May 31, 2009 DAY 9 Whitehorse, YT
Would you believe that little Whitehorse (population 24,000) has the world?s largest weather vane? At the international airport there is an original Canadian Pacific Airlines DC-3 passenger plane mounted so perfectly on a pedestal that the slightest breeze causes it to swing around to point into the wind. We met the man who designed it as he was working as a volunteer at the Transportation Museum restoring one of the early Fairchilds that were used to carry mail. The people here are community spirited, and his son (who is a licensed airplane mechanic also) and a friend who was a pilot were working on it with him. The Yukon Transportation Museum is a ?should see?. Wear a jacket if the outside temp is low because part of it is in a large area that is expensive to heat, so they don?t.
We spent an entire day at the YTM and the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre, even skipping lunch because it was so interesting that we didn?t want to take time out. We had never heard of Beringia before, and briefly, the idea of the little ?land bridge? of the archipelago Aleutians is not the primary way that people from Asia came to North America. There was a whole big land mass the size of the United States that emerged during the Ice Age when sea level fell by 100 meters. It was a grassland, which encouraged woolly mammoths, scimitar-toothed cats, antelope, bison, and rabbits to cross over and the hunters followed them.
They give visitors a lot of individual attention and our guide taught us how to use an atl-atl to increase the distance an a lance could be thrown. This was an amazingly engineered device, which the First Peoples fit the lance into, and then with a flick of the wrist, the lance flew far. They showed 2 very interesting films, followed by a Q & A session. This museum is a ?must see?.
We spent quite a bit of time just chit-chatting with the Yukoners about what life here is like. These people are hardy, have very closely-knit families, highly value education, love winter sports, and receive special treatment from the Canadian government. They receive lots of money from the federal government and get to go to the head of the line when they go outside area hospitals. They do not have long waits at all here locally at their doctors and hospitals.
We ate a quick dinner at the coach, and then drove into town to see the Frantic Follies Vaudeville Revue. The performers were so talented?high kicking can-can girls, had rich singing voices, told great jokes in costume, played a whole variety of instruments, performed side-splitting skits, and at only $24. I expected community theatre, but these were true professionals with extensive training, and this is a ?must see?.
We arrived home at 10:15. It was 56?F and actually warm, not even a little bit cold. Dean had to look west to check for traffic before making a turn, and we were both blinded by the SUN! But, we are so glad to see it, and it?s supposed to shine for the next 6 days with no rain. When we came, the Yukon was primarily a huge iceberg, and what a difference 2 days make.
Tomorrow we visit the Jeep dealer and the RV repair shop. I hope we have time to do more fun things, but, if we don?t, we will be back through here again on our way home.
A CORRECTION: I learned from another RVer who?s staying at Hi Country RV Park that they also sell tickets to the tourist activities, so my other source was wrong. There may be other RV parks that do, also.
Wildlife Count: 0
Weather: Just perfect?probably low 70?s.
Overnighted at: Pioneer RV Park