June 22, 2012 Day 14/60 Whitehorse to Mayo, YT
So much for my nap…as soon as I completed the blog entry, there was a clap of thunder like I haven’t heard in a long time. I am talking rattle your bones, shake your trailer thunder. Soon after the thunder, I got a call (yes, cell phones were working here) letting me know they were going to come home for dinner and go back out to fish after the storm passed. This storm is a good one. Huge drops of rain were followed by small hail stones. But the storm eventually passes and our fishermen head back out. They had found a beautiful area in Miles Canyon. For a moment I contemplated going with them. However, I really wanted to shower and wash my hair. While showering at my mom’s trailer, I hear the rain start up again. In no time, the storm has returned. We had been enjoying the fresh evening air that follows a storm, so only the screen door was closed when the storm returned. Before we could get the door closed, it had rained into the trailer a good 6-7 feet drenching the linoleum, cabinets and anything that was sitting there.
After we got that mopped up, I headed back over to my trailer to prepare for the return of some pretty drenched guys. Sure enough, they were wet, but not as bad as I had anticipated. Their jeans and shoes would need to dry but their rain jackets kept the tops dry. They were in good spirits and not too down about a fishing trip cut short or being caught in the rain.
The next morning we head out toward Mayo. For today’s drive, we leave the Alcan (I have since found out that it is indeed one word) and take the Klondike Hwy. There is not a soul out on the highway. The guys really want to fish so we pull into a government campground at Fox Lake. It is a gorgeous lake. Rick and the boys try their luck at shore fishing and catch nothing but are all improving their casting. I thought maybe fish here don’t like left over spicy shrimp that has started to turn, but they weren’t biting on lures either. Mike went down the lake to where a creek empties into the lake for some fly fishing. Not only did he look good doing it, but he even caught a rainbow trout. He showed Luca how to gut it and Luca cut off the head. I am glad he is interested this will help him earn the Fishing Merit badge.
Not far down the highway we stop at Braeburn Lodge for lunch in the trailer followed by what have got to be the largest cinnamon buns ever. They were as big as Luca’s head. Well, almost. I have the picture to prove it. We split one 6 ways. It was still plenty.
There are supposed to be agate trails near Carmacks, so we pull into the native heritage center there to ask (and get our Yukon Passports stamped). I am the only one to get out of the car to ask. I am greeted at the door by two barking dogs. They didn’t seem unfriendly, just loud. A few other tourists who arrived while I was there were put off by this greeting, however. The First Nations lady running the place said she is a rock hound and gave me directions to her favorite place to look. She said she has found larger agates and geodes there. I thought I understood where she was describing until we were on our way. Then I realized that there may have been a cultural communication issue. What exactly is “not too far down the road” to someone who lives in the vastness of the Yukon? What constitutes a pull out? She didn’t mention that big hill. I was not familiar with the highway ahead so I hadn’t thought to ask if it was before or after the hill. She described a rocky area we saw grassy hillsides. You get the idea. We didn’t stop and didn’t get to look for agates. We were all disappointed.
Next we stopped at the Five Finger Rapids Overlook. It is a narrow spot in the river similar to Hell’s Gate that caused early river travelers much difficulty. They installed cables to winch boats through the most treacherous area. The guys all hiked down 219 steps to a better viewing spot. Mom and I stayed behind. Again the guys did it faster than the estimated hour. The sun was pretty intense and they were ready for a cool treat. So we stop at Pelly Crossing. The Milestones book described The Selkirk Heritage Center as “having self-guided tours of First Nations heritage and crafts for sale.” It failed to mention the fact that it was one small room with a terse cashier. Well, we got our stamp at least. We headed over to the gas station/convenience store/everything rolled into one Selkirk Centre. It looked like the whole area regularly empties its ashtrays onto the parking lot. It looked like someone had tried to break the glass on the door with a brick. There were two circular impact marks like I have only seen on TV crime dramas. Again the store folk were not overly friendly. The First Nations lady did give Mom a big smile and wave as we pulled out.
After stopping for gas at the nearly extinct Stewart Crossing, we turned off the highway. The road to Mayo was lined with larger piles of logs from trees removed from the roadside presumably to make a fire break. They looked like beaver lodges made by large prehistoric beavers (we saw replicas of these at the Beringia Museum).
Mike was leading the way and we heard Mom radio that there was a tree across the road. This didn’t make much sense as we had seen several cars come toward us. There was something in the road, but it was a mother black bear and her cub! After they had walked the full width of the road, along came the other cub, clearly the runt. They both were so small and a light brown. They were clearly this year’s cubs. After they got across the road, the runt started to climb up a tree but momma bear turned and gave a look and off they all went. It was so cool!
Turns out the Midnight Marathon is this weekend in Mayo. Instead of staying at the municipal campground, we are at the Bedrock Inn and RV Park. We are still dry but have electrical that we have to share with Mom and Mike. It is very informal here and only $5 per night. The Bedrock Inn is very strange. We never did see the office when the boys and I went in search of the bathroom (or washroom as they say here). We did find a long hallway with anonymous rooms on each side. The doors were propped open slightly and the lights were off. Upstairs there was a communal room with a BIG tv and a kitchen. The gravel voiced lady there steered me toward the washroom. When was the last time you say an ashtray installed on the bathroom stall right next to the toilet paper? Exactly. And this one was freshly used. I have to wonder …..
We couldn’t run the A/C with the shared electrical and it was a warm night. We opened up all the windows and it cooled down enough to get some sleep.
June 23, 2012 Day 15/60 Day trip to Keno, YT
Today was all about mining. We started out early for our day trip to Keno. Not far out of Mayo, we saw a black bear sitting on the side of the road like he was waiting for a ride. I was driving so I didn’t get the camera out in time.
The road out to Keno was a long, bumpy 37-mile gravel road. We saw one of the many emergency shelters in the area. It looked barely larger than a phone book. We decided that there better not be many in your party or you better be very chummy. Also, don’t get sleepy while there. There isn’t enough room to lie down. The speed limit on these small gravel roads is insane. On the highway the maximum is 100 k/h or about 60 mph. On the gravel the maximum is 90 k/h or about 55 mph! We would shake apart at that speed.
There isn’t much going on in Keno these days. There are about 20 hearty souls living out there. This is much lower than the 600 during the silver mine hey-day. The lady at the Mining Museum was very nice. She might be a bit lonely as we didn’t see more than 6 cars out at Keno the whole day. She gave the boys, Mike and I samples of Galena, silver and lead from her friend’s claim. I got enough for a whole class set so let’s hope I get hired back for 4th grade. When she found out I am a teacher she gave me a book written about the area. The museum was nicely done. The downstairs was about the mining history of the area and the upstairs was about the daily life of the miners out here and their families. They wintered out here when temperatures could fall to minus 40 degrees outside. They listened to a lot of radio. The lady was quite proud of their newly renovated outhouses. I must agree that they were the nicest I have ever seen. They were well-ventilated and screened. There was a separate hand washing station in its own building. Inside was a wooden cabinet with sink like you would find in an old house. On the counter was an Igloo with water and the marble sink had a bowl to catch the water.
After the museum, we drove up a steep, winding gravel road to the summit of Keno Mtn. There is a sign post at the top showing distance to various places in the world. There was still snow up there (6,066 ft.). There were artifacts and remains of buildings from the old mining days. After a little wandering around by the sign post, Luca stayed in the car while the rest of us explored near an old cabin. Dominic and Mom found interesting crystals in rocks. Mike and Dominic wandered down the hillside to get a closer look at a dilapidated mine cart and what is left of the rail system. We saw hoary marmots dashing in and out of the little rock piles.
On the road up to the summit we saw a series of garden hoses linked together on the side of the road. They eventually led to a pump system and then across the road and over the side of the hill. On the way down, we determined that the hose system was well over 1 mile long. Someone went to a lot of trouble to put it together. Hey must be working a claim up there.
We had to wait for the pizza place in Keno to re-open at 1:30. Mike Mancini runs the place and he uses his mother’s recipe. He was born in Bari, Italy and moved here when he was 3. Wow, talk about culture shock! He looked a little like Dominic’s English teacher, Mr. DeZutti. We had to wait quite a while. However, it was very good pizza. He has all of his water delivered by truck and was running low. This had a few implications for us. First, I ordered a Pepsi instead of my new usual, water. Second, all four DiMaios went to the bathroom but only the last of us flushed. Yep, that is right. Many families might be familiar with “if it is yellow, let it mellow.” However, this is the first time I have ever seen a sign in public about it. I am happy I was the first to use the facility. The boys also got to watch TV for the first time in 2 weeks. They have seen movies but this was TV! We watched a re-run of “Wipe Out with Ariel from “Flying Wild Alaska.” I wonder if her appearance on “Wipe Out” led to her other show.
After lunch we took Duncan Creek Road out of town. The road was about the same if not better in parts than the road we took into to town. Our goal was a family placer mine on Duncan Creek. My parents had been here twice before and wanted us to see it. The family welcomes visitors for free tours anytime. The non-mining brother was fixing kids’ bikes when we arrived. He gladly stopped what he was doing for our tour. Two little boys stuck their heads out of the door to see “the visitors.” I don’t think they get many people stopping by. Again we had a little communication issue. He said the tour would take us up creek “a ways.” We felt sure we would all be fine with it and could use a stretch of the legs. We walked more than a mile, I am sure of it. The guy was nice enough but had a slow way of getting to his point that kind of lost the boys. The operation was a lot like what we see on the Discovery Channel’s “Gold Rush Alaska.” Our tour guide arranged a ride back to the main house for Mom while the rest of us walked. Hard to believe they are making a living for several family members out there. The guide had to fix the generator so they could have daily functions like water from the pump.
There was supposed to be Art in the Park (always the same weekend as the marathon) so we drove by to see what this was about thinking we could find some First Nation people selling crafts or some good food. Not so much. There were a hand full of people listening to a band (almost the equal numbers) and someone with a grill selling I don’t know what. We decided not to go. By now the other three adults are thinking a cold beer would be nice. No such luck. Not even at the Chinese restaurant. Yes, you read that right. This little town in the middle of the Yukon has not only a Midnight Marathon but a Chinese restaurant.
June 24, 2012 Day 16/60 Mayo to Dawson City, YT
We got to sleep in because we wanted to see the Binet House in Mayo and it didn’t open until 10. I woke up at 6:30 but convinced myself to stay in bed and dosed until 8! The Binet House was worth the late start. It had some interesting photos and displayed aspects of life in the Yukon that we haven’t seen elsewhere. There were photos and a newspaper article showing what happens when a Grizzly bear gets in your house. My mom said it reminded her of nasty teenagers destroying the place. I think I have seen similar scenes on “Hoarders: Buried Alive.”
Upstairs was devoted to medical history, artifacts, and stories. The most amusing one I saw was about a doctor who performed dentistry during the winter because the dentist didn’t stay the winter. He had borrowed tools and looked at manuals as he went. His first patient needed a tooth extracted. He charged the guy $5 but since it didn’t hurt the guy gave him a nugget worth $70! After that he only charged a bottle of alcohol (there is something wrong with this). The patients often drank some of the bottle on the way to the doctor and nurses always knew that the guy staggering down the sidewalk with a bottle tucked under his arm was there for tooth removal.
We didn’t have far to go today so the plan was to look for fishing spots. Since we got a late start, we hadn’t been on the road long when it was time to stop for lunch. Might as well pull over at a place that sells “award winning” pastries. They didn’t look too great to me. Luca and Dominic each took a brownie. After lunch in the trailer, Dominic ate his. It was a dry brownie with Hostess-type frosting. He said mine are definitely better.
We passed a big lake that at the right time of year is a migration stop for many species of birds. This is not the right time of year. As a matter of fact, June shows the lowest number of birds there historically. Still a pretty lake with many water lilies. Farther on we stopped at the Tintina Trench (the largest fault in all of North America). It looked like a gorgeous wide valley.
Finally we stopped at a turn out in the road nearly to Dawson. The signs here said we were on the edge of the Klondike Gold Discovery area. This fork of the Klondike River was clear and looked like a good fishing spot. There were signs that a moose had been there, but we had the place to ourselves this afternoon. It took Dominic a few tries to get the hang of casting into rushing water and in a breeze. He snagged a tree and Mike and I worked together to get him out. Rick waded out to a rock bar in the center and caught a grayling. We all missed it while we helped Dominic. Luca stayed up in the trailer with Judy until he got another fish cleaning lesson from Mike. I went for a wade and found it quite cool and refreshing.
There are huge mountains of mine tailings on both sides of the highway as we head into Dawson City. Miles and miles of tailings. It is kind of disturbing to think of how the ecology and natural environment of the area has been forever changed by the mining here. The town itself has many preserved and refurbished building dating back to the late 1800s-early 1900s. The hosts here are very nice. It started to rain just as Rick was setting up the trailer and unhooking the Suburban and I was putting in 4 loads of laundry. Mom and Mike have a washer and dryer but there was just too much that needed to be done. So for a little over $16 Canadian and in about 2 hours I got most of our clothes clean. The boys are going to learn which clothes can be re-worn on the trip (if it isn’t stinky, can’t stand up on its own, etc.).
About 9 PM, the DiMaios went for a walk around town. It wasn’t even close to being dark yet. I read that around the time of the Summer Solstice (June 21) they get about 20.9 hours of daylight. We spotted a good place for ice cream/frozen yogurt (cash only and we didn’t bring any), a bank with an ATM (for cash for the ice cream, but I didn’t have my ATM card) and 2 small groceries (these two were closed). There were a handful of tourists walking around and a bunch of locals who had had way too much to drink. I said, “Who goes on a bender on a Sunday night?” To which Dominic replied, “Unemployed people.” He didn’t mean all unemployed, of course.
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