Whitehorse, Part 2

Part of our trip to Whitehorse was to do the fabled 24-hours of Light Mountain Bike Race. The end of June = light all night! Well, it gets dim in the wee hours of the morning, but you don’t need bike lights.

This race is growing in popularity and attracts riders from across the country. Teams ride a 15km cross-country style loop, taking turns doing as many laps as they can within the 24 hours. There were a variety of teams – from 8-person to the crazy solo riders.

Our team: Anthony Jenny, Kenyon, Cam, Tanya. Our pal Anthony moved up to Whitehorse last fall, but he was recovering from a terrifying plane crash so his girlfriend Jenny took his place.

The thing about 24-hour races is that as the day wears on you get more and more fatigued ... and silly me kept thinking “oh I have tons of time to take photos later!” The result? Sleep became priority.

Thankfully Kenyon’s girlfriend, Mei, took photos and she’s sending them to us. So there will be proof!

Our team was strong – a lap took us each about 45-50 minutes. Of the ten 4-person teams, we were neck and neck with a team from BC for first place. 

The most frustrating part of the race? Slogging along the trail, aching from saddle sores, when some rider goes flying past you because he’s on an 8 person team and he’s fresh-as-a-buck. I can’t imagine what it was like for the solo riders. They all looked like zombies.

The best part of the race? We came in second! I know it’s not 1st, but when you’re up against an all-male team that had a massive RV and BBQ set up, 2^nd place is pretty darn good.

After staggering home to a big meal of potato salad and BBQ chicken wings (yay mom!), Dad took us for a spin on his own bike.

I love motorbikes!!

Cam was a bit nervous, can you tell?

Yukon, ho! (part 1)

I'm posting backwards it seems; I went to Ottawa a week after we came back from Whitehorse. Just keeping you on your toes over here!

Cam had never been to the Yukon, and hadn't been farther north than Prince George, I think. So it was about time to get this "Cheechako" acquainted with the North.

The Whitehorse kitties were pleased to see us, as was the family of course.  (The family is more camera shy than the pets :)

Our first full day in Whitehorse was spent scoping out some sweet downhill trails. Can you guess who lead that pilgrimage? 

This is Cam atop Grey Mountain, a prominent peak that overlooks downtown Whitehorse (downtown is just to the left of Cam's head in the valley). The drive to the top of the mountain follows a windy, pot-holed road with a cliff on one side and the mountain on the other. It's a white-knuckler! There's a myriad of trails that crisscross the mountain from top to bottom. 

After getting to know Whitehorse for a couple days, we headed off on a road trip to Skagway, Alaska.

Despite what the map below shows, there is a highway between Skagway (marked by "A") and Whitehorse called the Klondike Highway. The highway marked "1" is the famed Alaska Highway.

The Klondike Highway winds through some of the most varied terrain of any road trip. It crosses through the Yukon, BC, and Alaska. 

This is Cam in the Carcross Desert, "the smallest desert in the world," near the start of our trip. The desert was formed by deposits from lakes underneath massive glaciers that covered the area thousands of years ago.

We came across our first bear not far down the road!

He attracted quite the paparazzi.

The highway works its way steadily up through the mountains, following long skinny lakes. These lakes were the "water highways" that the gold-seekers used to gain entrance to the Yukon after arriving by boat in Skagway and hiking the Chilkoot trail.

We stopped at the summit to take shots of the snowy peaks and tundra. 

Cam explored an icy lake just off the highway. I was hoping he wouldn't fall through.

After the summit, the road starts winding down through a steep valley towards Skagway.

 The White Pass train parallels the highway on the opposite side of the valley all the way down into Skagway. At $80 one way, the train isn't exactly affordable!

Skagway is a tiny little town tucked in between towering mountains at the end of an ocean inlet.

It was often the first stop for gold-seekers arriving on ships from the south. From Skagway they trudged up the gruelling Chilkoot trail over the summit.

Now cruise ships are the vessels that mainly dock here in the summer. There were four when we were there! Tourists clogged the main strip of shops, which mostly sell jewellery (from the glaciers of Alaska, ahem, Holland America!).

But we weren't interested in tourist trinkets. 

We drove to the Chilkoot trail-head, which is outside of town in another inlet. 

It doesn't look that intimidating here, but the trail is a challenging 53 km. Some people can do it in two days, but most take three or four. 

After checking out Skagway we decided to head back. The Canadian border guards were suspicious as to why we hadn't bought any souvenirs or booze and only took photos!

On the drive back Cam snapped this great shot of a mother and her cub!

We stopped in the little town of Carcross on the way back. There's a really great ice cream shop here, if you're ever in this neck of the woods, but sadly it was closed :(

Cottage in Quebec

I spent the last three days at Carolyn's parents' cottage in Quebec (about 1.5 hrs north east of Ottawa) 

It was relaxation-central. We hung out on the dock in the sun and paddled kayaks on the lake.

Carolyn is the kind of rare pal you can truly be your inappropriate, quirky self around.

Speaking of quirky, I discovered that you can catch clams by poking grass blades in between their open mouths and waiting until they snap closed tight. Then you've got clams on a string!

I am cave-woman! Hear me roar!

A lovely little duck kept paddling up to our dock, hoping for food. She even reached up and bit my finger! She was gentle; no blood was shed.

I definitely appreciate the summer warmth out east!

PS: Brave was awesome. Especially since it's the first female-centred story Pixar has done!

Canada Day in the Capital!

This week I'm visiting one of my good friends since high school, Carolyn, who now lives in Ottawa. We plan to head out to her family's cottage for the week, but July 1st was spent in Ottawa. How awesome is it to have Canada Day in the capital city?! It was really like any other Canada Day in Victoria, only ten times bigger.

We headed downtown for about 12:00, which was just in time to catch the national anthem and the snow birds' fly by, perfectly timed to the finish of the song.

 The crowds were epic. You're shoulder-to-shoulder, can't see a thing, so you hold your camera above your 5'2" head to hopefully snag a cool shot. The kids on their dad's shoulders had the best view in the house!

Carolyn grabbed a great shot of Feist singing on the big screen.

We didn't hang out at the parliament buildings long due to the suffocating crowds.  We paused for some poutine from one of the many street vendors (a local told us street vendors are the best place to get poutine).

Soon we found ourselves at the base of the war memorial and the tomb of the unknown soldier. People were laying their flags on his grave.

These fellas were standing guard... in the 30 degree heat.

I think these soldiers are having a good Canada Day:

Not far down the street were the cultural performances.

Our friendly neighbourhood bike cops keeping guard!

Before leaving to catch the bus we ducked into the Rideau Centre for some air conditioning... but we didn't escape the crowds, that's for sure!

Some of the local retail workers told us that it gets even MORE crowded downtown in the evening, once the temperatures have cooled off and the fireworks start. More crowded than shoulder-to-shoulder, can't move a step??

It's a good thing both of us prefer a low key evening of Italian food and a Pixar flick: