February 24, 2006
When we got up to go outside this AM the temperature was -30º C (-22º F) and that was around 8:00. So we came back in and got cleaned up and the dogs had breakfast and I had breakfast and the sun was coming out – sunrise was around 8:15 – and about 10:00 I decided it was time for our walk. And the temperature hadn’t gone up even one degree! So we waited around the hotel for about an hour and organized things around here and by 11:00 it was only -28º C (-18º F)! But it was still and it was sunny and the temperature was rising slowly so we decided to head out anyway. Nicky had his booties on and neither he or Ivory had any problem at all.
After we’d only been walking for five or ten minutes I heard an enormous roaring sound, by far the loudest thing I’ve heard in around two weeks and I looked up on the plateau and a Canadian Air Force F-18 was taking off from Whitehorse Airport! And before he’d even leveled off another one took off behind him. They flew north for fifteen or twenty seconds then did a hard bank to the right and headed back downstream over the river. Then they banked right again and touched down on the runway and took off again, same loop. Only this time, a third F-18 comes streaking down from the north and gets in behind them and all three of them headed south. It was kind of a startling thing to watch after being so immersed in dogs and running around in the woods for two weeks.
Dogs, snow, a big river, a great park and now F-18’s – this place has everything! The cold’s been fun, though – I’m glad we had a chance to experience a very cold day. Of course it gets a lot colder up here, but I was satisfied with that little taste. The pictures weren’t very fascinating today; I just took a couple of the river steaming in the cold. It’s amazing when you’re walking out of the hotel and down toward the river. You look up in the sky and it’s crystal blue with not a cloud to be seen, but down where the ice is broken on the river there are great clouds of steam billowing off the water. Then we walk down there and the steam is blowing right across the path, coating the leaves with frost. Figure the water is around 35º or 40º F or something like that and when it hits that -22º F air it just fogs right up. It’s amazing.
Later today we were taking a quick walk in town. It had warmed up to around -17º C, or around 1º F and it actually felt comfortable. Anyway, this couple was walking their baby in a stroller and of course Ivory had to go up and say hello and the whole family was loving it so I asked them to take a picture of us. We certainly have been depending on the kindness of strangers!
Tonight I’m going to a "Meet the Mushers" dinner at a hotel right up the street from here – it should be fascinating. Also, I’ve made reservations for Sunday night at the Toad River Lodge in Toad River, BC. According to one of my maps it’s around 58º 50’ north and around 125º 13’ west, so we’ll be driving pretty far. According to my GPS it’s a little over 475 miles to get there and it will take around eight and a half hours driving time. If we get on the road by 10:00 on Sunday morning and don’t make a ton of stops, we should arrive at a reasonable hour on Sunday evening. Hopefully the weather will cooperate!
Anyway, have a great day,
Jay, Nicky and Ivory
PS In that picture I’m wearing the new parka I got for becoming a member of the Yukon Quest 1,000 mile club. It works great at -22º F but it may be a little too warm for Virginia!
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