DONE IN DAWSON (at least for now)

POST # 200

A Sunny day on the trail near my old place, "Snug"








So,  for what it's worth, a couple of milestones have been achieved as of this writing. This is my 200th post, and when I started this blog way back in 2011, I couldn't imagine that I would still be doing it.  The other milestone happened yesterday, January 27th.  It marks 7 years since I last had paid employment.  My final shift driving the Aquabus ferry boat was completed back on that date in 2009.  Holy crow!!  As much as I did love that job, I must admit that I do prefer this wandering lifestyle even more, and with the added bonus of spending so much time with wonderful four legged animals, the 7 years has zipped right along.  One day, the bank balance will get to zero, but it's not there yet, so I will continue this project for as long as I am able.




And speaking of the project, today is my final full day here in Bear Creek, with my four trusty boneheads, and one cuddly furball.  I'll miss them all when I leave, but such is the life of a roaming pet/house sitter.  I head out tomorrow, and I will be in transit for a few days, prior to arriving at my next scheduled house/pet sit on Saturna Island B.C.  I'll only have one furball to care for, so it's shaping up to be a very relaxed time compared to my time here.


So I guess I might as well add a few photos and videos to round out this entry.

A RARE SUNNY DAY ON FRONT STREET IN DAWSON
(my former place of employment, the Dawson City General Store is at the right of the photo)

2 Degrees C on January 27th.  So much for the Arctic Winter.

One happy guy.  This is one-armed Francis, the man who runs the Dawson dump.  When I arrived here after being away for four years, Francis said to me, "Oh ya, I remember you, because you're always so happy."  Francis is a good judge of character. And he is one of the happiest people that I have ever met.  He loves his work, and he probably works harder than most people with two arms.

My friend Dorian's cabin in West Dawson.  Unfortunately he wasn't home when I got there, so we didn't get to have a visit.

A nice shot of Roxie and Skidder when we were out on our walk.

Boneheads in the snow.

As the Air North flight departs Dawson, the boneheads like to "sing" as it passes overhead.

In Search of "Snug"

Arrival at the spot where "Snug" used to be.

I guess that just about wraps things up here in the Yukon.  Perhaps I will be back again at some point, but nothing is for certain. I am very happy to have had the opportunity to be here now, and count myself very fortunate indeed.




Finally, here is one last photo, (actually a photo of a photo) shot by Sonny Parker, a neighbour's son.  It's taken from a viewpoint on the west side of the Yukon River, overlooking Dawson.  The town's lights are shrouded in fog, and up above, the Northern Lights are on display.

Happy Trails,


Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

CAVEMAN BILL

POST # 199

 CAVEMAN BILL

I first met Caveman Bill back in September of the year 2000, a few days after I had arrived here in Dawson to live. Being new to town, I thought that a good way to meet some of the locals was to go for a drink at one of the bars.  The Midnight Sun Hotel was only a couple of blocks away, and that is where I met Caveman.  Actually I met his friend Russell first, and it was Russell who introduced me to "my friend who lives in a cave."   As mentioned, that was way back in 2000, and yet today was the very first time that I actually visited his cave.

I spent about an hour and a half there, sipping on a cup of tea, and just exchanging stories from the past, as well as catching up on recent news.  Caveman told me that this coming May 4th will be the 20th anniversary of him living in the cave.  He's lived here since he was 32.  Originally from Ontario, he was hanging out in Vancouver in 1996, and happened to run into an old friend who had recently returned from Dawson, and told Bill about this cave across the river from town.  Before long he was heading north, and he has been the sole occupant of the cave ever since then.  There is actually a smaller cave in the hill as well, and that is were he used to keep chickens, although when I was there today, it didn't look occupied.

Caveman is an interesting, talented, and intelligent soul, and he comes across as a very happy man as well.  He quit drinking about 12 years ago, and it seems to agree with him.  When we first met,  he was a bit of a crazy guy. 

The front wall of the cave is wood, and a few years ago, there was a fire which destroyed the wall.  The locals did a fundraiser for Caveman, so that he could re-build.  That shows two things; the type of community that Dawson is, and the respect that Caveman has around town.  He's one of the good guys.

He does odd jobs to earn a few dollars, however he keeps his expenses low, so work isn't the focus of his life.  He showed me some of the woodwork that he does, which is quite superb.  He seems to be content.

I was glad that I made the effort to finally check out his cave, and I think he appreciated the visit as well.  If my mom were alive today, (this would have been her 100th birthday), she would have been happy to meet someone like Caveman Bill, and I think he would have felt the same way about meeting her.

Walking on the ice of the Yukon River towards Caveman Bill's cave which is located near the first rock outcrop on the right.  His dog Trouper is coming out to greet me.

A view looking across river to Dawson, from outside the front door of the cave.

Caveman Bill and Trouper

 Inside the cave with Bill.

Happy Trails,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

PS.  Happy Birthday Troy



BACK IN BEAR CREEK, YUKON

POST # 198


A week ago today, I was at Vancouver airport, awaiting my departure for Whitehorse, followed by a flight to Dawson the next day.
I'm now settled in at my current house sit in Bear Creek, with some familiar four legged friends.  It's taken a few days to get familiar with the routine here, but so far, all is well.
So let me introduce the clan.  First of all, there is the two legged group as seen below.

 From l to r around the table: Terry, Jannice, Sandra, Jerry, Myrna, and Marg.


This photo is taken the night of my arrival in Bear Creek, at Terry and Jannice's place, where I am currently housesitting.  Now let's move on to all the four legged members of the group.


First off, is Becka, the mother, followed by three of her offspring.

SKIDDER

BREAKER

ROXY

The team wouldn't be complete without a furball, and here he is.

TROUBLE

(a larger  version of Pouncer Bouncer)

The boneheads, the furball and the housesitter live here.

Here is a video of the view from the back deck.

Of course, a major part of the day is taken up with walking the dogs.  There are plenty of places to walk out back, and we've been busy making trails.  One has to be careful though.  The weather has been so mild, it has caused open water in amongst the tailings piles, and so we have to be careful where we step.  I did a short  walk last night, and here we are getting ready to head out.

On our walk today, the boneheads were so happy, they began to sing.  Actually, this particular song was encouraged by the housesitter, however this is something they do each day when the Air North plane takes off and flies overhead.

There are more photos to add, but that's probably enough for today.  I've still got two more scheduled blog posts to do while I'm up north, so I'll save some photos for next time.  Oh, wait.  Here is one more photo of my buddy, Watson.  I took care of him when I was down in Yuma back in 2012.  His owner is currently there with my friends Jannice and Terry, but Watson is still here for a while.  He heads to Yuma very soon.

It's great to be back in the Yukon, as I knew that it would be.  The time seems to be just melting away, like the Greenland ice sheet, which I heard yesterday is melting at the rate of... wait for it...

8000 tons per second.  Yikes!!!!

Happy trails,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

And a PS.  Speaking of ice, I thought I would add these photos as well, even though they weren't taken here.  Mother Nature produced these beauties in a place called Sudden Valley, Washington, where my friend Mary has now moved to.

And one final photo:

This was the outside temperature tonight in Bear Creek.  It's about 10pm, and it's the middle of January, and this is certainly not normal.
Like the words from the song in the movie, Grumpy Old Men, "We're having a heat wave, a tropical heat wave."
Earlier today, when I was walking across the Klondike River, it was raining.

BORDER TO BORDER COLLIES

POST # 197

I'll start 2016 off with a very short post because I am in transit at YVR airport.
I crossed the border earlier today, leaving Bellingham WA shortly after 12 noon.   Tonight I'm en route to Whitehorse Yukon, for an overnight stay, followed by a flight to Dawson City for a rendezvous with my Border Collie buddies and some two legged friends as well.
There should be much more to report on next week's blog.

Happy Trails,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer