We returned from our Canada trip Saturday afternoon (see Get Out of Town!). We knew we had a good time, because, while we only left Haines around noon on August 9th, and returned on August 11th, we felt like we’d been gone a week or longer!
We went to Takhini Hot Pools (which you may know as Takhini Hot Springs—I guess it’s a copyright thing) and camped, spending a lot of time in the springs. That felt great! We didn’t find as much sunshine as Michelle craved, but the constant squalls between sunny breaks felt fantastic while we were in the tubs. There’s nothing like sitting up to your chin in hot water while rain falls hard on your head, raising splashes several inches off the water surface. At one point, we had dark purple storm clouds all around us, while we sat in the center of a sucker hole, bathed in sunlight as well as hot water (if you’re not familiar with the term, see Sucker Hole). On the final night, a double rainbow hung above the tubs, the brighter one as sharp and clear as neon lighting.
The Yukon Suspension Bridge, between Whitehorse, Canada, and Skagway, Alaska (Photo: Mark A. Zeiger).
Sadly, we didn’t shake our bad colds, but soaking in the tubs made us feel much better. On Michelle’s birthday, we drove into Whitehorse to eat at a very nice restaurant. We also took time to shop, finding European quality chocolate, and a new canoe!
To get home, we drove south from Whitehorse to Skagway, closing the Golden Circle Route, something we hadn’t done since the summer before we first saw our homestead, in 2004. We saw wildfires on the far side of a lake, and stopped at the Yukon Suspension Bridge.
We went there to visit the people who run it, with whom Michelle has corresponded all summer for her job. They were very nice, and the facility turned out to be a lot of fun! Sadly, we could only stay an hour or so before going on to Skagway in time to catch our ferry home.
On a topographical map table at the Yukon Suspension Bridge, we found our homestead (below the red number 8) as seen from the Canadian border side (Photo: Mark A. Zeiger).
Sorry we didn’t take more photos! We had way too much fun to fiddle with cameras. I managed a few at the bridge, but that’s about it.
We got back home in time to celebrate our 12th anniversary of moving to the homestead; we felt rested and refreshed—which turns out very well, as we had a big job ahead of us the next day! Which I’ll describe next post.
We’re glad you are home, safe & sound!