Holidays are wonderful and although we don't get to see the family, we are excited about our prospects for some high adventure. Like Lauren wrote in the last post, we are headed to Kluane National Park this morning. It is only about a 90 minute drive west from Whitehorse, right in the southwest corner of Yukon. Kluane (clue-on-ee) borders other parks in Alaska and British Columbia, so the parkland is HUGE, far too large for just a weekend trip, but if the roads are open we'll get to see some great trails. We're expecting good weather- sunny and ranging from +7 during the day to -7 at night. We are not going to be backcountry camping this time; there are 4 drive-in sites that have plowed road access and a cooking shelter that will make food prep an easy and bear-free experience.
On the topic of bears, cause I'm sure our Moms are thinking about it, we have been studying up on behaviour, and we know what all the experts have to say about bear encounters. We even borrowed a film from the library about Staying Safe in Bear Country. It is common knowledge here that the whole of Yukon is bear country and it is very likely that while we are here we will see bears. As long as we don't pose a threat to them, stay out of their way and don't try to eat their food we will get along. But just to play it extra safe we are getting ourselves some "bear protection", aka industrial-strength pepper spray.
That's enough about bears to keep people on the edge of their seats. Maybe a topic like birds will get Moms back to feeling comfortable.
The spring migration is amazing here. Many species of birds pass through southern Yukon traveling north towards the arctic for their summer mating grounds. The swans have been amazing to see, big flocks of them overhead honking away like the Shriners in their miniature cars at the parades. But the excitement about the massive swan migration expected for this weekend is neat. We have been told that the tundra swans will be in groups of up to 1,ooo individuals this weekend, so for sure will be looking out for those fellow Yukoners of the feathered variety. Any good photos will be posted for sure!
In the news is some hubbub about a poll that a northern magazine took of a small population of southerners (303 people) about the north. Lauren and I both took the poll which is now online if you want to check it out www.uphere.ca . Some of our family have posted their scores on my (Colin's) Facebook feed about the poll, please feel free to add your score. I scores a poor 69% with a few silly mistakes, and Lauren scored 78% which she is not impressed with either.
Well it is my turn to pack up for the weekend so I'm stopping here. Happy Easter to everyone and a Happy Earth day too. Please make some time today of over the weekend to do something to help our planet (fill a bag or two of litter, make a donation to Greenpeace, write a letter to the Minister of Energy asking for a commitment to not invest any more in non-renewable energy) and of course go for a nature walk with family and friends.
Love Colin and Lauren
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