Yukon Territory, Lots of Snow, Cool, 1 to -8

Road Trip Yukon!

A couple of days ago we headed off northward from Tagish through to Whitehorse only to find ourselves in a good old fashion early season snow storm. We continued on to the turn to Haynes Junction and the snow increased and the cloud cover meant that the gorgeous mountains and glaciated environment I'd looked forward to seeing was going to be invisible. After all, there had to be some sort of hook to get a warm weather type like me to venture north to the edge of the Arctic chill this late in the season. Having returned from the heat of Greece just a week earlier it took a leap of faith to accept everyone's urging that October would be perfect and ahead of the winter snow. Wrong. Turns out we were just in time for the big freeze up! Apparently one of the worst winter storms, in the fall, in years.

However, once we went over a natural valley gap the snow finally stopped and slowly the clouds began to lift. Before long the stunning mountains that I'd looked forward to seeing began to show on the far western horizon. Kluane National Park, one of the most impressive parks in Canada was just out in front. I hung out the door with one hand on the steering wheel as I took a 'Yukon Moment':)  

The mountains continued to clear as we neared. These comparatively young mountains with their extremely jagged edges likened to the mountains of Nepal, but just a bit shorter. The range just behind these mountains is 50% higher. Must be quite the sight on a very clear day.

Pretty soon afterwards we found ourselves in Haynes Junction.

While it was late in the day we were anxious to get out and have a look around...a taster if you like as we were only to be here for less than 24 hours. We headed south along the range towards Kathleen Lake. The scenery was beautiful with huge cirque walls and text book glacial plains, hanging valleys and glacial dumps. Something that every physical geographer would take great pleasure in seeing. I know that this one did! Late in the afternoon the sun wasn't favourable, but we made the best of the situation. And while the even higher peaks in behind the racing range were only available in glimpses, we were not disappointed. That said, a possible return trip up here would likely be in late August and early September when the weather is more stable, the hiking better accessible and with the leaves changing colour. 

Kathleen Lake. Unfortunately the road down to the lake was closed for upgrades, but we still managed some great views. 

We left Paul on the lonely highway GoProing and headed further south to see what we could find. We found lots!

At some point we picked up a chilly looking Paul along a lonely stretch of highway and carried onwards.

Later that evening we headed back out of town into the darkness and drove up to a place we'd found earlier to watch the Northern Lights in the cold night air. Four nights in a row we've had success and this was one of the two best nights. A few of my results.

So far a very good experience. Late yesterday we drove up to Carcross to stay with Annemarie's sister and her family on very snowy, icy conditions. There was hardly another car on the road for the 120kms of poor condition snowy roads. We were told that the snow plow trucks work reduced shifts on weekends....we saw only one going the other way the entire trip. Welcome to the Yukon! More about this later. A snow walk is happening now and I have to go out into the 8-9" of snow that have fallen in the last two days...and it's still snowing!

Haines Junction, Yukon Territory: Snow, Sun, Cloud, -7 to 1

Images of The North

Athens: Grey and Very Windy, 22

But of Course It's All About the Acropolis...

Historically people who travel to Athens make sure that their number one activity is a trip up to the Acropolis. For some it's a bit of a rite of passage along roads well travelled. There can be something magical, almost spiritual about that first climb to the top. I know I felt this way during my initial visit in May 1975 on a hot, blue blue day. It's different for everyone I suppose. For me it felt like I was walking through history and even all these years later I can still describe the moment in infinite detail if pressed.

Then in 1981 I climbed with Annemarie during her first major travel and she too was in awe of the size and scope of the site. Even today she is delighted to simply sit on our hotel roof and gaze across at it, day or  night. A feast for the eyes! 

Here's a photo from that trip and if you look closely you'll see Annemarie walking across in front of me.

I remember the pleasure of climbing with Erin in 2003 and sharing her first experience. I was so excited to share this with her! We went up very early in the morning and pretty much had the Acropolis and the Parthenon to ourselves. The difference for me was Erin's extensive knowledge and I remember her explanations about how the columns were arranged and carved to reflect size and height. Even then we discussed the so called Elgin Marbles and their theft from Greece. A couple of the photos from that trip.

Today Kathy and I again set out on our own as Annemarie was still in some pain. I guess we retraced our 1971 foot prints to some degree as we again made the climb together. However, unlike the photos above from past visits, this morning the weather was cool, cloudy and very windy. There were also masses of tour groups which I'll admit, for me, take away a lot from any place that I visit. The experience is just not as good when there are herds of clumped people everywhere and waving tour leaders leading these herds. It just takes away the magic. However, for the most part I was able to put that out of mind as I'd seen this place before in better times with far fewer people around. I think I'm one of the lucky ones. Today was really all about seeing the Parthenon with Kathy and observing the extensive work that's been undertaken since my last visit. The important thing with this next photo from 1981 is to use it as a reference for the ongoing repairs and extensive reconstruction of the Parthenon, and for that matter the rest of the Acropolis site.

Same angle today. Look closely and you'll see that the whole structure has been cleaned properly and sealed with titanium connectors replacing the old metal connections from earlier reconstructions. The two interior columns have been reconstructed and the scaffolding removed since 2003. Also the hypostyle inside the temple is well on the mend as they bring blocks of marble up to the Acropolis with cranes. Today it looks alike a major engineering site complete with train tracks and carts for moving the heavy stones. There were lots of workers on site. Clearly money is being spent to repair the extensive damage from the 17th century explosion. Still likely to be in the works long after I've passed from this life. Perhaps one of our possible future grandchildren will walk this site and see the finished article? That would be something! No pressure kids!!

Like I said, very windy and just a touch of the sun. Winter is coming.

While at this end of the Acropolis here's the view back to the Temple of Olympic Zeus, Hadrian's Gate and the Olympic track.

And this one is looking out towards Lycabettus Hill where we walked to and climbed yesterday.

A little more of the Acropolis...the other end.

Then a quick look down into the agora and the Byzantine church and other cool buildings that Erin and I walked around.

From here we climbed down and walked around to the theatres and out to visit the new Acropolis Museum. This is where our concert was the other night. The blue blocks are actually bags of seat cushions. 

The top of the original and older theatre. I didn't know this before, and an interesting bit of information. This area was where the Greek gods watched the show. I suppose there was free wine and popcorn during each performance:)

From below. The theatre ran all the way up the side to the Acropolis wall.

The new museum is very cool with glass floor in many places so you can look down, way down, and see the excavations they conducted before building the new building. 

The museum holds many of the remaining facade tablets not stolen by Elgin and these...the original figures from the outside where 6 reproductions are in place to hold up the roof...refer to photo above.

Annemarie was able to join us for a walk to Syntagma Square, the heart of Athens.

And eventually tired of the masses of people and the shop until you drop, trinkets and trash, upscale store fronts, we headed out to the quieter areas beyond our hotel and found a small funky place for a very good lunch. From there we retreated to our hotel to veg out and print our boarding tickets. My seats were again all messed up, but I'm on the plane:) We will head out to a well known, excellent hotel for our final dinner in Greece and to no doubt review what has been a wonderful trip. In the meantime a shortage of glasses has forced me to drink my wine direct from the bottle tonight, a cast back to an earlier trip through Greece! 

As usual I'll write some reflections about the trip, particularly Athens and the changes I've witnessed here. But for now a couple of photos and that's it for the present.