A New Soul in Old Crow

On Wednesday, October 13th, after a day and a half to do laundry and regroup in Dawson, I repacked my bag and headed out. Destination: Old Crow, the Yukon’s only fly-in community. Old Crow is not a hub of tourism. The group of us staying at Patti and Kenny’s Ch’oo Deenjik Accommodations was pretty indicativeContinue reading “A New Soul in Old Crow”

Travels in the Borderlands

I left Whitehorse for Watson Lake on Sunday, October 3rd – a perfect fall day by any standard. Driving down the Alaska Highway with the sun on my face, rocking out to my mixed CDs (not many radio stations along this stretch of road), life was good. I was headed to WL for a fewContinue reading “Travels in the Borderlands”

Shacking it Up at Berton House

Upon my arrival in Dawson I realized I didn’t actually have the address for Berton House handy. A quick tour of town would surely reveal it, I thought. First stop: front street. Looking out over the Yukon River I thought I spied a cozy cabin. Maybe this was it? But how to get to it….?Continue reading “Shacking it Up at Berton House”

First Days in Dawson

On a good day the drive between Whitehorse and Dawson is 6 hours. When you hit snow and ice… a little longer (there were a couple of cars still in the ditch from the snowstorm the day before). I strongly recommend stopping at the Braeburn Lodge to fortify yourself with a family-sized cinnamon bun. InContinue reading “First Days in Dawson”

A Literary Weekend

This weekend was Alberta Arts Days, the time of year when the Texas of the north proves to the rest of Canada it is not a cultural sinkhole. That it is more than just tarsand and delicious beef. Actually, I don’t think the province cares what the rest of the country thinks – they doContinue reading “A Literary Weekend”

Aviation, Writing and the Best Bud Light Ever: Conference Season 2010

While many were working on their yards and tans the past few weeks, I’ve been making the rounds of conferences. Which, in weather-changeable Alberta, is probably a safer bet. The Creative Nonfiction Collective conference back in April started off the 2010 season. Held at the gorgeous Banff Centre, I let myself be inspired by theContinue reading “Aviation, Writing and the Best Bud Light Ever: Conference Season 2010”

Six Degrees of Dawson City

Dawson may be a small town (1,200 permanent residents) and the Yukon Territory may be one of the most sparsely populated places in the world (30,000 people in 2006), but it seems everywhere I go I find connections to the place I will call home from October to December of this year. The first ‘coincidence’Continue reading “Six Degrees of Dawson City”

A blond on the Yellowhead Trail

I’m taking a break from reno work in Edmonton for the next week and focusing on my ‘real’ work: writing, researching, and promoting myself shamelessly. So yesterday morning I packed up the Mini Cooper -still sporting Wyoming plates – and jumped on Highway 16 out of Edmonton headed for British Columbia. A few months agoContinue reading “A blond on the Yellowhead Trail”

It’s Been A Hard Month’s Work

I am sitting here trying to think of how to start this post. Staring at my hands poised above the keyboard I see various shades of paint, the bit of subfloor still lodged under my fingernail, and the cuts and bruises from banging into things like walls and pry bars. These are not the handsContinue reading “It’s Been A Hard Month’s Work”