Day 18 - Whitehorse, YT

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Blog by Don and Jacque Smith, Rig #19

The morning started out with a great breakfast of biscuits and gravy (one of my favorites), fruit cocktail, OJ, and coffee prepared by our wagon masters and tail gunners.  Then around 10:30 a.m., 32 caravaneers left for a two-hour cruise on the MV Schwatka through Miles Canyon on the Yukon River.  We missed the boat (deliberately!)  Winifred Meiser (Rig 16) served as “assistant blog photographer”.   She said she was almost thrown overboard by the deck hand as everyone was supposed to stay seated and she was always getting up and down taking pictures.  The boat had seating on 2-levels and everyone played “musical chairs” so each person had an opportunity to sit inside and top-side.  In addition to the outstanding views along the river the group also saw our tail gunners Madi and Spence taking pictures of them at the Miles Canyon bride.  Additionally, they watched a bald eagle in flight and perched in a tree.

Meanwhile, we took a 4 ¾ mile hike on the Millennium Trail which is part of the Yukon Waterfront Walkway.  Half way through the walk we stopped at the Whitehorse Rapids Fish Ladder.  At the interpretation center adjacent to the fish way we met Mike, a Yukon Department of Fish and Wildlife employee who explained all about the salmon migration from the Bering Sea to the tributaries above the Whitehorse Rapids Dam.  The fish ladder was built in 1959 to help the salmon migrate around the dam.  At 366 meters, this fish way is considered to be the longest wooden fish ladder in the world.  Although the salmon migration does not start until July, we did see 1 small rainbow trout through the observation windows.  Although I knew the salmon instinctively return to the stream of their birth, Mike said they will actually spawn within 6 feet of where they were born (all this without a GPS).

After we left the fish ladder we crossed the Yukon on the Rotary Centennial Bridge for our hike back.  Near the end of our walk we passed a bald eagle’s nest and watched as a beautiful bald eagle sat and preened his feathers.  What a sight!

To top off the day we all met at 8 p.m. for the Frantic Follies Vaudeville Revue.  There was singing, dancing, music, skits, along with a lot of laughter from the audience.  Carol (Mrs. wagon master) was selected from the audience to be part of one skit and later Ken (wagon master) was chosen to take off one of the girls garters.  There was a lot of whooping and hollering from the Adventure Caravaneers.  All-in-all, it was a super day in Whitehorse, Y.T.