A little bit tourist, a little bit local

We've settled into Whitehorse, and have gone about our own particular blending of tourist exploration and local living. After checking out the Visitor info centre (a really nice one!) on Thursday we took the kids to the Whitehorse playground and Splash park, a short walk away. The kids, of course, got soaked in the splash park. We then took in the Farmer’s market where we picked up some fresh veggies and a whole Arctic Char to have for supper, and went grocery shopping. Friday Bob did some basic maintenance on the truck and we spent the day just relaxing.  After so many days on the go it was nice to just sit.  (Perhaps not the best thing, considering we have arrived just before Yukon’s Discovery Day long weekend, and a considerable amount of businesses are closed for it.)  Looking on the internet for kid friendly things to do, we discovered that the local pool was having its “Last Splash” celebration that evening, before closing for maintenance for the next three weeks. So, we joined the locals and had a great fun time. There was a big inflatable obstacle course in the pool, lots of toys, several pool side activities for the kids, and ice. The ice cubes made me scratch my head for a moment, but then realized it was for “freezing” their friends and family. Morgan thought that was grand. Brr!  Lily wanted to go on the inflatable, but in order to she had to first do the swim test. For the swim test she had to swim the length of the pool and back (50 meters total!!!) and then do a somersault into the pool.  She passed with flying colors. So proud of my miss!  

 Sat we munched treats at the Chocolate Claim (yummy!), got Morgan a haircut, shopped the downtown, including the bookstores (yummy books J) and Bob & the kids went to the fair.  Today we went for a walk at Miles Canyon and crossed the wooden suspension bridge there. The walls of the canyon are volcanic basalt and have that particular hexagonal shape which always makes me think of pictures of the Giant’s Causeway. Back in the days of the goldrush this canyon was the most dangerous part of the trek, as there were some major rapids & undertows through the canyon. The dam just downstream has tamed the worst of it, and raised the water level 10 m, but I certainly wouldn't want to be in that water. Undertow and whirlpools are quite visible. It can’t be as bad as it looks though since the beavers & otter thrive in the area.  The canyon is only a few kilometers out of downtown and there are trails all over. Many people (locals and visitors alike) were biking, running and walking on them.  It was kind of odd to be out in the quiet, natural setting and then have to step aside for the fellow mountain biking down to the bridge or the lady out for a run with her dog. Maybe they just get the best of both worlds; a beautiful setting practically in their back yard.  After stopping at McDonald’s for a quick lunch we went to the Whitehorse Fishway, a wooden fish ladder which allows the spawning salmon access over the Whitehorse Rapids dam. We were in luck as we’re right in the middle of the salmon migration. There are three viewing panels where you can see the salmon in the holding tank before they are allowed to continue their journey. In this section, all the salmon are counted and categorized and a portion taken out to become broodstock at the Whitehorse hatchery. We only saw one king salmon in the holding tank (which caused Morgan, Lily & Bob to scream in surprise when it zipped past the one window – and the rest of us to laugh), but could see many swimming around at the base of the ladder on the fishcam. Outside several information panels provided us information about the dam, fishway, and the fish themselves. A separate tent detailed how the First Nations tribes fished the river and how the dam changed life for both the fish and the people who relied on them for nourishment. Morgan got bored rather quickly, but Lily and I found it all very interesting and spent quite some time reading all the panels and looking for more fish. I realized afterward that I had completely forgotten to take any pictures while there, which is too bad since it’s definitely worth a visit if you happen to be in Whitehorse.

We’ll try to take in more touristy things tomorrow (maybe that jet boat ride with Wild Wonders Morgan’s been begging to go on). But it’s actually been more difficult to do so than we thought. Besides the long weekend altering business schedules, several tourist sites are actually closed this year. Johnson’s Crossing, a long time stopping point on the Alaska Highway between Teslin and Whitehorse was closed, and for sale in the local paper. The MV Schwatka, a river cruise up Schwatka Lake and through Miles Canyon is not operating this year, and the Mt. Sima adventure park never really even got off the ground before shutting down completely. Unfortunate, really, since these were all activities & places we would have liked to check out.