Dawson City

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Canadian Math

One of the frustrations of working on the US/Canada border at a park where everything runs on loonies is that Americans get very upset that they have to use Canadian currency, notably dollar and two dollar coins. I just can’t figure out why Americans get so irked at having to use these coins, but it’s really quite ridiculous. They would rather stuff four quarters in a machine than one dollar. Some say that loonies are ‘heavy.’ (Hint: they are lighter than four quarters.)

Today, a lady put four quarters into the carwash that takes just loonies and then came in to complain that the machine doesn’t work. When I told her she should have put in a loonie instead of quarters she said “What’s the difference?” (Hint: quarter means ‘one fourth of something’.)

So, a quick run down on the three most used Canadian coins: Four caribou (quarters) will get you a loon (loonie/dollar) and two loons will get you a bear (toonie/two dollars).

Here are some irksome comments I’ve heard from Americans:

“Loonie is a stupid name for a coin.” I explained that it came from the loon that’s on the coin. To which he continued. “As I said, stupid. No one knows or cares what a loon is.”

“Toonie is a stupid name for a coin.” I explained that it came from the nickname for our dollar. To which he continued. “As if the name wasn’t stupid enough, your coin has two colours.” And that’s stupid because?

Finally:

“Your money looks fake.” To which I replied that at least it’s not ugly.

Any Americans reading this want to chime in as to why Americans find Canadian money so offensive?

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Sticker Shock

Today was my first time since leaving southern BC that I got real honest to goodness sticker shock. I thought I had some when I found out that kitty litter sells for a dollar a pound up here, but this was worse!

I ran out of propane on my onboard tank and, suspecting that propane would be ‘pricy’ up here, I decided to live off my 30 pounder until I get back to Whitehorse. I therefore had the 30 pounder filled today and the bill came to… thirty-six dollars.

All winter in Surrey, I filled that tank for twenty dollars. My onboard tank was last filled for thirty-seven dollars in Coquitlam!

OUCH!!!

I’m just grateful that I was able to go three full months with my onboard tank and an additional couple of weeks with the dregs of the 30 pounder, so I know that that I’m in no dire straits to fill up the onboard tank and that the auxiliary tank will get me back to civilization!

(not that Dawson isn’t civilization, of course… 😀 )

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Making Progress at Becoming a Yukoner

No word yet on health care and they need to do a background check on me before I can get a Yukon licence, but they had no qualms in giving me Yukon plates for my vehicles! The motorhome plates were twice what I’d been quoted, but at 100$ vs. 650$ in Quebec I didn’t balk! The clerk did have problems with the fact that my insurance was for a ‘Glendale’ while my Quebec papers are for a ‘Ford’, but she was no idiot and understood quickly that ‘Glendale’ is the house part of the motorhome while ‘Ford’ is the truck part. I give her points for not asking me if the truck part of the motorhome is insured! The motorhome plates were twice what I’d been quoted, 100$, but compare that to the 650$ in Quebec and you’ll understand why I didn’t balk. 🙂

Now that I have my shiny new Yukon plates, I’m more than ready for the adventure I’ll be setting off on Friday. Stay tuned!

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A Klondike Summer Draws to a Close

The summer of 2009 is one that will live in my heart for the rest of my life. It is drawing to a close as evidenced by the inky blanket of night that has returned and the days that are becoming cooler and wetter. The romantic part of me is sad to leave before winter sets in while the pragmatic part of me knows that leaving must now be foremost on my mind.

The fact that this is just a goodbye, not a farewell, makes the thought of departure bearable. I have nowhere near had my fill of the Klondike yet. This land has settled into my bones as firmly as it gripped my soul for a decade and I am afraid that I will never be free of it. It was here, at the end of a dream and at the very edge of the world, staring out into a land in which you could lose yourself that I found out what is truest about me. Some things I liked, some I didn’t, but I now know the stranger I once faced in the mirror every morning.

Tonight, I finally went for a walk down to Bonanza Creek, following a path that starts here at the RV park. It was a short stroll that took me through the essence of the Klondike, across dredge tailings and past mining equipment, reminding me that this was a land built on foolish dreams and honest labour. The land has been scarred by the miners searching for a yellow metal with no intrinsic value, but it is now inhabited by people who know that true wealth has very little to do with material riches.

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Foreign RVs

This summer, I have seen many class B motorhomes here in Dawson with European licence plates, most often Dutch and German. It is a sight to behold!

I spoke with one Dutch gentleman who told me that he came to Canada in the ’90s and paid about $5,000 to rent an RV for several months, plus several thousand dollars in penalties for going over the mileage limit. This year, he had his RV shipped from a port in Hamburg straight to Halifax for only about $3,000. There are companies in Germany who specialize in this, dealing with all the paperwork.

The Dutch RVer told me that his rig runs on European 220V power, so he has to rely on his alternator and a solar panel to recharge his battery. This works out well for him and saves him a ton on campground fees since he never needs a serviced site.

It’s no secret to me that people ship their RVs overseas, but to actually see a European RV makes the practise more tangible and reaffirms my desire to ‘trade down’ from Miranda in many years time to a class B so that I can ship my home across the ocean, too. 😀