Author: Rae

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Fall Colours

I was happy to get today off, but not so much as when I realised that, hey, my day off coincided with my one year anniversary of being on the road! I didn’t hesitate to pack up a picnic and head back up the Dempster to Tombstone to see the fall colours! I was a little bit late as the colours are fading, but I did manage to get a few good shots. I also decided to rehike the Grizzly Creek Trail, sans 30lb pack, and discovered along the way that I’m sick and tired of climbing UP and I need a break from climbing mountains. 😀 To add to my disappointment, the pictures I took from the summit are all washed out and don’t do justice to the landscape. Bah. 🙂

En route, I stopped at the Klondike River Lodge for a coffee and ran into my Chilkoot guides yet again! Not much later, I ran into my cyclist friends whom I’d met on the Top of the World highway. What a small world for such big country!

On the way back, I picked up a young guy I’d met at the camping this week. He looks like a complete punk, but he had wowed me with his impeccable manners. I hate to judge a book by its cover, but I wouldn’t have picked him up had I not met him before. I’m glad I did because he had the funniest story to tell. We somehow got on the subject of stupid questions tourists asked and his favourite was “What do you guys do with the ice bridge?” To which he replied: “We take a big saw and cut it up into chunks. Every resident of Dawson has to keep at least three chunks in their freezer all summer and then the bridge is reassembled the next winter.” Hee hee!

It was a grey, drizzly day, but, still, what a spectacular anniversary!

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This map showing the elevation change for the Grizzly Creek Trail was not up when I first hiked here. Had it been, I'm not sure I would have ventured up with my 30lb pack! It's actually not that far off from the elevation change from Sheep Camp to the summit, but it's STEEPER!

This map showing the elevation change for the Grizzly Creek Trail was not up when I first hiked here. Had it been, I’m not sure I would have ventured up with my 30lb pack! It’s actually not that far off from the elevation change from Sheep Camp to the summit, but it’s STEEPER!

there was another one of these guys hanging out by itself in the bushes

there was another one of these guys hanging out by itself in the bushes

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okay, this was worth the climb :)

okay, this was worth the climb 🙂

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Retrospective: A Year On the Road

It was a year ago today that I first hit the road as a very green full-time RVer wannabe! In some ways, the year has flown by, but in others it feels like it has been a decade since I left Ottawa.

I’ve covered some 10,000km in that year, visiting more of Canada than I would have seen in a lifetime of stickhouse living.

This past year I have learned about RV plumbing, electricity, and propane; crunched Miranda (and the toad) more than I would have liked; met pleasantly insane and not so pleasantly insane people; made new friends; conquered fears; fulfilled my dreams of hiking the Chilkoot Pass and seeing the Klondike; slept at more Walmarts than I can count and beautiful rustic campgrounds; worked at a bunch of different jobs; and in the process finally figured out just what it is I want to do with my one wild and precious life.

My plans for year two are positively sedate in comparison, but this will be the year of settling in, testing new systems, and laying a solid foundation upon the dreams formed during year one. I can’t wait to see what the future holds!

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Internet Woes (the story of my RVing life)

I’ll be surprised if I even manage to publish this, but I’ll try. The internet here has gone from bad to worse and I can barely get on. When I do, I get kicked off within seconds. So, expect infrequent updates of this blog until I get back to civilization, unless major positive changes are made, which is doubtful. 🙁

After a year of relying on RV park internet, all I can say is it sucks and I would like to invite everyone who visits to donate a dollar to the ‘Get Rae a tripod satellite system’ fund! 😀

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RV Park Guest Etiquette (or Rae Needs to Get Some Stuff Off Her Chest)

Here are some tips to be a better RV park guest:

1) If there is a big pink sign on the door that the office closes at say, 8, and you walk in at 8:10, don’t act all huffy that the camphost won’t let you surf for a half hour and be grateful that she allows you a few minutes to send off an ‘important’ email;

2) If checking in as a group, have one person per rig go into the office to register. If you go in en mass and start talking amongst yourselves (especially in a foreign language) and keep on interrupting the check in process to ask the host questions she said she would answer after everyone was checked in don’t get huffy if the check in process is slow and/or she forgets to give you the code for the wireless internet and/or she asks you the same question more than once;

3) Don’t shoot the messenger informing you that the internet is down. Shoot the idiot who crashed the system by trying to download a massive file;

4) If the camphost is counting money, please do her a favour and let her finish, especially if you plan to launch into a tirade about the internet.

5) If you are in, say, the men’s washroom and there is a knock at the door, answer. If you don’t, you have no business yelling at the female camphost who assumed there was no one in the room since no one answered the knock, and entered to make sure the facilities were clean and the toilet paper topped up.

There, I feel better. 😀

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An Evening at Gertie’s

Last night, I met at Diamond Tooth Gertie’s the cyclists I picked up on Friday.

We ended up staying for all three shows, at 8:30, 10:30, and midnight. We were there four and a half hours! I wish I had known that it’s okay to take pictures of the shows.

The 8:30 wound up being my favourite. It’s the most ‘cancan-y’ of the three, with lots of swirling petticoats and leg kicks. The 10:30 wasn’t bad, but it was more song than dance. The midnight show was disappointing. I’d been told it was the most flamboyant and naughty show, but I found it less flamboyant and naughty than the 10:30.

What amused me the most about the evening was how many people came into Gertie’s and gravitated to my table. I didn’t realise how many folks I’m friendly with! Even Mark and Victor, the guides from the Chilkoot, walked in at one point, fresh off the Yukon River from guiding a canoe trip! Talk about an authentic gold rush experience; discussing our slog over the Chilkoot at Diamond Tooth Gerties!

I hadn’t had a night out in too long, so a couple of pints, some pizza, entertainment, and conversation were just what I needed. The best part is that thanks to my season pass, the evening only cost me twenty dollars. Of course, it helps that I didn’t gamble!