fire, fire!

Back in the land of blue skies, no rain (here anyway) and altitude of about 100 metres. Before the winter ends we have the annual bonfire - this one was mostly trees that didn't make it through the summer, more could have been added to the fire but it was big enough.

paddling down the yukon river

The contents of the hire car took up lots of space, how were we going to pack it into two of these little kayaks? Luckily we didn't have to, we left most behind in the Up North Adventures' storage dungeon.
This was the view from our island campsite...
and here are the tents looking out on the river.
After eating and stowing food and scraps up high between the trees it was hair cutting time and time for the traditional
campfire of course.

whitehorse,

Purple dinosaur and a
Log Church so old it is called The Old Log Church

goldensides mountain hike

We spent the afternoon hiking up Goldensides Mountain.
Walking to and from the Canmore shops must have acclimatised my legs because despite the steep climb (for a flatlander like me) I didn't have sore legs the next day.

tombstone territorial park

We stopped for lunch at the Tombstone Territorial Park campsite. As we finished the Picnic Table Clean-up Squirrel reported for duty.
He checked everywhere on the table. No crumbs but the cutlery had to be licked to remove the last of the peanut butter, first the knife then the fork.

arctic circle breakfast

Eagle Plains has interesting containers of colourful annuals. Emma, off in the distance, is carefully carrying coffee back to where the car was when she got out to get coffee - it has now moved and is lurking beside a containers of colourful petunias.
A short drive up the Dempster Highway and we arrive and the Arctic Circle. The sun has come out for our alfresco breakfast only Megan is unhappy not to have a snazzy red plastic origami bowl to eat her muesli out of.
I gathered some arctic circle rocks to build my very own inukshuk and here he is. I shall have to find some arctic circle stone glue as he has a tendency to topple over.
Then we headed back south. These white flowers were in just one large roadside clump and didn't appear anywhere else along the route.

view from the back seat

Travelling north on the Dempster Highway we saw this moose just a couple of hundred metres away from the first moose sighting in the water at Two Moose Lake.
Not actually from the back seat, this is just a pile of stones on a stony hillside. We came across many inukshuks on our journey but this pile of stones is waiting to turned into one.
Driving north on the Dempster Highway...
and more gravel highway
Fireweed lines the edges of the road and the mountains have gone not far from Eagle Plains where we camp for the (not particularly dark) night. In the Eagle Plains Hotel we meet another moose - photo taken on leaving at about 10.30pm, note how light it is out the window to the right.

dawson city, heart of the klondike gold rush

The Dawson City General Store where we stocked up with food for the next few days.
A place so cold it seems that freezers just get really frosty.
In Maximilian's Gold Rush Emporium, for a mere $950 this piece of mammoth scrimshaw could be yours.

On the famous olde worlde boardwalks lined with shops, trading posts and emporiums
the boardwalk entertainers were getting ready for a performance just as we left on our relentless quest for "further north" and the Dempster Highway which has "Cautionary notes" saying "it is a gravel road quite narrow in places and rough,......Ensure your vehicle is suitable for the trip. Spare tires, emergency kits, extra food and additional fuel are essential when travelling in this remote area If you are stranded it may be many hours before another vehicle passes by, so plan ahead" etc.