Top 3 Things That Surprised Me on My Trip to the Yukon
The Yukon River valley, looking down at Miles Canyon. Taken just outside the city of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory.
A closer view of Miles Canyon. Many rafts were crushed at this point, when the Stampeders tried to cross the huge rapids that used to be here, before a dam was built.
This signs sits on top of the world, on the mountainous border between Yukon Territory and the state of Alaska. These are the mountains the stampeders crossed on foot to get to the gold in Dawson City, Canada.
Traveling to the Yukon and Alaska and seeing this part of the world was amazing. My family joined me on this research trip, and we loved it. Here are the top 3 things that surprised me:
1) The smell of the air. It’s what I’ll remember most. It was incredible! Every step brought a new scent: mountain flowers, clear glacier water, pine trees, cold rivers. On the first day we arrived in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, it was raining and the sun was shining at the same time. There were 3 rainbows!
2) The high price of food. Most food is imported, as I had imagined, but I was still surprised at having to pay $8.00 for a bag of small oranges. Wild salmon from the Yukon River tasted heavenly, filled with flavor, but costs almost as much there as it does here. Worth every penny.
3) Around-the-clock daylight feels strange. We were so far north that in the summer, the sun never sets. There were two or three hours in the middle of the night where the sky was a deep twilight blue, but otherwise, the sun was bright enough to get a sunburn at ten in the evening. It was hard to fall asleep. Very exciting, though!
