The Spell Of The Yukon

[labelwench]

Thank you for posting the full words to the poem, Bogey. That is most considerate of you. Certainly, in many songs, the balance of music and vocals can make words hard to determine, when the material is new to the listener. Excellent thought on your part.

Here is a short posting on three of the more colorful personalities of the Gold Rush Era, regardless of which side of the border one resides.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVr19...eature=related

[Bogie]

Paddlewheeler, by Hank Karr, is almost a Yukon anthem.

The S.S. Klondike marks the south entrance to our city, and has been beautifully restored.

Some archival footage included of the paddlewheelers in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwvMu...eature=related

Is the S.S. Klondike out near Lewis Blvd?

[labelwench]

Is the S.S. Klondike out near Lewis Blvd?

The S.S. Klondike is situated on the river side of Robert Service Way, formerly known as the South Access, immediately opposite 4th Avenue exit, as per the second link to the map. Robert Service way intersects Second Avenue, which crosses the Yukon River Bridge and thereafter becomes known as Lewes Boulevard in the subdivision known as Riverdale, and all the streets therein are named after Yukon rivers.

In doing this bit of research I learned that our historic riverboat is actually the S.S. Klondike ll as the first one sank. Some information on the ship's working history from the Parks Canada site follows.


http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/lhn-nhs/yt/s...l/natcul3.aspx

http://maps.google.ca/maps?client=op...ed=0CAsQ8gEwAA

[Bogie]

The S.S. Klondike is situated on the river side of Robert Service Way, formerly known as the South Access, immediately opposite 4th Avenue exit, as per the second link to the map. Robert Service way intersects Second Avenue, which crosses the Yukon River Bridge and thereafter becomes known as Lewes Boulevard in the subdivision known as Riverdale, and all the streets therein are named after Yukon rivers.

In doing this bit of research I learned that our historic riverboat is actually the S.S. Klondike ll as the first one sank. Some information on the ship's working history from the Parks Canada site follows.


http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/lhn-nhs/yt/s...l/natcul3.aspx

http://maps.google.ca/maps?client=op...ed=0CAsQ8gEwAA

Hi Lablewench. Google maps is where I got the impression it was near Lewis but I must have misread it last night, it is Lewes on the map. Thank you for the links. I switched the Google map to satellite view and zoomed in on the "historical site" there on the river and then went to street view and you can see the S.S. Klondike up close. Very cool. I also noticed from your link that the Yukon River flows North to Dawson.

[G_burnett]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCmUh...eature=related

[labelwench]

The Yukon River does indeed flow to Dawson City, and I spent the winter of 1982-83 at Swede Creek, which lies five miles upriver from the town and was the site of the former Experimental Agriculture center founded in 1917. The long daylight hours and warm summers are conducive to growing a number of crops and there are a few people who earn much of their income from supplying the local markets with fresh produce, when in season. Good root cellaring can extend the season for many crops that store well.

Whitehorse has one excellent potato farmer who has been supplying the Loblaws stores and others with his Yukon Gold and Red variety of spuds for about 10 years now. He also grows oats and supplies threshed grain and oat straw for people with livestock as well as farm raised eggs.

Back to the city of Dawson....Wiki has quite a good write up on Dawson City. Some interesting and entertaining details, which I trust viewers shall enjoy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawson_City

[labelwench]

I had to scratch to find this old classic, lol.....

The song is Yukon Women, and the link below will take you to a site where you may listen to this song, preceded by Lady Of The Chilkoot. There is an audio bar at the top of the page that you need to click on to begin the music.

http://homepage.mac.com/lynnoel/cros...previous-photo

Yukon Women

It's a dusty, dirty town to be living in
It's a dirty, driving, dusty wind that blows
It's a dirty, lousy shame this place ain't got no name
It ain't heaven, it ain't hell, but ain't it home.

I ain't seen any green since last November
Ain't tooken off my boots since last July
I ain't been messin' up my mind more than half the time
But honey, don't you bet I didn't try.

'Cause I'm one of those
Rough, loose, raw and rugged, Yukon women are we
We wear plaid jackets and we build our own cabins
And we all vote NDP--independently.

Yeah, we're in top condition and we go on long hikes
And we aren't afraid of bears
We wear woolly socks, woolly shirts, woolly woollies
'Til it gets kinda itchy under there
And we go in the sauna with no clothes on
And if the boys look we don't care
We've got liberated views on who's lovin' whose
And we don't shave our armpit hair.

Yeah, we're rough, loose, raw and rugged Yukon women are we
We wear plaid jackets and we build our own cabins
And we all drink rosehip tea--independently.
Yeah, we're rough, loose, raw and rugged Yukon women are we!

To the left of the page from the link, there is a short biography of Martha Munger Black, one of the amazing women of the Gold Rush.

[labelwench]

The attached link takes you to a site that offers many 'virtual tours' of the area around Whitehorse. Each is a Quick Time movie link and allows you to view a still shot, and then by double left click in the center of the photo, one activates the control, and with your arrow keys, you can navigate left or right etc.and take a panorama from that point of view.

Some rather nice winter pictures of local outdoor recreation spots. At the top of the page are links to the communities and other pictures of local interest.

For those who can't live here.......it's a spectacular place despite the seasonal challenges.

Lots of elbow room, not too many people save for a few areas.

http://www.yesnet.yk.ca/vrtour/whitehorse/index.html

I drive past the River Walkway and the SS Klondike, each trip to town, being six times a week, these days.

Another page from the above link:

http://www.yesnet.yk.ca/vrtour/assorted/index.html

[labelwench]

This video tour of Schwatka Lake, Robert Service Drive and downtown Whitehorse is taken from a motor cycle. An interesting perspective.....
Rather a whirlwind experience, lol. I reside here and barely recognized the place. Liked the music, though....

http://www.rideyukon.com/virtualtour.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwatka_Lake

[labelwench]

This is one of the most beautiful sites by one who resides here, sharing the Yukon experience.

Many photo albums and pictures from all seasons in the Yukon. Truly a visual treat.

http://www.spiritnorth.yk.ca/photos.html

Note to mods. Not promoting any business. If this link is unacceptable, feel free to remove this post.