Day 36: Whitehorse

May 20, 2014

We had off and on rain all night. This morning early was very cloudy but rain free. There is a wonderful walking/biking trail through all of Whitehorse beside the Yukon River and we walked a portion of that trail with Scout about 0600. Then, back at the rig we had a good breakfast and prepared for the day. Of course, it started raining again. It has been our experience that it always rains in Whitehorse. It rained when we were here 8 years ago and it has rained the past 2 days. Anyway, we worked on plans for the next few days – changed them – and by then the rain had moved out.

On the south end of Whitehorse is Miles Canyon. It was originally call the Grand Canyon but then renamed after an army general. The powerful current of the Yukon River through the narrow canyon was a major hazard for travelers on their way to the gold fields.

It is a beautiful area and filled with hiking trails on both sides of the River and a pedestrian suspension bridge across the canyon. We could spend 3-4 more days just hiking here. There is a lot of canoeing here as well which we would do if it was a little warmer. So far it has not been warm enough for us southerners to put our inflatable kayak in the water. For those coming up after us, you should not miss this canyon. What a peaceful quiet place it was today. Great hiking!

Also in Whitehorse is the longest wooden fish ladder in the world so of course we had to go see it. It is used from mid July-early September to allow the Chinook (king) salmon to get up the Yukon river, around the hydroelectric dam, to spawn. If we are back this way at the right time we would definitely go see it in action.

On the way back to Fred from the fish ladder we drove by this interesting sculpture in a local yard. It's made from bicycle wheels. Interesting – don't see that in a front yard every day.

This sculpture is the Whitehorse horse. It too is a welded piece and amazing in a different sort of way.

More hiking by the river after dinner since it is not getting dark here until after 10:30 pm.

For RVers following us: the WalMart here allows overnight parking, but the Canadian Tire store does not. There were 20 RVs in the lot last night. There is a free sanidump with potable water at the North 60 Petro Express station next to the WalMart lot. The station does not have an attendant, so don't plan on paying with cash.

We also noticed that several pull-outs along the highway in Yukon have new "No Overnight Parking" signs that are not mentioned in The Milepost 2014.