On our way to Tombstone Territorial Park in Yukon we drove a short stretch of the Klondike Highway and then the infamous Dempster. Up here there’s constant roadwork in the summer, and by roadwork they mean, “bulldozing the old road and pushing a pile of dirt beside it for a new road.” I was too […]
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You Keep Watching the Tundra, Then You Remember to Look Up (at Tombstone)
I said this to Tracy yesterday while we were hiking along the mountains in the northern part of Tombstone Territorial Park, here in the Yukon, a little east of Fairbanks. The sub-arctic tundra here is so beautiful—moss and lichen and flowers—a deep cover that insulates the permafrost right below. Even if the ground weren’t captivating, […]
We Live on a Giant Rock in Space
You’ve had a significant epiphany, right? I’ve had a very few, and I remember each one. The time I realized that the meat in my mouth used to be alive, and it dropped right out of my mouth, with no meat entering again for 15 years. The time I was part of a herd (I […]
Faro: Named for a Card Game
Faro, Yukon, is a tiny little town born from mining, but not the kind we’re used to hearing about up here near Alaska. Yeah, people panned for gold along the Pelly River (Pharaoh/Faro is an old French card game they played), but the big deal was lead and zinc. As in, the world’s largest open-pit […]
Along the Klondike and Campbell Highways
Just a little north of Whitehorse, we left the Alaska Highway for the first time in ages and drove north along the Klondike, then east along the Robert Campbell. These names may seem to slip off my tongue easily (despite my terrible map skills) only because I’ve been hearing Tracy and Melanie plan their trips […]
Miles Canyon/Kwanlin
The people indigenous to this southern area of Yukon when European and American settlers arrived are the Kwänlin Dän. It wasn’t until the year 2005 that they gained governance over themselves, which is astounding to me. Not to them, I imagine, sadly. And I’m already tired of hearing the names of the explorers as the […]
Muncho Lake with Friends
This is such a beautiful place, but you add friends, and it’s like cranking the dial up to 11. We’re at Muncho Lake Provincial Park in British Columbia, camped right next to Doug and Melanie. You know them: we met a couple of years ago in Anza Borrego (California) back when they had their Airstream. […]
Flower Springs Lake
Lotsa photos! I’ve been stymied by broken eye glasses, a lost camera lens cap, and so many bear sightings that we have to keep Banjo close, but I’ve still managed to take too many pictures. Prophet River Wayside Provincial Park We’re still heading north up the Alaska Highway slowly, enjoying each stop. The provincial park […]
Back-country Hiking at Writing-on-Stone
I ended my previous post thinking the spirits in this sacred place were telling me to slow down. Well, perhaps I misunderstood that message, because the hike I went on the next day seemed spectacular. First thing, I signed in with the visitor’s center for back-country hiking, then I joined Tracy in fording the Milk […]
Writing-on-Stone Overwhelm
I often feel like spirituality is something other people experience. I’ve never felt connected to a greater being, and I wonder if my feelings about the land and nature aren’t a little forced. And when I get emotional while witnessing indigenous ceremonies, my tears are probably a whole lot of racial guilt. Some places are […]
