Yukon

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Telus Should Work in Dawson City!

I just got confirmation from a friend in Dawson that my internet key should work this summer! Even though the RV park is 2km from town it gets good cell reception, so it looks like I might actually be set up for internet this summer. I’m definitely going to wait until I arrive before I suspend my service!

I finally managed to set up my online account and checked out how easy it would be to adjust my rate plan. I was a bit concerned when I saw that the plan amounts through the online account were different than from the general website. I had been told that my options were 30, 40, 50, or 65 dollars per month while the online account gave me the options of 30, 50, 65, and 85 dollars for 500mb, 1gb, 2gb, and 5gb respectively. I was concerned about a bait and switch, so I called Telus this morning and they confirmed that the general information is correct, ie. that I can get the 5gb plan for $65/months. Looks like they’ve lowered their rates, which is surprising but great news!

The rep I spoke to said that it would be best for me to call to change my rate plan and that I should do so as near to the end or beginning of a billing cycle, ie. around the ninth of the month. After I hung up, I realised that I should have effected the change to the 1gb plan right then and there. I will be able to use my account next week while on my trip and the billing period will end halfway through my drive north next month, so I’m sure that the bump to 1gb will make sense. I’ll stay on the 1gb plan into the beginning of June when I’ll know if the thing works in Dawson and also how much bandwidth I’m going to really need to do what needs to be done. There’s no doubt that I can eat up 5gb a month on an unlimited plan, but it’s time for me to scale back on my internet use. I think that moving to a limited internet plan is going to help me do that. There really is no sense in my paying $65/month if I can get by on a $40 or $50 plan.

I’m getting more and more excited about this, but will contain my enthusiasm until I can do a test post from Dawson using my own account. If I pull this off, I will save a wad of money this summer since I was seriously considering having the local ISP hardwire me for DSL for four months. Can you imagine the setup costs for that?! The monthly plans were more than I’ll be paying for Telus, too.

This contract takeover is really starting to seem like a great move. The next six weeks on it will be telling.

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Waitin’ On the Milepost

I received word from Amazon a couple of days ago that my 2010 Milepost is on its way. It’s somewhere between Mississauga, ON, and Richmond, BC, right now.

My 2009 Milepost is falling apart from use. It was my best friend during my first Klondike summer and I can’t wait to see what sort of updates will be found in the 2010 copy. I’ll transfer my 2009 notes to the new book… but I’m not yet ready to give up my 2009 copy.

Even though I’ve been to the Klondike and back, I can’t imagine traveling through BC and the Yukon without a current edition of the Milepost to warn me about upcoming grades or to help me find a turnout to spend the night. Some criticize the Milepost for being too commercial, and it is a good idea to combine it with more objective campground reviews, such as Mike and Terri Church’s book, but the fact remains that there is simply no such other comprehensive guide to the north.

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Pineapple Express

Without getting into technical meteorological terms, a pineapple express is an atmospheric phenomenon that brings a heck of a lot of rain to the Pacific coast. In BC, this also means that the mountains get a lot of snow. Once over the Rockies and emptied of its moisture, the pineapple express becomes a Chinook wind in the prairies that can dramatically raise the temperature.

In short, it’s really warm and wet here in Campbell River this week, averaging eight or nine degrees. I’m ready to pull out my shorts (well, almost) and am increasingly sick and tired of the spoiled Campbell Riverites complaining about the rain and how ‘cold’ it is. I feel like shipping a few of them out east for a week. In Ottawa, for example, it’s minus thirteen right now while in Campbell River it is PLUS EIGHT. As for Dawson City, cripes, it’s MINUS FORTY-ONE.

Campbell Riverites really need to travel more… 🙂

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Travels Without Miranda, #6: Watching a Light Show in Manitoba

I can thank hurricane Katrina for my road trip around the Great Lakes in 2005. I had scheduled a tour of the southern US, including Savannah, Pensacola, and New Orleans, but two days before I was slated to depart, Katrina swept in and my plans for my first vacation in four years went down the toilet. Needless to say, I didn’t take it personally, but I could have acted like a petulant child and cancelled my vacation.

Instead, I took the few days I had to come up with another interesting road trip idea and off I went on a fantastic adventure that might not have been the one I’d planned and looked forward to, but which was special in its own way. I even managed to see in Minneapolis one thing that I had looked forward to seeing while I toured the south, the Mississippi River.

My tour around the Great Lakes was to be broken up with a several day stay in Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba. It was a city I had always wanted to visit, so ending up there instead of New Orleans wasn’t a huge disappointment even if some people proclaimed Winnipeg to be plan Q. I guess that I have a soft spot for the places that get a bum rap. 🙂

To stretch my budget, I decided to camp at Bird’s Hill provincial park, just north of the city and within easy commuting distance. When I arrived there, I had had quite a full day, waking up in Melrose, Minnesota, speeding through my first glimpse of the prairies in North Dakota, and then crossing over into Manitoba for the first time, bringing me further west in Canada than I had ever been.

sunrise at Birds Hill Provincial Park (photo by the government of Manitoba)

sunrise at Birds Hill Provincial Park (photo by the government of Manitoba)

My trip was winding down and even if I hadn’t seen anything as spectacular as Savannah’s historic district or New Orlean’s French Quarter, I was racking up a lot of memories and I was satisfied even if I hadn’t seen anything that particularly stuck out in my mind.

After dinner that night, I went for a walk on the prairie to wind down a bit and watch the sunset, then went to bed. I couldn’t sleep, so after some tossing and turning I got up and went back to the walking trail to watch the stars. Those plans changed when I found that the sky was alive with dancing green lights. It was the aurora borealis, the northern lights! I had never seen it before and it was even more beautiful than I would ever have imagined. Acid green swirled against ebony, shimmering and popping, and I could swear I heard all that energy crackling. The prairie sky is open and endless, so the dance seemed to stretch on forever, as far as I could see.

stock photo of the northern lights that quite accurate represents what I saw that night

stock photo of the northern lights that quite accurately represents what I saw that night

Had I gone south that fall, I would have missed this spectacular natural phenomenon. I believe that things happen, and plans change, for a reason. I’m not afraid of taking the unbeaten path or doing something that at first glance seems illogical. Sometimes being flexible in your travel plans pays off in big ways. This is what was going through my mind last summer when I decided on a whim to push on to Dawson City instead of settling in Whitehorse.

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Discovery Fireweed Honey Ale

Back in early September, I posted a review of the mostly fabulous beers of the Yukon Brewing Company and when I left Yukon later that month, I made sure to stock up on their offerings, bringing south with me one six-pack each of Yukon Gold Pale Ale, Espresso Stout, and Discovery Fireweed Honey Ale, the latter of which I had not sampled yet.

Over the past two months, I’ve finished the pale ale and made a serious inroad into the stout and fireweed ale. The latter has turned out to be yet another incredible offering by the Yukon Brewing Company. It is strong and flavourful, with a hint of sweetness and a hoppy finish. I haven’t had a bad pairing yet with this beer, whether I’ve had it on its own, with a slice of pizza, in beer bread, or with popcorn (a risky pairing that paid off). The website claims that this beer tastes different from other honey ales and I have to agree. I’m pretty sure that I couldn’t tell in a blind taste test whether I was drinking a Belle Gueule, Rickard’s, or Sleeman, but I’d be able to recognize the YBC’s honey ale.

If you’re ever in Whitehorse, be sure to check out their free brewery tour. I haven’t done this yet but I look forward to doing so in the spring!