2017 Snow & Lights

CARCROSS – a day in the country

Sunday – dawns overcast and cold. A little peek out the window and I am ready to spend the day under the covers in bed! After the disastrous day yesterday I find it hard to get motivated but life goes on and we plan on going to Carcross for a drive.

K&T have been here before when they came up in the warmer months. It is about a 40 minute drive and at least it gets us out and about. Breakfast is the usual scrummy croissants, meats, cheeses etc and we seem to have regained our spirits. Wolfgang tells us the forecast is to be mainly cloudy with a 40% chance of light snow. The temperature is predicted to be a low of minus 18. Now doesn’t that get you all excited and want to go out in it! Ever adventurous we rug up – Tyler has warmed up the car – and away we go!!!

Here’s a couple of happy snaps out the front window. Every now and again patches of blue appear and then we go around a corner and they disappear. Hopefully the clouds will not be as bad tonight and maybe – just maybe – we will get to see our Ladies again.

Even though everything is white; well nearly everything; it still looks great.

The roads have been well groomed and the drive is most enjoyable.

We arrive at Tagish Bridge Recreation Site – right on the river and this place would be packed in Summer with swimmers and people enjoying a sail along there is no doubt.

Today, however, we are the only snow bunnies enjoying the parkland. I will also say that the thought of donning the cossies and taking the plunge doesn’t spring to mind.

Feeling how cold it is here – those people who jump into the ocean on an Antarctic Cruise are definitely not amongst the sane of this world and should be committed – but I digress.

We arrive in Carcross (formerly known as Caribou Crossing) and of course look for a coffee shop immediately. You can read all about this area that is home to the Carcross / Tagish First Nation – just click the link.

By the looks of things there is nothing open and thoughts of our day in Cape Cod on a previous trip where everything was closed for the season goes through our minds – but a glimmer of hope and we spy some people with some shopping bags so parking the car, we get on the shop trail.

Parts of the walkway are really icy and we have to be careful as we walk so that we do not take an unexpected slide on our collective rears. Small penguin steps are the order of the day –

There is a small coffee shop at the end of the town where we parked so we make an extremely slow bee line for hot coffee. The coffee shop is the building to the left with the blue artwork. It is only small and there is no room inside to sit so we opt for the verandah option.

Surprisingly it is not that cold out here and with some hot coffee and a piece of almond biscotti, the day is off to a good start.

After our coffee – we go for a short walk and spy this bit of Carcross heritage. This is the remains of the SS Tutshi. Constructed in Carcross in 1917, she was burned to the ground in 1990, this “Grand Old Lady” -as they call her – still clings to a measure of stately grace — and gives a great view into the exposed iron workings of a vintage steamship.

We are tossing up whether we might have a larger walk around but we decide that fumbling our way along some icy patches is not a good idea so we head back to the car. Going for a little drive around the town we end up at the local picnic spot – right on the river but it is too cold to unload the picnic basket. There are some wonderful buildings including St Saviours Anglican Church below right.

St. Saviour’s Church, an Anglican church, was established in Carcross in 1901 by the Bishop William Carpenter Compas. This actual building was built in 1904, and was floated across the river in 1917 to its current site.

We have had a lovely little excursion to Carcross and I am sure that it would be a hive of activity in Summer.

As I jump out of the car every now and again to take photos, I cannot comprehend why anyone would live here during the colder months although I suppose it is what you have been brought up in (sorry about the grammar).

On our way out of town this statue of a caribou farewells us and wishes us a safe journey home – as you can see, the sun is nowhere to be seen and it is not looking good for any dancing tonight.

It will be good to get back to the warmth of my chalet and enjoy some hot tea in front of the fire.

BUT before we go much further we come across another famous Carcross landmark – the Carcross Desert –

at just one square mile in area, it looks like someone has come out here with a truck to dump a few thousand tonnes of sand along nearby Lake Bennett and missed their target by a few miles.

GEOGRAPHY LESSON : The Carcross Desert was formerly the bed of a Pleistocene glacial lake, and remains arid due to the rain shadow effects of the mountains in Yukon’s southern lakes region. Although the winds are harsh and inhibitory to most plant life, the dunes are home to a few unusual flora, even sporting the exceptionally rare Baikal Sedge (which is normally found only off the coast of Lake Baikal in Siberia). It also offers unusual recreational opportunities for outdoorsy Yukoners. Many people travel during the Summer months to go sand boarding on the dunes. Thank you Atlasobscura.

Nearly home – we stop at Emerald Lake and as you can see by the photos there is no emerald today. It is covered by a white expanse of snow and ice. Still some good photo opportunities being careful not to slip on the icy roadside.

We arrive in Whitehorse and decide to do a bit of shopping – nothing very exciting just some nibbles to eat in front of the fire.

Of course we come away with more than we need – sometimes we just cannot resist what is on the shelf. Especially for me with Snickers with Almonds. They seem to be my downfall this trip. There is just so much you can get over here but I suppose that US visitors to OZ would think the same when they visit our shops.

The clouds seem to be clearing a bit so we are all keeping our fingers crossed for some good views tonight.

After a nice relax in front of the fire chomping away on my goodies, it is time for Dinner. Tonight’s mouth watering offering is as follows –

Quiche Lorraine – ‘Rahm Schnitzel’ with Spatzle & Brussels Sprouts. This is Schnitzel in Creamy Mushroom sauce and homemade German Pasta. I’ll forget about the Sprouts – yuk! Dessert is Tipsy Black Forest Cream – now that’s more like it.

Today’s quote is : I used to think that the brain was the most wonderful organ in my body. Then I realized who was telling me this’. Well, that’s profound. The forecast is for active aurora possible with a slight chance of isolated auroral substorms. Lot minus 18 degrees. Yep, rug up time.

We enjoy our dinner and Wolfgang goes through the basics of photography – spoiler alert – some people did not listen. Back to the chalet, get most of the clothing on and wait for the first showing.

It is about midnight before the ladies start to appear. On goes the jacket, hat and gloves. It is only a minor appearance but hey, any appearance is a good one.

The best part of staying here is that you can just walk out the front – you don’t have to go too far – but no – some of us have to stand in the middle of the field and get in the photos. They turn on their torches and in general, become great pains in the proverbial you know what. The Prosecution would now like to tender the evidence below –

short of trekking out into the wilderness there is no way that I can get them out of the shot so I just have to persevere and probably do a bit of editing in Lightroom or Photoshop.

They finally decide to go back to their chalet which is a good thing – trouble is I have been waiting here for ages and my poor body is feeling the effects. Time for a little warm up in the chalet and then it’s back outside.

The ladies appreciate the effort I am putting in so they dance around some more as I snap away but before too long our friends with the torches come back out and stand in front of their chalet shining their torches all over the place.