Minnie and me
As I travel further north into the Yukon I can see the influence of the Native culture. This is the land of the Tlingit people. For centuries the Tlingit have hunted, fished and trapped the Northwood. When the white men came to this region they brought with them many diseases that the Natives had no immunity to. It kind of devistated their people for a while.
Nowhere is it more evident that I am in Native land than when I stop at stores and gas stations along the highway. The Walmart where I am camped tonight is staffed with mostly beautiful Native people. I’m sure there are many here that are the combination of different races as our world gets smaller.
I made it to Whitehorse today. The highway is still in pretty good shape but there were several places where construction was underway. The road construction that makes the most mess of Minnie is when they take out the old road, grade a new subsurface of dirt, and then water it down to keep the dust from flying. The dust would be unsafe for visibility, but the watered down dirt makes mud that likes to coat the sides of Minnie and stick to Honda on the back.
Construction
On one section of construction, one lane was blocked for several miles with a pilot car leading a string of vehicles through one at a time. I got there just at the end of line and had to wait 15 minutes for my turn.
I struck up a conversation with the Native girl working the Stop/Slow sign while I waited. I asked her about the road to Skagway and she said I would run into construction that way too unless I left at 6:00 am. Looks like I will hit construction. I told her I was very interested in the Gold Rush history of the area, and I don’t remember how we got to talking about it, but I mentioned I liked to watch the show Gold Rush on Discovery. She said she lives in Dawson City and sees many of the stars on the show. She told me that Parker, one of the stars that always acts so irritating and bullying on the show is actually a sweetheart. Ha!
I hope I can find a campground near Skagway. What I would like to do is unload Honda and see the area the easy way. My Milepost guidebook tells me the road to one of the campground is not recommended for motorhomes over 23′. I just make it in under that, so I will see.
Whitehorse Walmart
IRI and IRA, just so I got it all.
On my Alaskan cruise two years ago we saw lots of references to the Tlingit culture, particularly at the totem pole village in Ketchikan. As you get father north into Alaska you come into Athabascan tribe territory. That’s who made that beautiful pelt coat I posted on my blog.
Remember, Alaska has three seasons: winter, still winter, and road construction.
When they fill the pot holes in the spring, they overfill so water doesn’t get under the patch and pop it out. Only trouble is the bump is almost as bad as the hole!
Who took the picture of you in front of Minnie?