, 2011. A chance phone call to my wife alerted me to its presence, and I spent over an hour filming the activity around it, much of it seeming to be dealing with the air temperature of...
Read More

Coral Princess Alaska cruise journal

I’ve just posted a lengthy photojournal from one of my 6½ weeks on Alaska cruise ships in 2010, this one a 7-night northbound from Vancouver to Whittier on the Coral Princess. There are 146 photos of everything from various features of the ship to sights and activities in the...
Read More

Yukon Quest & hot air balloons

Despite a good weather forecast for this past weekend, I had good intentions to get some work done. Then a couple came into the office and I got a reminder that this was Yukon Quest weekend – how did that sneak up on me? Cathy had heard that the...
Read More