Yukon Reads and Writes!

I’ve met some neat writers, historians, and storytellers during my time in the Yukon and I wanted to share some of their 2010 works with you (while I sit in the Whitehorse airport awaiting my flight home to Edmonton!): 1. Michael Gates’ History Hunting in the Yukon is a collection of essays from this localContinue reading “Yukon Reads and Writes!”

Yukon’s northern charms hard to resist

The Edmonton Journal featured an article about the Yukon in its Saturday travel section and a friend forwarded it to me. Of course I couldn’t resist writing in! My letter was published today (but the photo’s my little blog addition): Edmonton Journal December 7, 2010 Re: “Yukon’s northern charm beckons; Newcomers thrill to area’s richContinue reading “Yukon’s northern charms hard to resist”

Beaming into the Berton House Gala

When technology works it’s a glorious thing. No, the Writers’ Trust of Canada hasn’t managed to snag a Star Trek teleporter, but they did use Skype to successfully beam me all the way from Dawson onto a 15-ft screen at the Berton House Gala in Toronto last night – which, if you’ve had any experienceContinue reading “Beaming into the Berton House Gala”

Northern Beards, Moustaches, and Movember

The Yukon has a long, distinguished history of bearded men. Images of hairy-faced fellas abound from the gold-rush era. There were many good reasons to grow a beard in those days: warmth, protection from the elements, plus it was a good place to stash gold nuggets… Flash-forward to the 1940s and well-coiffed moustaches were theContinue reading “Northern Beards, Moustaches, and Movember”

Battening Down the Hatches at Bombay Peggy’s

When I first came to Dawson in late September and scoured the town for hangouts, Bombay Peggy’s floated to the top of the list. Don’t get me wrong, the Billy Goat, Downtown, Eldo and the Pit are fun, but Peggy and I became fast friends. Maybe it’s the sense of history, or the original artContinue reading “Battening Down the Hatches at Bombay Peggy’s”

Doing it All in Inuvik

Flying from Old Crow to Inuvik I managed to snag a window seat away from the wing, but it was an overcast day so I wasn’t able to glimpse the scenery below too often. When I did, somewhere over the border between the Yukon and the NWT, it looked pretty unforgiving and I couldn’t helpContinue reading “Doing it All in Inuvik”