Dawson City

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Getting Ready to Leave. Sort Of.

Departure from Dawson is still slated for late morning/noonish on Tuesday, but you’d never guess that from the state Miranda is in right now! Plus, I’m awaiting two packages, the most important of which is my new computer. USPS got it to Canada quickly and customs processed it efficiently, but Canada Post is of course putting the snail into snail mail. It’s been in Whitehorse a couple of days now, so I’m hoping it’ll be here tomorrow.

My work schedule is as full as ever and what I had planned to do was just work until the computer came, then get on with my departure preparations during the installation of the new Mac, which would put me without a computer for at least a day. If the computer comes in tomorrow, I will get started on the prep, but I think I will end up finishing it up in Whitehorse and still leave on schedule.

Tonight, I got all my laundry done, including my heavy bedding. It’s such a treat to be able to do that and start the fall all fresh and clean. Tomorrow, I’ll finish putting things away and also clean the cab carpet.

Departure is not stressing me out at all, even if it’s not as relaxed as it was last year. I’ve had enough departures after sitting to know that my tire pressure is fine (but I will check it ‘just in case’) and that it’ll be a good idea to trickle charge the battery when I get up on departure day. Both vehicles are in good shape (minus their windshields), so the exterior prep will only involve putting away hoses and packing up the bicycle, extra propane tank, and kayak. It’ll only be a couple hours of work to do, inside and out.

The game plan will be two nights in Whitehorse, one night at Nugget City, one night on the Alaska highway, one night in Dawson Creek, and then the start of several nights on a new route. So, really, there isn’t going to be any newness or anything worth stressing out about for almost a week. 🙂

I am eager to get back on the road and and see what the winter will bring, but I sure will miss this little town…

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Sunshine From Inuvik

I don’t believe in coincidences and today was a perfect example of why.

I was offered the morning off from work and took it to catch up on things at home. This made it possible for me to have an earlier lunch than usual, which put me at the café just in time to run into friends I made in Inuvik who were just going through town for the day. We had lunch together then met up at Gerties tonight for drinks.

Needless to say, it’s been a great day!

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Last Trip to the Free Store

I went to the free store this afternoon not to ‘shop’ but to drop off yet another large basket of clothes and other items. It’s been a great summer for decluttering and while I still have more to do, I’m just about ready to completely take the rig apart and reorganize it.

I’ve made serious inroads into mastering the dang wardrobe and am proud that I gave away about twice as much clothes this summer as I brought home. I did manage to score a full new wardrobe for less than $20 this year, which made it easier to give away older pieces I was tired of wearing.

I’m happy to report that the wardrobe now looks 100 times better than this!

Next up on the list is to go through my books. I have so many free sources for books in Dawson that it’s been easy to go overboard and bring home more than I’ll ever have time to read. With my iPod Touch doubling as an e-reader, there’s no sense in keeping anything but the most special print books on hand.

I expect to have a lot of time on my hands in October, so more decluttering, organizing, and decorating will be my priorities when I’m not working. After working seven days a week for four months, it’ll be nice to have time to get back on track with my homekeeping duties!

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Parks Canada’s Bear Creek Compound

Parks Canada’s Bear Creek Compound is somewhat legendary in Dawson as few have stepped foot in it. Today, for the first time in at least seven years, and possibly for the last time, the compound was opened to the public for a few hours. Checking it out seemed like a good use of my afternoon break!

From the Parks Canada website:

Bear Creek is an industrial complex of some 65 buildings and related structures located in the Klondike River Valley, 10 kilometres east of Dawson City. From 1905 to 1966, Bear Creek was the Klondike headquarters for corporate mining interests, acting as the administrative and repair centre for the goldfield’s dredging operations. These huge dredges worked the goldfields, replacing the small individual miner of the gold rush and ensuring the viability of gold mining as a profitable business up until 1966.

(For a refresher course on dredges, go back to my post about Dredge No. 4.)

Parks Canada acquired the complex in 1975 but because of environmental concerns could not do too much with it. One of the biggest hazards is the mercury that was used in the gold extraction process. The cost of rehabilitating the site to make it safe for the public would be prohibitive. Today, Parks Canada mostly uses the buildings for storage, but there is one garage left for repairing big machinery.

Visiting the compound was an extraordinary experience. The majority of the buildings are in some stage of decay, mostly advanced, and many have artifacts left in situ, as though time has stood still. It reminded me a lot of touring Alcatraz, actually, and the weight of history was incredibly present.

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the mess hall

the mess hall

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the floors in the messhall undulate like fields of prairie wheat

the floors in the messhall undulate like fields of prairie wheat

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Parks Canada lumber storage

Parks Canada lumber storage

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the most impressive building--you open a very heavy and thick door into a dark and earthy-smelling tunnel. My camera's flash did too good a job here!

the most impressive building–you open a very heavy and thick door into a dark and earthy-smelling tunnel. My camera’s flash did too good a job here!

exterior of the root cellar

exterior of the root cellar

tailing

tailing

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that yellow never fails to take my breath away!

that yellow never fails to take my breath away!

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this machine was cast in Ohio!

this machine was cast in Ohio!

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decay

decay

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this cavernous building once held all manner of giant machinery

this cavernous building once held all manner of giant machinery

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a giant transformer

a giant transformer

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permafrost wreaking havoc in the tin shop

permafrost wreaking havoc in the tin shop

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55 cents a gallon!

55 cents a gallon!

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this building is obviously in modern use. :)

this building is obviously in modern use. 🙂

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incredible!

incredible!

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this tunnel is just about tall enough for me to crouch in!

this tunnel is just about tall enough for me to crouch in!

coming apart at the seams

coming apart at the seams

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exterior of the steno office

exterior of the steno office

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staff housing (doesn't look much better from the exterior than any of the other buildings!)

staff housing (doesn’t look much better from the exterior than any of the other buildings!)

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this shed holds 'props'

this shed holds ‘props’

the engineer's house

the engineer’s house

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this house surprised me with the number and size of rooms it contains, as well as the ample storage

this house surprised me with the number and size of rooms it contains, as well as the ample storage

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toilet room off a massive bathroom

toilet room off a massive bathroom

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news article about Neil Armstrong!

news article about Neil Armstrong!

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1962 calendar (I suspect it was planted here; seems in too good shape)

1962 calendar (I suspect it was planted here; seems in too good shape)

information about Bear Creek

information about Bear Creek

blank forms

blank forms

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wheelbarrow dug out of the permafrost

wheelbarrow dug out of the permafrost

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the staircase inside the welcome building is in surprisingly good shape

the staircase inside the welcome building is in surprisingly good shape

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the interior of the engineering building is in excellent condition

the interior of the engineering building is in excellent condition

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adding machine

adding machine

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I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to tour the Bear Creek compound. What a way to conclude my stay in the Klondike!

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Summer With An Aircard

The internet is down again in the Yukon, and will be down for an indeterminate period of time. Obviously, you don’t see me whining about it, and I am trying really hard to feel sympathy for the poor souls dependent on Northwestel. 🙂

I discovered yesterday that there is a port on my aircard for an amplifier, which means that I could have possibly had even better service this summer! As it is, I can’t complain. Yes, my connection is slow and occasionally drops, but I’ve been without service a matter of hours only this summer and the only things I haven’t been able to do easily are stream video and download large files. I will look into getting a booster when I head south since they can apparently increase my coverage.

After a couple of months on the 2GB plan, I decided to just go all out and pay for the 5GB even though I’ve only ever used at most 2.5GB. I’m sure that if I had more speed that let me download more, I’d be able to max out the 5GB, but for now it’s nice to be able to just surf and not have to worry about my usage. The difference between the 2 and 5GB plan is a fraction of the cost of going over by 500mb every month, so paying for the extra GB is worth my while. I intend to continue my service in the upcoming months, never wanting to be reliant on park wi-fi ever again!