Yukon

Yukon: Thanks for adventuring!

One of my favourite conversations on this trip was with a server at Klondike Brewing in Skagway, Alaska. She was super friendly and happy to chat about life in Alaska.

I love hearing about people who have made deliberate moves to live somewhere they fell in love with, and in my experience, Alaska is a hotbed for these journeys. We heard about her life without internet from April to September, and had a lively discussion about her limited restaurant recommendations in town. When she realized we hadn’t just rolled off the docked cruise ships like most of the other patrons, she became particularly chatty and wanted to know about our trip. We told her about our road trip path, the sights we’d seen and the fun we’d had. “Right on” she said, “thanks for adventuring”.

Skagway brewing. It would have been worth the drive, even if the 3 hour trip from Haines Junction wasn’t among the most spectacular drives, ever (which it was).

I’ve thought about that line a lot, because that’s exactly what we love to do: adventuring. We make a plan, and we use it as a baseline. Jay maps out a route with overnight stops. I chime in on hotels and make dinner plans. And then we fill our days with a few anchor activities we’ve planned in advance, and all the other things we find along the way.

We ask everyone for recommendations – particularly locals and people we think have that same ‘adventure’ vibe the server in Skagway thought she sensed in us. Good spot to see wildlife? We’re setting an alarm to get the best odds and the best lighting. 24 flavours of soft serve? We will take a detour and get in line.

One of our more random evenings in Dawson City involved a ferry, a shipwreck, the top of the world, and being back in the ‘city’ for the 10pm Can Can show at Diamond Tooth Gertie’s. We just never know where the day is going to take us.

And we spent our last day doing one of our favourite vacation things: photography tours! It’s a running joke that Jay’s 3 favourite words are premium, private and exclusive. This tour delivered on all 3. Lindsay, our amazing guide who also seemed to oversee the Yukon Wildlife Preserve, took us on a private bus tour before the centre opened. We got up close and personal with bison, moose, artic fox, lynx and a whole lot of mosquitos. Talk about adventure!

After more than 2 years of staying home, it felt amazing to get out in the world. Staying in Canada was the perfect choice and we can’t wait to spend more time in the North and keep picking off more Canadian destinations. (We just need a little time at home first, so we can go through our 2500+ photos!)

Final night cocktails at Wayfarer Oyster House in Whitehorse

Cheers! to Yukon and the return of travel. Can’t wait to get out adventuring again soon. See you all then!