Ten Days in the Yukon: Whitehorse

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Day 10/Wrap Up

June 10, 2017

Whitehorse temps: 27/10 C

Our last fine breakfast by Chef Scott at Hidden Valley equipped us well for a leisurely re-packing of suitcases and souvenirs before we headed back to the the tiny two-gate Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport.

Ready to board at Whitehorse Erik Nielsen International Airport © Dan Silas 2017

I returned our Ford Focus Titanium rental car with just 10 km over the free 1800 km limit. While taking picture of the mileage for the rental agent, I noticed we had achieved an overall average of 5.8 litres/100 km on the fuel efficiency monitor. Assuming the computer is correct, that’s stunningly good fuel consumption - about 5 mpg better than manufacturer claims after adjusting for the smaller US gallon.

The Wrap

The Yukon is a stunning place to visit, and a photographer's dream. Its open country and wide valleys are a Prairie man’s paradise. There’s an energy that can’t quite be articulated when you experience the 20-ish hours of daylight; this allows for lots of time to sightsee. Outdoors, nature calls your soul at every bend in the road.

Yukoners are innovative with their food, plate it very attractively, and cater to taste buds previously unexplored (these folks do more with the humble french fry than anywhere else I’ve been).

The Yukon may be known for its eclectic and eccentric people, but the they are unfailingly nice, helpful, and direct. Everyone we met assumed we were visiting someone we knew; when they found out that wasn’t true, the welcome became even warmer.

The folks at Travel Yukon either train their staff exceedingly well, or hire only the best ambassadors (or both). I’ve visited other national and provincial parks offices and have sometimes felt more like an intrusion. Not so in the Yukon. They are genuinely glad you came.

True test: Would I go back?

I’d go back in a heartbeat, but likely in a different season. I’d love to travel the Dempster Highway in August, when I’m told the fall colours make you feel like you’re inside a painting. Winter also holds a certain allure for the photographer in me. Being from Manitoba, I’m not scared of the legendary cold. Some Yukoners with Manitoba winter experience told me the winters are actually harsher in my home province - and then there’s the promise of aurora borealis.

Take me back, Yukon Territory.

Take me back, Yukon Territory © Dan Silas 2017

Day 8

June 8, 2017

Whitehorse temps: 31/9 C

A wholesome gourmet breakfast of wonderfully fluffy scrambled eggs, toast with locally made spruce tip jam, and a seasoned poached pear awaited us on this particular morning.

Sign at Hidden Valley B&B: tasty food, local ingredients. © Dan Silas 2017

With a leisurely paced day in store, I hung around and plucked out a few fingerstyle tunes on one of the living room guitars while my wife had a shower. The old acoustic axe sounded surprisingly good given its appearance. Before I knew it, one of the resident hounds joined me on the couch and promptly fell asleep. Innkeeper Tara Steigenberger gazed upon the scene with surprise, remarking that the this particular she-dog didn’t like men (score one for me).

Serenading the hound that apparently doesn't like men. © Laura Dyck 2017

This being our second last day in Whitehorse, we chose to explore a few shops inadequately enjoyed when we first arrived.

We once again took advantage of Art in the Park and enjoyed the West Dawson Ramblers. I later learned that lead singer and guitar player Kevin Barr has some history as a politician. Later I had a nice chat with the mandolin player Marc Ladouceur who promptly invited me to the Yukon Bluegrass Festival at Haines Junction on the weekend. I’ve been part of a number of bands over the decades, including a long stretch with a Manitoba based bluegrass band, so Marc’s invitation spoke to my soul while the cold beer he offered me if I showed up spoke to my thirst on this 30 degree Celsius weekend. Sadly, we had other plans - and a schedule that required us to be on a plane back to the Prairies by noon on the Saturday of the festival.

West Dawson Ramblers perform at Art in the Park © Dan Silas 2017

Lunch involved some excellent chicken thigh thingies I don’t recall the name of with dipping sauces from the Garlic A GoGo Greek food truck nearby. Yum!

Next stop was the Arts Underground where we enjoyed more local artists’ work - and met yet another Winnipegger minding the shop. Without exception, everyone we met in the Yukon was friendly, hospitable, and helpful.

The sun was bright and the temps were hot as we passed a sign that beckoned us in for cool refreshments. How can you not check out a place called The Dirty Northern Bastard? After enjoying a Happy Hour discounted refreshment, my wife opted to check out a few more shops. I was done-in, so I hung out in the park next door to the White Pass Yukon Route rail station reflecting on the past nine days and jotting down some notes.

Dirty Northern Bastard © Dan Silas 2017

Supper took us to Epic Pizza in the Riverdale subdivision, where we’d read that a well known local folk performer would lead patrons into an open mic night. For whatever reason he didn’t show, so the hosts started the open mic. I can tell you that Kris Kristofferson covers are alive and well in Whitehorse. The Epic’s claim to fame is “the best thin crust pizza in town.” Even an after-the-fact review of their menu could not break loose any recollections of what we had, but it was delicious.

The next day - our last in the Yukon - called for a road trip to Kluane National Park and Reserve, so we turned in early to rest up.

Day 7

June 7, 2017

Return road trip to Whitehorse

Dawson City Temps: 27/8 C

Gas price in Dawson City: $1.30/litre

Having experienced the road up to Dawson a few days earlier, we now knew what to expect. This time, we packed a lunch of some snacks and a couple of freshly made sandwiches created at a tiny little sandwich bar inside the back of the Bonanza Market. This allowed us to stop whenever we felt hungry.

Heading south to Whitehorse, at the intersection of the Klondike and Dempster Highways. © Dan Silas 2017

The return trip was uneventful, punctuated only by the stunning vistas. With the iPod delivering some favourites, including Sam Baker, Danny Schmidt, Greg Brown, Harry Manx, and Paul Bergman, we cruised the miles away under mostly blue skies. I’m a prairie man at heart, and love watching the ever changing skyscapes in my home province of Manitoba. I’ve visited the Rocky mountains and the Alps' several locations throughout Canada and Europe. After a while, I find these high peaks and narrow valleys make me claustrophobic. But the Yukon is very open country. I got to enjoy its beautiful skies, mountains, wide valleys without ever once feeling hemmed in.

Yukon River © Dan Silas 2017

An early evening check-in at Hidden Valley B&B followed by a tapas sampler at the Burnt Toast Cafe sated our needs for the moment. The tapas platter (potato skins, truffle fries, pulled pork and goat cheese nachos) was delicious. A meal unto itself, and affordable dining for two.

Upon return to the B&B we lounged for a bit in the spacious grounds and beautiful gardens until the mosquitoes drove us indoors. Until now, we hadn’t really had any serious bug experiences; but Hidden Valley is located some 20 minutes just outside Whitehorse, which, we learned, does have a mosquito abatement program within its city limits.

We are both the types who need darkness to achieve quality sleep, so out came our sleep masks, as our room had no black out curtains.

Day 3

June 3, 2017

Whitehorse temps: 16/3

Skagway temps: 17/9 C

Transport: Car/Bus/Train

This day was long, and best described in pictures. Our bus driver and tour guide picked us up at the White Pass and Yukon Route rail station in Whitehorse at 8:30 am and kept us entertained enroute to the train station in Fraser, B.C., which also serves as the international border crossing into Alaska (Tip: Don't forget your passport).

We made stops along the way at Emerald Lake and Carcross, which is also home to Matthew Watson, Yukon’s oldest operating general store. We popped our heads in long enough to learn that they sell everything from kitschy RCMP souvenirs to real skins and furs.

Emerald Lake, scenic tour bus stop enroute to Carcross. Can you find the moose near the shoreline? © Dan Silas 2017

Yukon's oldest operating general store. © Dan Silas 2017

From Fraser we travelled on the narrow gauge railway through the Tormented Valley and other seemingly impassable country traversed originally on foot by the most hardy and adventurous gold rush miners on their way to Dawson City via Skagway.

Tormented Valley © Dan Silas 2017

At the historical border crossing high in the mountains, Northwest Royal Mounted Police stopped every gold seeker and weighed their provisions to ensure they had the two tons needed to survive for a year. One tale has it that a miner was sent back to Skagway for being found one pound of butter short.

Historic Northwest Royal Mounted Police station somewhere in the remote mountains between Whitehorse and Skagway © Dan Silas 2017

Enroute to Skagway via White Pass and Yukon Route narrow gauge rail © Dan Silas 2017

Just one of hundreds of spectacular views from the train © Dan Silas 2017

Skagway is a pretty little town on the one hand, and kitschy tourist town interrupted with high priced jewellery shops on the other. It’s a major cruise ship port of call, and we were advised to avoid the place on Tuesdays and Thursdays when up to six ships arrive on one day.

Downtown Skagway © Dan Silas 2017

Cruise ship port, Skagway, Alaska © Dan Silas 2017

In Skagway, the bus picked us up, stopping in Carcross again for a short rest stop. This time, the Carcross Commons shops were open. Carcross Commons is a collection of small shops and kiosks hawking everything from coffee and pastries to Indigenous art and crafts.

On the way back to Whitehorse via tour bus © Dan Silas 2017

Back in Whitehorse, hungry and tired and not wanting to a long wait for our supper, we choose the Panda Panda Noodle House for grub before hitting the sack. Huge servings, tasty, and very affordable. Be prepared to take home leftovers.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Day 1

June 1, 2017
Yukon population: 35,874

Whitehorse: 21,732

Temps: 16/8 C

Food: Excellent

Arriving in Whitehorse by air gives me an automatic sense of release, of peace, of serenity. Below, the mountains, valleys, and rivers look back in softened geographic relief.

Even I wasn’t planning on this trip in the strict sense of that deliberate word. But when a Westjet seat sale clinched the deal and the time window coincided with my work schedule, I couldn’t say no.

The Yukon has been on my bucket list for 37 years (see About). My dear wife and lifelong travel companion was surely getting tired of hearing me wax on about my Yukon desires all these years. Maybe she joined me just to see what I had been prattling on about.

A 6 am departure from Richardson International in Winnipeg meant an even earlier wake up call. After a plane change in Vancouver, we landed in picturesque Whitehorse right on time. Rental car pick up was smooth, but they did try to upsell us on extra windshield chip and tire insurance at $15.95/day. There are other less expensive insurance options your carrier or credit card provider might offer. If you plan on travelling up the Dempster, check with the car rental agency first.

Alert: Unlike in the south, where pretty much every car rental company offers unlimited free mileage, in the Yukon there’s an 1800 free km mileage limit.

Tip: I booked the rental car via a special offer from Westjet through its partner, Budget Car Rental, at the same time as booking our flights. With prior research, I quickly determined that this deal was about $100 less than booking directly with the rental agency. The savings may not be as great if travelling to a major city where competition is stiffer. Be sure to do your research first.

By now lunch was past due. We drove into Whitehorse and discovered the Burnt Toast Cafe. The name is typical northern self deprecation. We ended up eating here three times. Each meal was creative, unique, and flavourful (tip: try the Humble Salad with Maple Balsamic dressing). Service was excellent.

Our B&B, the Red Door Inn is about 10 minutes from the airport - and everywhere else in Whitehorse. By the time we checked in, we couldn’t decide if a nap or a walk would serve us better. We opted for a lovely 5km walking trail that took us from the door of our B&B, through a forested area, and across the Yukon River (twice). It also happens to be part of the Trans Canada Trail. What a gift it would be to live close to such a trail!

We returned to our B&B ready for a short rest and, because we enjoyed the Burnt Toast Cafe at lunch and were too lazy to make a different decision, we returned and enjoyed a very fine burger with some unique toppings. But first, a worthwhile stop at the Whitehorse Visitor’s Centre yielded a free 3-day parking pass at all metered spots in town, along with some other useful recommendations.

Thanks to our host Mary Ann, our B&B room had black out curtains, otherwise the late night sun would have kept us up exploring.