Faro Yukon

I feel like I have not touched base yet...I have been blithering on about all I have seen. Now things have settled down, I am actually feeling like I am retired!!!! I am relaxing more and looking at my space in the world...right now its a beautiful view...out Phyl's window...and how I needed that...Easy to sit and reflect on ones life with this view inspiring you...;-) This photo was taken on a foggy morning early.... Faro at this time has a population of about 400, but what surprises me is the space around me...From the start of my trip I was always amazed at the space..driving for hours without seeing anyone...Living in the big city of Calgary, you lose sense of space...its toooooo crowded...Here I am realizing how much space there is around me...we are so small in this world...
Phyl and Doc's house is on the edge of town overlooking the valley.....Every morning when the house is still quiet I have my time to work on blog or keep in touch with family and friends via email..and overlook this view..a very peaceful time of day..


I love being able to watch the weather coming from afar watching it come down the valley, knowing what to expect. At home I live in a river valley with enormous trees, beautiful in itself but closed in and protected..

Look at the difference in the green since I arrived in the beginning of May the aspens were not leafed out in green yet. I didn't take to many photos knowing it would be beautiful quickly. Here is my little chickadee comes to visit me every morning..They are the hardest to photo as they are very flighty. I spent the first few days taking photos of every different bird that landed on Phyl's feeder and my little Pine Grosbeak the bully of the feeder...apparently it is for him only....























As the bright new spring green comes out, so are the flowers...So far the lupines have shown their colours...On my walks with Oliver (who is also being very patient while I crawl around in the leaves to get the best shots)...

The wild lupine is very different from the city lupines..beautiful especially against a burn out stump..

















Oliver is saying "Are you done yet?" "Lets go have lunch"

Trip home to Faro

Fox Lake,
site of burn in 1998.
I was shocked when back at the first of May I drove through this area. Shocked that after nine years, there still did not appear to be any new growth as of yet. I got out of the car and walked up a trail and was pleasantly surprised that in fact there were a few shoots of Lodgepole pine, I think. I heard later that the first year after the fire it was covered in fireweed...must have been an impressive sight...Right now it looks very desolate. Then Phyl stopped in right at the lake on the way back from Whitehorse and I saw a whole different picture. The lake ice is now melting and the breeze had shifted all these ice crystals up to the shore line, tinkling....Yes tinkling.. That sound is what brought me down to the water, the sound was like ice cubes tinkling against a crystal glass. It was bright sunlight and when I looked closer the chunks look no less beautiful than a chunk of Swarovski Crystal....( I know I did not spell that correctly) Can you imagine? I mentioned earlier the quiet of this country, all you hear is birds and wind. To stop at this lake and hear tinkling...how magic, that's the only word I can think of to describe...







I spent the next hour taking numerous photos a majority of which did not turn out as spectacular as the real thing! I confused my camera completely, it did not know exactly what to focus on...with the sunlight shinning through there was so many focus points...I even tried to create a sculpture and placed a chunk onto a burnt out old stump...Phyl and Doris were oh so patient...;-)





















In this Photo, I asked Doris (who happened to be wearing a dark coloured vest) to stand with her back to me so the ice would stand out..Worked other than the camera did not to know what to focus on and the sparkle is not as magic as it was at that moment..

Trip home from Skagway full of surprises

I think this may be the nicest photo I have taken on this trip...That reflection I missed in the previous shot, showed in this one in the small patches of ice resulting in a puzzle of reflections. I like this one.
It was another day of driving and Phyl reminding me to stop and smell the flowers.
Often Phyl at the wheel just pulled off the road and we found such treasures. This was one instance.


Forget how far you have to travel that day...take the time to stop, look, and most of all listen...that's where the peace comes from .....
..This is what we found.

Imagine camping here, and just waking up to this, with your coffee, good book, your dog, and a sunbeam......Oh and of course your camera.....;-)

Just look at this beauty...you know, its not hard taking nice photos, the trick is to find all the nooks and crannies and find treasures like this.....and there's more!!!!!

Doris and I on the train...


I think we saw two bears this day...Oliver stayed on the leash when we had our stops!!!!





Nameless falls on the side of the highway...spring run-off ....






By the way, I just learned...if you click on any of the photos, it enlarges them, I was thinking of the train traveling along side the mountain...you cannot see the tracks unless its enlarged...then its impressive....
Phyl and Doris and I stopped in Whitehorse for a few days... Faro is losing its one and only store at the end of the month, so the plan is to stock up...Whitehorse is four hours away there will have to be some planning done....there is not another trip planned until July....

A trip from Whitehorse to Faro is on average 4 hours......it took us 6 !!!! but, look what Phyl found for me......I learned about how lake ice melts....

Skagway, Alaska

Skagway is a cute little touristy town. Their main $$ of course are made in a couple months of the year. It reminded me of Banff but much smaller scale..And when I say smaller scale I mean smaller....the buildings are small!!! They must be original and refurbished...Look at the comparison of the truck parked on main street. ...You will not find any burger drive-ins and only a couple of sidewalk cafe's...Although right across the street from the train station was a Starbucks....no Tim Horton's!!!! Whitehorse across the Cdn. border though has two..!!! and line ups at the take out window are just as long...
Na Na did her shopping for her little ones at The Shirt Co. and bought the regular T-Shirts from Alaska ;-)



 



Old cantilever bridge..(no longer used whewww)

WP &YR railway (Whitepass & Yukon Route)

The train ride!!! 3 hour round trip from Skagway at 0 ft. sea level to 3000 ft. at the summit in just under 20 miles. The route was born in the Klondike Gold Rush era...a necessity to move the gold to the coast from the interior...Faro used the route to move the ore mined in the town to the coast to the ocean going ships. The tight curves of the White Pass called for a narrow gauge railway. The rails are just three ft. apart on only a 10 ft. roadbed. There are two tunnels (pitch black tunnels) and numerous bridges and trestles. Some made of steel, some of wood and all on a wing and a prayer...(or was that me riding the rails) When riding this train you can hardly not think of the explorers...something I do quite regularly..I heard that the tunnels were built in the dead of winter at 60 below and with seeing the amount of snow in May....Its is an unbelievable feat....Construction of the railway took 35000 men...There is a story of a 10 ton rock which fell down the mountain on top of two explorers and their pack horses and all the equip. There was no equipment that could move that size of rock so they place a marker on top, and with every train ride full of tourists they pay homage to these men. If they only knew what the future would bring 100+ years down the road.
On our visit to Whitehorse Phyl and Doris went to visit a friend of theirs from Faro in hospital, and mentioned we were going on the train...she was telling them she and her husband arrived from Czechoslovakia in Skagway 54 years ago and traveled to Whitehorse on the White Pass train. They happened to be on the final car and she was terrified of the sway, was having second thoughts of her adventure. (I'll try to avoid the final car!!!!)


Snow removal !!!!








Phyl stayed back at the truck with Oliver because she was to nervous going on the train but I had to get the photo..so Doris and I ventured out...and it wasn't to bad..I even found myself hanging over the edge of the railing to get a photo of the side of the train riding around the curves..
































Of course the closer you came to the summit the more snow there was...it was an amazing trip well worth the time. As I stated earlier I must go back after the snow has cleared to see the actual terrain. I will be as impressed.

Skagway

I missed a great photo.....talk about being in the right place at the right time....We were driving around a corner on a very narrow highway and came upon this view. This view.... other than the lake was completely calm....a morning calm...before everything wakes up....I could see this magnificent mountain reflected perfectly in the water....so clear and still. I was so excited and yelled at Phyl to stop (which happened regularly on this trip) I jumped out of the truck and ran back up the road and on my way to the best vantage point, saw this.....

















a slight breeze whispering across the lake. At first I thought how beautiful and then all of a sudden realized what that was doing to my reflection!!!!
I waited on the side of the road until the breeze dissipated, but the morning calm didn't come back..I waited on the way home to see but it was the same...Missed it.....

















We are headed to Skagway, Alaska...I know I am jumping out of order, but this place was the best so far....I am so in love with this space in the world...I love the mountains I really do...I miss them if I go away..I notice them every time I drive by them in the city...When driving out to Mike's now I have Maddissen saying to me "isn't it beauuuutiful" Well Skagway is a different type of mountain..We drove up to the summit and travelled for miles at the top...There is so much snow...I remember asking one of the tour guides on the train if the snow disappears in the summer and he said yes all but the peaks of course...and up at the top there is a large narrow lake that runs along the road...and it is a ritual the rookie tour guides have to take a dip at the end of their first season. (He was so looking fwd. to that moment) I so need to go back and see after the snow has disappeared.. Phyl and I are talking about taking another drive down the South Canol Road to Jakes Corner and then back to Skagway before I come home...

I wondered as I was driving along this stretch of highway (just before the US border crossing) what the markers on the side of the road for...apparently they mark where the road is when snow has built up so deep.!!!!!!! Not a time I would like to be touring on this stretch....May and July sounds just perfect. Looking at this photo, its hard to believe all this snow is going to disappear.! Here is another example of the lake I didn't even realize was there......

Phyl tells me the landscape is more like the badlands. I am envisioning something like the Canadian Shield like I have seen in Ontario or up in Northern Sask. & Man.
rounded bare rock...but its the main reason I would like to go back, its not often when on holidays you get that opportunity......
I am going to publish this article...(always worried I'm going to lose it) and tomorrow morning I will show you the train!!
I work on these articles in the early morning...sitting in Phyl's living room overlooking her beautiful view of her valley (yes its hers) before the house is stirring...its quiet, windows are open and birds are singing away....I have my coffee, Oliver is still in bed....He is adjusting to this retired way of life quite easily....

Update # 7 Where am I now?

Good morning everyone...this seems to be my retirement profile...I am still an early riser, although it is later on Yukon time, 5:30 AM. Its very hard to tell what time it is when you first wake as I have never seen it get dark....even dusk....I have tried to stay up late for perhaps a sunset, or northern lights,,,,but I can't do it...I don't think it happens at this time of year...Doc has trouble sleeping at this time of year needs the bedroom dark..but it certainly hasn't bothered me...I open the window, letting that beautiful fresh air in and I sleep soundly..Days have been beautiful especially on our Skagway trip, +17-+21 perfect temp. for me...At the risk of saying anything out loud, there has not been the bugs yet either....Phyl says they are coming but so far I can sit on deck and enjoy the view...Apparently they get these enormous June Bugs with the large shell and feelers (ugggggggggg) but I will deal with that...wonder if they like Skintastic..????I think I need a bigger bottle.......

Day 3 from Chetwynd to Ft. St. John was possibly the most scenic part of the highway...perhaps....would have been couple of weeks later...all the aspen, poplar trees not out at this time...just a blush of green on some hills....I travelled miles along the mighty Peace River and that's exactly the feeling I got from this area...I had the feeling it was very laid back and peaceful....from small little hamlets (Hudson's Hope) to deer feeding in the meadows...a very relaxing portion of my journey and not raining!!!!!!

My journal reminds me I had portions of my trip that were whats the right word...nervous....hesitant....thoughtful.....there are lonnnnnng stretches of road with no traffic, homes, gas stations (most closed, seasonal) which for me is wonderful..but it makes you think it would not be so wonderful if you had a problem with vehicle, or hit a moose, etc. Now sooner or later someone would be along and would stop to lend assistance surely...I was talking to a lady in the coffee shop here in Faro and she and her husband moved up here in Nov./06 So here they are pulling a trailer and its 40 below...and the truck broke down...Luckily they were in a rest area with an emergency phone!!!! (I didn't see any of those) Summit Lake..They called their Road assistance co. and a tow truck from Ft. St. John was arranged...BUT they waited on the side of the road at 40 below for 5-6 hrs...Hubby finally remembered he had packed an electric blanket and a generator in the trailer, they hooked it up and were toasty when the tow truck arrived....Talk about resourceful....Lots of stories in this country....

I am finding all the maps tell you how far it is from eg. Ft. Nelson to Liard hot springs is two hours....It takes me 4!!!!! I know I know I do stop occasionally ;-) for photos. but it does not seem like 2 extra hours....I have not once successfully made it anywhere in the allotted time......resulting in not being able to schedule stops,,important on this stretch of highway....

Let me tell you about the Blue Bell (or was it Blue Bird Inn) in Ft. Nelson...great write up in the B.C. accommodation book nothing in Ft. Nelson is rated in AMA books...so I'm winging it.....Dead bolt doesn't work, its cold in room and everything is blue!!!!!!! walls, sheets, bedspreads, I'm such a city girl.....I can hear the fellow up stairs talk on the phone...sneeze...(hopefully that's all he does) but tomorrow Liard hot springs....that sounds so good right now....and then only 7 hours to Whitehorse ....(allotted time) there is an end to this highway.............

Update # 6 Jasper, Alta. to Chetwynd B.C.

Main street Chetwynd B.C.























Day 2 is my rain day. My trip consisted of driving through everything at one time or another. Day 2 had wind, snow. rain and little periods of sun. Out of Jasper in the morning I spotted an elk having brekkie on the side of a pond. and he took the time to say good morning to me.... I headed off to Prince George. It started to rain early in the morning hard. and very quickly the creeks were full and rapid even to the point of overflowing...spring runoff for sure.















The only disadvantage to the rain, I have never disliked driving in the rain, is I can't see the mountain tops. The only way I can determine the elevation I am at is the types of trees in the landscape. Lower means aspen trees, poplar, higher means spruce, pine..and of course cooler, foggy. I stopped at a rest spot and had a lovely nap listening to the birds and the pouring rain on the roof of the car (love my sunroof) covered up with my polar fleece, snug as a bug. Travelling through Prince George, some would call this a miserable day.



Weather station predicted 30-50 cm of rain but somehow for me, its another memory. Time change lose an hour. Arrived in Chetwynd BC about 4:30 PM Ft. St. John is another 153 Km Because it was rain and mountain driving the whole day (I had thought the terrain would flatten out by now) its time to quit for the day.
I stopped at perhaps the nicest motel on the trip... Western theme, wrought iron, very cute. Took photos of amazing wooden carvings along the highway mainly for my little kids...and Keaton I have a photo of a very large truck carrying rocks from a bridge construction site I passed....Just for you hon....





Tomorrow, the scenic byway to Ft. St. John BC and the Alaska Highway!!!!!