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Lee
and Karen Duquette,
The Two RV Gypsies: Full-Time RVers
in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada ,
June 3,
2009
Whitehorse is located on the upper reaches of the Yukon
River in Canada's sub-arctic, 100 miles from Haines Junction; 109 miles
from Skagway; 250 miles from Haines and 396 miles from Tok. The
Smith House gave the two RV Gypsies a free 3-day parking pass for use
in the city.
Whitehorse is the capital of the Yukon, and the largest city in Northern
Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at Historic Mile 918
on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale
areas occupy both shores of the Yukon River, which rises in British Columbia
and meets the Bering Sea in Alaska. The city was named after the White
Horse Rapids for their resemblance to the mane of a white horse, near
Miles Canyon, before the river was dammed.
Because of the city's location in the Whitehorse valley and relative
proximity to the Pacific Ocean, the climate is milder than comparable
northern communities. At this latitude, winter days are short and summer
days have up to about 19 hours of daylight. Whitehorse, as reported by
Guinness World Records, is the city with the least air pollution in the
world. |
 Whitehorse has been the Capital
of Yukon Territory since 1953, and serves as the center for transportation,
communications, and supplies for The Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories.
Whitehorse is named after the historic rapids on the Yukon River which resembled
the flowing manes of charging white horses. 3/4 of the Yukon Territory's
population live in Whitehorse. |
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2000 Arctic Winter Games
Torch Monument |
People walking on the iced snow
on the river |
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of the largest sternwheelers to ply the Yukon River has been restored and
opened to the public as a National Historic Site by Parks Canada. Originally
launched in 1937, the pride of Whitehorse now sits along the Yukon River
at the southern entrance to the city. 3/4 of the Yukon's population live
in Whitehorse. Guided tours available. The SS Klondike was built in 1929
by the British Navigation Company (BYNC). It was the largest on the Yukon
with a cargo capacity 50% greater than previous boats and could carry over
300 tons. She ran aground in 1936 at the confluence of the Teslin and Yukon
rivers. Salvaged parts were used to construct a new shop - the second SS
Klondike (launched in 1937) and was almost identical to the first. |
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MILES CANYON |
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two RV Gypsies hiked in Miles Canyon and crossed the Robert Lowe Suspension
Bridge. The canyon's wild waters, now tamed by a dam, presented a formidable
challenge to the stampeders trying to reach the Klondike gold fields in
1897 and 1998. Lives were lost and gear scattered when their often crudely-built
boats broke up and sank. |
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| MILES
CANYON: Rocks that make up this canyon are among the youngest in southern
Yukon. They formed as several overlying flows of basalt lava accumulated
in the ancient Yukon River Valley about 8.5 million years ago. Many miners
on their way to the Klondike lost their supplies, or life, passing through
this canyon, whose prowess has since been tamed by the building of the hydro
dam at White Horse Rapids. |
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The Robert Lowe Suspension
Bridge |
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A BIG rock as seen from
the bridge |
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Below: The trail to the
rock |
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Below: Looking down from
the trail |
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Below: The trail to the
rock |
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Below: The bridge as seen
from the rock |
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Below: KAYAKERS |
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Below:
MOB peeking through the trees. (FYI: The two RV Gypsies named their toad
MOB - My Orange Baby because it is a small orange HHR. Their
RV is AWO - All We Own because they do not have a house anymore.
Of course, this and more was explained on the home page of this website,
which is a must read for full enjoyment of these travels.) |
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Below: The other side of
the bridge - and the observation area |
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Below: Lee Duquette on
the Hiking trail |
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Below: View from the observation
area |
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Below: The trail across
the river that the two RV Gypsies walked on earlier
- as viewed from the observation area. |
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Mountain: The grey rocks are lime stones that formed in ancient tropical
seas containing coral reefs. These tropical seas existed approximately 220
million years ago during Triassic time. They indicate that rocks underlying
this part of the Yukon originated in a much warmer climate and have since
been displaced northward. These rocks have been completely deformed and
folded subsequent to their deposition millions of years ago. They now have
little resemblance to their origin as a coral reef. |
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| Mount
Lorne - Rocks underlying this mountain are composed of volcanic strata.
These strata were deposited on land during explosive eruptions throughout
the Cretaceous period, about 100 million years ago. |
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Below: Golden Horn |
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| Copper
Belt - Approximately 112 million years ago, hot magma, which originated
deep in the earth's crust, intruded into existing lime stones. Where the
magma came into contact with the limestone, "skarns"
were formed, creating rich copper deposits. These deposits encouraged prospectors
on their way to the Klondike in 1897. The mining opportunities in the Whitehorse
area contributed significantly to the economy of the town until the mines
closed in 1982. |
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Below: A DC-3 weathervane at the airport
is a Whitehorse landmark. It actually spins in the wind. The photos
were taken through the window of the moving RV, thus the reflections.
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| The two RV Gypsies
went to a performance of "Frantic Follies"
a vaudeville revue and gold rush variety entertainment. It was much better
than expected. Everyone in the audience laughed through the whole performance.
There was some audience participation. The two RV Gypsies highly recommend
this experience. |
