Now it’s time to get everyone caught back up with our travels. During four days of southbound driving in Yukon and British Columbia, we had zero cellular service and almost no internet. It literally felt like we were in a third world country. So, getting back to our trip….
After leaving Dawson City very excited to have witnessed the Northern Lights, we stopped for a couple days in Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon Territory. It is a much larger city, but it has many of the same historical museum type of attractions. You know the gold rush drill by now…..mining, trains, steamboats, war, woolly mammoth bones, geology, saloons, etc.
If we hadn’t already been to multiple places covering these topics, we would have visited more points of interest than we actually did. Instead, we picked our favorites and put on our tourist hats. Our first stop was Miles Canyon and we could have stayed there for hours.
Aside from the breathtaking views, there are many hiking trails on both sides of the canyon. The water moves swiftly below, so there is no swimming or diving allowed. Can you believe that only a couple small cargo boats made it through there many many years ago?
Had it not been for the presence of Miles Canyon (and the Whitehorse Rapids), riverboats would have been able to travel the Yukon river between Carcross and Dawson City without a problem.
Since they did encounter a barrier, the city of Whitehorse was established and the rest is history. It is now the capital city of Yukon.
From Miles Canyon, we headed to Mount Sima, not knowing if it was open or not. Mount Sima is the ski resort right above the city. There are also numerous ATV and snowmachine trails in the general area around the resort.
We thought they might offer chair lifts in the summer, but no such luck. During ski season, you can rent skis and snowboards plus any equipment, as well as go paragliding from a couple of the slopes.
I was surprised by the small parking lot, but I think a lot of people arrive by snowmachine, which are much smaller than cars. There is plenty of room for snowmachines I guess.
Another interesting stop was the SS Klondike. We had already walked aboard a smaller paddlewheeler in Dawson City, but this was a much larger ship with more room for cargo and passengers. This Klondike (it was the 2nd one built) carried freight until 1950.
Due to the construction of a highway connecting Dawson City and Whitehorse, many sternwheelers were decommissioned and this one was converted into a cruise ship. The venture shut down in 1955 due to lack of interest, and the ship was donated to Parks Canada. It was gradually restored until 1966, when city authorities agreed to move the ship to its present location.
One highlight of Whitehorse is the famous fish ladder on the Yukon river. It is the longest wooden fish ladder in the world.
Adult salmon must contend with the 1200 foot fish ladder on their way upriver, and juveniles must survive the hydro electric turbines in the dam on their way down to the ocean. It is about 2000 miles to the Bering Sea from here.
I can now say that I have worn a swimsuit twice this summer because we found another hot spring! Takhini Hot Spring resort has camping spaces and I would have stayed here at least one night if we would have known.
Otherwise, it was just a 30 minute drive from town, which wasn’t bad. They had little to see or do besides the pools and a cafe, but soaking in the hot mineral water felt great.
Another stop and stamp we needed for our Yukon passports was the Old Log Church. It is one of the oldest buildings in town and it stands in the original place it was built. Now it serves as a museum.
We also drove by Yucomicon, but it was very small and we didn’t stop. There’s nothing like Comic-Con in California, but kudos to them for holding their own. Once our passports had 20 stamps, we turned them in for a drawing at the Visitor Center. Wish us luck in winning the 1oz or 2oz gold prizes!