More vacation updates...
Sweet, sweet, vacation. It's been nice over the last few days not having anything to do at all.
So, here's some summary of what has happened...
Sunday August 7th
Sunday was a relatively quiet day, although not as completely quiet as Saturday. Steph's brother and I got in the car and decided to make a trek down to "Annie Lake Golf Course", a local course built (people think) by the military in the 1950's for entertainment, and it's now been "maintained" by the community ever since.
It features "pasture" golf (i.e. no real fairway to speak of), packed sand greens which must be raked once you're done, and is just $2 to play. So we figured it would be a good deal and we headed on down, it's about a 40 minute drive through some beautiful scenery.
Once there, we encountered exactly what I expected, and exactly what I had described above. After plunking our toonies into the little box (there is no staff at the golf course and you pay on the honour system), we teed it up and let it rip.
Literally, we were assaulted at every moment, whether we were moving or not, by swarms of biting, hungry blackflies. It was so unbelievably bad that we quit after 3 holes, and I returned to Whitehorse to watch the welts start to rise - about 15 in total - on my arms, neck, and face. Vicious, huge swollen welts that itched like hell.
Thankfully, the 2 other courses in the area are not "pasture" golf and I'll have bugspray with me this time. Hopefully the bugs will be less nasty.
Other than that, Sunday was pretty uneventful, I lounged around the house, ate, and generally got more relaxed. Watched "In Good Company", which nobody liked except me.
Monday August 8th
Monday was yet again another quiet day. We wandered around main street in Whitehorse, ate from the local Boston Pizza (no different than anywhere in Calgary, except that they have the American menu, which is slightly different than the Canadian one), and then wandered off to Miles Canyon, which is just a couple of kilometers from Whitehorse.
The pictures did not turn out well and did not do the canyon justice. While not awe-inspiring, the sheer cliffs into the crystal clear blue river below were pretty neat.
Tuesday August 9th
Ah, the first big adventure of the trip. (This was the drive)
We decided to hop in the car around 11am and head on down to Skagway. Lack of photo ID be damned!
The drive to Skagway is around 170km, so just shy of 2 hours. The first half of the drive is through some pretty scenery, although nothing that is unbelievable or can't be seen elsewhere (if you've ever driven around the Invermere/Radium/Farimont area of British Columbia, you've seen the majority of the Southern Yukon landscape).
An interesting experience (which will have more relevance later), was after about an hour's worth of driving, and when Steph's mom had thankfully slowed down from 150kph (which, when you're in the back seat of a KIA RIO going that fast, on Yukon roads which are notorious for having no guardrails, is a slightly unnerving experience), we came up on a friendly police cruiser going the other way. Now at this point we were doing about 110kph, which is either 20 or 10 over the limit (depends on where you are on the road and I can't remember). Thankfully, the cruiser just flashed his roof lights as a warning and carried on his way. We heeded the warning by declaring "Well that's the only cop on the road today, so we're free and clear."
Anyway, once you get into British Columbia (you end up in the north-north-north-west corner of the province, just above the US border), the scenery changes drastically into something you've probably never seen before. It is utterly stunning - barely any trees taller than 3 feet tall, lots of rock and brush, and tons and tons of tiny lakes. Unfortunately, we were running short on time and Steph was getting hungry, so we didn't stop too many times for photos, but here's a quick glimpse:
This is looking back North towards Whitehorse
Anyway, one of the girls who worked at the Canadian Customs Checkpoint was a friend of Steph's mom, so she was kind enough to call ahead to the US border control and ask if they would let me through. The official word was "maybe" so we decided to chance it.
We continued to drive through more and more spectacular scenery, and I got more and more disappointed that we were short on time and couldn't stop (unfortunately, Steph's mom had some clients to meet in the evening, so we needed to pay attention to the clock), but I did manage to get a couple more shots close to the border:
So we then, after about 15 minutes, entered Skagway. Skagway appears to only exist as a stop for cruise ships. There were about 4 or 5 of them in port at the time, and as such the main streets of Skagway were literally JAMMED with people. Even if we had time to stay (which we didn't), I wouldn't have wanted to. The shops looked very interesting (except for the tourist trap ones), but the crowds were too much.
We found a tiny little pizza joint which served delicious thin-crust pizza, which we quickly devoured and then hopped back in the car for the drive home (sigh).
On the way out, Stephanie and I resolved that next week, we'll leave Whitehorse at about 6am and head down to Skagway again, taking time to grab some photos on the way which do justice to the scenery (also, the sun will be better positioned), and we'll be able to spend some time in Skagway.
We may also take the White Pass & Yukon Route rail tour, which is one of those "how the hell did they build a rail line through these mountains" kind of things which I find fascinating. Here's a snap:
Anyway, so we're making our way back to Whitehorse. After we get about half the way away, I look down at my speedometer and notice I'm going quite a bit over the speed limit, and start to slow down. Just as the cop coming the other way (pretty sure it was the same guy as before) flashes his lights and starts to turn around on the highway.
Damn.
So, I pull over (and of course, this couldn't be worse, right? Since I don't actually have a Driver's Licence right now - just the stupid temporary licence you get when your current licence expires), the cop gets out and leans in and starts talking. I was going 114kph, in a 90 (I think) zone. Not good.
He asks where I'm from. (Calgary) What am I doing here? (Vacation) What's with the licence? (Temporary licence, etc.) Do you have a radar detector? (no way) Are you sure? (Uh, yes, at this point Steph's mom pipes up, "Where would we put it?", a good question considering we're driving the tiniest car on earth). He replies that he thinks I have one since I started slowing down once I came around the corner. (I reply, well, I was actually already slowing down because I realized I was going too fast...) At this point, he gives me back my licence, growls "SLOW DOWN" and walks away.
Whew.
Anyway, that was it for the drive... we got back safely, Nathan and I hit the pool hall, and life continued as normal.
Wednesday August 10th
Today was an absolute do nothing day, which was glorious. We roamed into town for a bit, and had lunch at a weird little restaruant in a shack which was built in the early 1900's. I had a Muskox burger. Delish. Very spicy, bitter, strong flavoured meat. Yum.
That was as exciting as it got. Lasagna's in the oven, Steph, her Mom and her Mom's friend Prima are watching our wedding video (Al, so far everyone who has watched it says its amazing, once again thank you for the great job you did).
And so, that is all. I leave you with this (my favourite shot of the trip thus far, taken on the road to Skagway, an old abandoned house right on the lake, again unfortunate position for the sun, straight ahead, so maybe next week I'll get a clearer background):
So, here's some summary of what has happened...
Sunday August 7th
Sunday was a relatively quiet day, although not as completely quiet as Saturday. Steph's brother and I got in the car and decided to make a trek down to "Annie Lake Golf Course", a local course built (people think) by the military in the 1950's for entertainment, and it's now been "maintained" by the community ever since.
It features "pasture" golf (i.e. no real fairway to speak of), packed sand greens which must be raked once you're done, and is just $2 to play. So we figured it would be a good deal and we headed on down, it's about a 40 minute drive through some beautiful scenery.
Once there, we encountered exactly what I expected, and exactly what I had described above. After plunking our toonies into the little box (there is no staff at the golf course and you pay on the honour system), we teed it up and let it rip.
The sign welcoming you to Annie Lake Golf Course
Literally, we were assaulted at every moment, whether we were moving or not, by swarms of biting, hungry blackflies. It was so unbelievably bad that we quit after 3 holes, and I returned to Whitehorse to watch the welts start to rise - about 15 in total - on my arms, neck, and face. Vicious, huge swollen welts that itched like hell.
Thankfully, the 2 other courses in the area are not "pasture" golf and I'll have bugspray with me this time. Hopefully the bugs will be less nasty.
Other than that, Sunday was pretty uneventful, I lounged around the house, ate, and generally got more relaxed. Watched "In Good Company", which nobody liked except me.
Monday August 8th
Monday was yet again another quiet day. We wandered around main street in Whitehorse, ate from the local Boston Pizza (no different than anywhere in Calgary, except that they have the American menu, which is slightly different than the Canadian one), and then wandered off to Miles Canyon, which is just a couple of kilometers from Whitehorse.
The pictures did not turn out well and did not do the canyon justice. While not awe-inspiring, the sheer cliffs into the crystal clear blue river below were pretty neat.
The water was so clear and blue I wanted to jump right in...
Tuesday August 9th
Ah, the first big adventure of the trip. (This was the drive)
We decided to hop in the car around 11am and head on down to Skagway. Lack of photo ID be damned!
The drive to Skagway is around 170km, so just shy of 2 hours. The first half of the drive is through some pretty scenery, although nothing that is unbelievable or can't be seen elsewhere (if you've ever driven around the Invermere/Radium/Farimont area of British Columbia, you've seen the majority of the Southern Yukon landscape).
An interesting experience (which will have more relevance later), was after about an hour's worth of driving, and when Steph's mom had thankfully slowed down from 150kph (which, when you're in the back seat of a KIA RIO going that fast, on Yukon roads which are notorious for having no guardrails, is a slightly unnerving experience), we came up on a friendly police cruiser going the other way. Now at this point we were doing about 110kph, which is either 20 or 10 over the limit (depends on where you are on the road and I can't remember). Thankfully, the cruiser just flashed his roof lights as a warning and carried on his way. We heeded the warning by declaring "Well that's the only cop on the road today, so we're free and clear."
Anyway, once you get into British Columbia (you end up in the north-north-north-west corner of the province, just above the US border), the scenery changes drastically into something you've probably never seen before. It is utterly stunning - barely any trees taller than 3 feet tall, lots of rock and brush, and tons and tons of tiny lakes. Unfortunately, we were running short on time and Steph was getting hungry, so we didn't stop too many times for photos, but here's a quick glimpse:
Looking east, the sun unfortunately wasn't in the best spot so this is a bit washed out
This is looking back North towards Whitehorse
Anyway, one of the girls who worked at the Canadian Customs Checkpoint was a friend of Steph's mom, so she was kind enough to call ahead to the US border control and ask if they would let me through. The official word was "maybe" so we decided to chance it.
We continued to drive through more and more spectacular scenery, and I got more and more disappointed that we were short on time and couldn't stop (unfortunately, Steph's mom had some clients to meet in the evening, so we needed to pay attention to the clock), but I did manage to get a couple more shots close to the border:
This is probably one of the most stunning panoramas I've ever seen; I wanted to climb down the side of the hill and go wander around by the waterfall...
Zoom shot of the waterfall.
So we then, after about 15 minutes, entered Skagway. Skagway appears to only exist as a stop for cruise ships. There were about 4 or 5 of them in port at the time, and as such the main streets of Skagway were literally JAMMED with people. Even if we had time to stay (which we didn't), I wouldn't have wanted to. The shops looked very interesting (except for the tourist trap ones), but the crowds were too much.
We found a tiny little pizza joint which served delicious thin-crust pizza, which we quickly devoured and then hopped back in the car for the drive home (sigh).
On the way out, Stephanie and I resolved that next week, we'll leave Whitehorse at about 6am and head down to Skagway again, taking time to grab some photos on the way which do justice to the scenery (also, the sun will be better positioned), and we'll be able to spend some time in Skagway.
We may also take the White Pass & Yukon Route rail tour, which is one of those "how the hell did they build a rail line through these mountains" kind of things which I find fascinating. Here's a snap:
Its hard to tell from this angle, but you can see the train is on a bit of a cliff - imagine now that you can look down (we're on the other side of the canyon, this shot was taken with my zoom lens at about 250mm), and you would see the bottom of the canyon maybe, I don't know, 1,000 feet below... thing you have to remember about this rail line is that Skagway is sea-level, and by the time you reach the border crossing (20 minute drive), you're at 3500 feet. Quite the climb.
Anyway, so we're making our way back to Whitehorse. After we get about half the way away, I look down at my speedometer and notice I'm going quite a bit over the speed limit, and start to slow down. Just as the cop coming the other way (pretty sure it was the same guy as before) flashes his lights and starts to turn around on the highway.
Damn.
So, I pull over (and of course, this couldn't be worse, right? Since I don't actually have a Driver's Licence right now - just the stupid temporary licence you get when your current licence expires), the cop gets out and leans in and starts talking. I was going 114kph, in a 90 (I think) zone. Not good.
He asks where I'm from. (Calgary) What am I doing here? (Vacation) What's with the licence? (Temporary licence, etc.) Do you have a radar detector? (no way) Are you sure? (Uh, yes, at this point Steph's mom pipes up, "Where would we put it?", a good question considering we're driving the tiniest car on earth). He replies that he thinks I have one since I started slowing down once I came around the corner. (I reply, well, I was actually already slowing down because I realized I was going too fast...) At this point, he gives me back my licence, growls "SLOW DOWN" and walks away.
Whew.
Anyway, that was it for the drive... we got back safely, Nathan and I hit the pool hall, and life continued as normal.
Wednesday August 10th
Today was an absolute do nothing day, which was glorious. We roamed into town for a bit, and had lunch at a weird little restaruant in a shack which was built in the early 1900's. I had a Muskox burger. Delish. Very spicy, bitter, strong flavoured meat. Yum.
That was as exciting as it got. Lasagna's in the oven, Steph, her Mom and her Mom's friend Prima are watching our wedding video (Al, so far everyone who has watched it says its amazing, once again thank you for the great job you did).
And so, that is all. I leave you with this (my favourite shot of the trip thus far, taken on the road to Skagway, an old abandoned house right on the lake, again unfortunate position for the sun, straight ahead, so maybe next week I'll get a clearer background):
Imagine the stories the person who lived in there would have had...
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