Whitehorse, Yukon Territory

Watson Lake to Whitehorse: 288 miles

We were up early on Thursday so that Craig could do a little more windshield cleaning in preparation for the day’s drive. He wanted  to go over it with some Bug-Off and Windex. We also wanted to watch a little of the Comey testimony, which started at 7:00 AM.

Much of our drive was smooth. Once again we saw distant  mountains and spruce forests that felt endless. 

Most of the time we could not see a vehicle either ahead or behind us.

But when we hit one 17 Km stretch of construction, we were stopped by a flag lady, and a there was a small backup. I know there were several more RVs behind us, and in the group ahead, only a few were cars. Everyone is going to Alaska, and there is only one road! It’s fun to look around the RV parks in the evening and see many of the same rigs. I suppose some drive farther, and some stop sooner, but if you prefer the same type of park we do, the choice is limited.

We all got dirty again. When we pulled into the Pioneer RV park in Whitehorse, we were glad to see they had a power wash station available.

We are staying in Whitehorse through the weekend. Friday night was the fourth game of the NBA finals.  The Cavaliers won, so there will be at least one more game on Monday.

The first of several days in Whitehorse:

There are a number of interesting things to see. Friday, we started out at the Visitor Center, then went out to the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Center.

One of the sculptures outside of the Center. I don’t think he is quite full size.

Inside the Center there were a number of fossilized skeletons of mammoths, giant buffalo, prehistoric horses and camels, and informative dioramas about Beringia, which was the land bridge between Asia and North America during one of the Ice Ages when the world sea levels were lower.

There was also some art depicting First People stories. We are going to the Kwanlin Dun Cultural Center on Sunday, and look forward to seeing and learning more.

The Yukon TransportationMuseum was right next door so we bought a combined ticket. ($9 Canadian each).

This delightful engine was out front. When editing the pictures of the day we noticed how the cloud in the sky looked like it was smoke from the engine. Fun!

Great examples of modes of transportation: dogsleds, bush planes, snowshoes, trains, trucks, sleighs and stage coaches were displayed and explained.

This bus was one of a fleet that was used on the Alaska Highway. It must have been a bumpy ride!

The snowmobile evolved from machines like this one. The first ones were Skidoos.

One fun quote I read went something like this:
 “If you could drag yourself back onto the sled, the dogs would get you home, a Skidoo could never do that!”

Saturday’s  adventure was to the Yukon Wildlife Preserveand Game Farm. It is not a zoo. The animals live in huge natural habitats on 700 acres of grassland, marsh and hillsides. Small enticements like water stations and supplemental foods are located near the fence lines, but the animals are free to roam out of sight into woods and more distant parts of their enclosures.

As visitors we had a choice of taking a bus tour, or walking the 5.5 km (about 3 miles) of road and trail. We chose the walk. The day was warm and sunny, but not too hot to hike.

Animals we saw were:

How would you like this guy to land in your bird bath?

I think these were young buck Mule Deer. They were munching on a scattering of fresh branches next to the fence. Perhaps they had already eaten all of this favorite kind of tree in their space, and this was a treat.

I think all the deer in this enclosure were female. They had a large grassy area, and some nice shade trees.

Speaking of shade, this group of Dall Sheep were snoozing among the trees. We almost missed them, even though they were pretty close to the fence. Can you see all four?

Most of the caribou were in more distant parts of their habitat. A few were snacking on some choice tree branches that had been left for them near the fence.

It seemed all of the mountain goats were sleeping high up on the rocks or in the shade of the woods. However as we walked along a wooded path that ran along a fence in a different part of their enclosure, and I was looking out into the large grass field, Craig said “Merikay” in a quiet voice. I turned to him and he pointed at a huge mountain goat lying up against the fence next to me. 

As I tried to get a frontal shot, he got up and kept his back to us. He was in no mood to move, but if he had to, he was poised to bolt forward. Eventually he moved away, but never turned our way. Once we moved on, he went back to his favored spot and resumed his nap.

This thin horn sheep was not shy. He and several of his friends were in an area much closer to the road. There was a large watering station next to the fence and some feed on the ground.

We also saw buffalo, elk, and several other kind of deer, but didn’t get decent pictures. We got a good view of a ragged white Arctic Fox that was losing his white fur in favor of summer gray, but he ran and hid before I could capture his portrait.

The musk oxen and moose were so far away they really shouldn’t be counted as among animals we saw.

All in all, the Yukon Wildlife Preserve lived up to its name. Not a zoo, but an opportunity to see wild animals in wild like settings, where they lived an almost wild life with minimal human intervention.

 It was a good three mile walk too.  

More about things we did in Whitehorse in my next post ...

A visit to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center

On Wednesday we went to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone.

It is a not-for-profit nature center.

There are ten grizzly bears, all of which are "rescue bears" that cannot be returned to the wild, because before they came to the center they 

1. had become problem bears who had discovered the easy life raiding garbage cans and finding pet food at people's houses, or 
2. were cubs of mother bears who had been shot by hunters.

The center has a large bear viewing enclosure that is about an acre with a wild grassy knoll, a pool, a dirt pit, trees, and many large and small rocky areas. There is a deep moat between the enclosure and the people so there is no need for a fence on that side.

The bears have locked dens behind the viewing enclosure, and only a few are out at a time. Every half-hour or so, whatever bears are out go back to their den, and a keeper spends some time hiding food such as fruit under the rocks, and in places the bears will have to work to get at it. They also put live fish in the pond, and bones, or pieces of hide. Sometimes they will put out rotting wood full of bugs, or honey. They call this enrichment and the bears do seem to enjoy looking for these treasures and tidbits. 

All of the bears looked very relaxed and healthy. They, and the wolves are all neutered. This is a rescue and education center, not a breeding and entertainment facility. We really enjoyed the slow pace of just watching bears doing bear things, much as they would in the wild.

This guy entertained with what looked like a playful roll in the grass. Maybe his back itched!

We watched this bear twirl this stick like a parade rifle. The keeper on duty said it was just a stick and didn't have any bugs or honey in it.

A half dozen rescued birds of prey also live at the center. Like the bears, they had been injured and would not survive in the wild. Housed in reasonably large enclosures, they live better than most caged birds do. 

At the entrance is a small museum with some very nice taxidermy specimens, information and several good movies. In another building on the grounds is this excellent bronze wolf.  

Seven wolves live in three large enclosures. They also have dens, but spend most of the day sleeping or relaxing outside in nice weather.

At different posted times, each "pack" goes into their den area away from view and is fed. While they are eating a keeper distributes wolf goodies for them to find when they come back out.  

Raw bones and bit of hide are hidden.

This guy found some elk, and took it to a back corner of the enclosure, out of sight to chew on.













The keeper rubs different scents are on rocks and in the grass. This days scent was mink oil, which was pungent even to Craig outside. They also put out Elk pee.

Ahh! The joy of rolling in something stinky! 

The two wolves we watched are brothers. They were bred for show business and after they were used in a movie they were given a home at the Center. They are neither pets nor wild, and would be killed by other wolves if released.

Although the day started a bit overcast, once again it turned our to be pleasantly warm and sunny. Our day at the Center was very low key. The senior admission price was only $10.25. We highly recommend this "Not For Profit" facility as a supplement to the Yellowstone experience and as a way to see bears and wolves up close.

We will keep our eyes open, who knows, we might get lucky and see something besides elk, bison, and people in the park.