Whitehorse, Yukon

Welcome to Whitehorse, YT, one of the larger towns along the Alaska Highway. Below is a replica of the sternwheeler LE S.S. Klondike which delivered those with gold rush fever further along

their quest to Dawson City and the Gold Fields.
The Yukon River (below) has since been dammed

and it no longer looks so fierce.

I know this flower belongs to the Begonia family
but have not been able to properly identify yet.

You are looking at a placid Yukon River (because
of the dam. Before then the River was a fierce rapids area the miners could not get through with their home built rafts and canoes. This area is called Miles Canyon and a toll of $25 dollars was extracted from each miner who wanted passage through and around the rapids. A high price as most miners had very little to no money when they headed out to "strike it rich".





After the damming of the Yukon River, the lake became know as Lake Labarge; the lake made famous by Sam Magee through what we would call now day "cowboy poetry". Below is the tourist ship used to cruise the Mile Canyons today. Didn't take it but the toll is probably still $25 or more!

Don continues to wonder why all those gold seeking miners did not simply use the highway system or the railroads or a good sound boat or airplane to get up to Dawson Creek. It would have been much easier and quicker than climbing up and over all those difficult mountains and having to freeze and starve for 3 months of extreme cold and snow waiting, waiting, waiting for a spring thaw. This must be at least a century old question. TTFN Karen & Don