Day 2

June 2, 2017

Whitehorse temps: 17/7 C

Breakfast: Excellent sourdough pancakes at the Red Door Inn B&B

Our day got off to a leisurely start with a visit to the drydocked S.S. Klondike, a massive sternwheeler being preserved and restored by Parks Canada. There are loads of fascinating stories you can to take in for yourself, along with a short documentary film that was looping in a tent outside.The largest of a fleet operated by the British Yukon Navigation Company, this boat carried provisions, adventurers, and merchants along the upper Yukon River between Whitehorse and Dawson City. These sternwheelers, designed with a shallow draft for shallow rivers, were often steamed at maximum speed to clear sand bars. When they did run aground, cable winches on board were secured to anchor points on shore to drag boats back into deeper water.

SS Klondike © Dan Silas 2017

At lunchtime we wandered down to a tiny little green space downtown for Art in the Park. Here we met local sculptor Harreson Tanner, working on busts of seven writers from across Canada. Harreson struck up a conversation with us and we quickly got four great tips on places to visit: Dawson City, Yukon Artists at Work Gallery (in Whitehorse), Kathleen Lake (in Kluane National Park and Reserve) and Tombstone Territorial Park. All were excellent recommendations and only a lack of time prevented us from seeing Tombstone.

Harreson Tanner © Dan Silas 2017

Here we were also entertained by the five piece folk band, Crooked Folk. As a guitar and mandolin player myself, I couldn’t leave until I had talked with at least one band member, who happened to be Calla, the mandolin player and the only band member to perform some original work. I loved the inter-generational flavour of the group.

Crooked Folk © Dan Silas 2017

Anne at our B&B tipped us off to Miles Canyon, just a ten minute-ish drive out of Whitehorse. Stunning views of aquamarine river waters and a surrounding canyon are flanked by hiking trails. We spent a good chunk of the afternoon contemplating the beauty.

Miles Canyon © Dan Silas 2017

We also visited the Yukon Artists at Work gallery whose modest exterior belies the calibre of work found inside. Here we met the shop-minder for the day, Deanna Bailey, who sculpts amazing three-dimensional scenes in clay. Check out her work - it’s truly incredible. There also happened to be a bookmaking exhibit which tickled the fancies of my partner and travel companion, Prairie Peasant.

We followed Anne’s supper dining tip and thoroughly enjoyed the northern Mexican cuisine cooked up by this family run operation billed as the Yukon’s only Mexican restaurant at a completely unpretentious place called Sanchez Cantina. Pro tip: Get a reservation, which we did the day before.