August 19, 2012
Rise and shine and load the train by 7:15am. These early mornings on vacation are going to kill me. We boarded the historic White Pass Yukon Train for a scenic ride up the mountains along the same route as the Klondike Gold Rushers. The history was alive as we passed through beautiful mountains, over rivers, and across bridges. Hint, if you are traveling this train, sit on the left side of the car. The train goes along the mountain and on the left you can see amazing scenery while the people on the right view the side of the mountain. It was a 2 ½ hour train ride that took us all the way into Fraser, British Columbia where we had to go through Canadian Customs again.
We disembarked the train and were met with our luxury Holland America Line motorcoach and our driver, Chris. Our motorcoach was bright blue with a beautiful whale and the seats had enough room between them that I could barely reach the foot rest! Each seat had its own radio plug in with a variety of music stations. Our coach driver, Chris, was incredibly knowledgeable about everything we drove by. He drives the same route between Skagway and Dawson City for different Holland America groups so the knowledge he has gained was incredibly impressive! We rode from Fraser to Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory but Chris and Marc planned stops for us to get out and take pictures of the scenery every 45 minutes. Some would think that is too much stopping, but the scenery was breathtaking and everyone wanted to get out and “ooohh and aaahh” over the panoramic views. The stops also helped to break up the trip so it didn’t feel like we were on the bus for hours.
When we arrived in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, we checked into our hotel. We stayed at another Westmark property called the Westmark Whitehorse (clever huh?). The hotel was nicer than the inn in Skagway and there was free Wi-Fi in the room! I’m sure you’re all thinking I don’t know how to survive without technology and that is partly true. The other part of the WiFi excitement is that we could finally Skype with my Mom. It is the first time Roy and I have traveled just the two of us, so by day 6 of traveling, we were missing our mediator. Since we had been cooped on a bus, it was time to breathe in the fresh air and take a walk through Whitehorse. The hotel was located on the main street in Whitehorse so everything was walking distance. Whitehorse is the capital of the Yukon Territory so it was a much larger town…it even had a Wal-Mart! We wandered down through the town and took the walking path along the lake. We have had the best luck with weather and we have had sunshine almost every day. I haven’t even needed the 2 pairs of boots I packed! Roy spotted a bald eagle soaring above the lake and nearby mountain. Chris, our driver, had already pointed out the eagle’s nest as we drove into town so we knew one would be around somewhere. We walked for a good 2 hours then stopped by a BBQ and Salmon restaurant for dinner. It was music to my ears to hear Jason Aldean playing from the sound system. A little piece of home all the way in the Yukon Territory of Canada. Roy tried the Halibut Fish & Chips and I had the Halibut Chowder and Smoked Salmon on a Caesar Salad. I could really get used to every restaurant having so many seafood options!
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