Playing tourist with Ma...picture heavy...

My Mom went back to her home this afternoon. We had a great visit and spent a couple days pretending to be tourists.
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First stop, Emerald Lake, about half an hour's drive from my house. The glacial silt in the lake gives it the color.
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Then the Yukon Suspension Bridge. This actually was new to both of us as it just opened this spring.
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It crosses the Tutshi River(pronounced Too-Shy).
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The Tutshi is famous among whitewater rafters and kayakers. It is almost always a Class 3 river and frequently a Class 5. Class 5 rapids are considered "a serious threat to life."...which is why I have a sea kayak and not a whitewater!
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Mom on the bridge, trying to disguise her panic!
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We continued on to Skagway, Alaska, where we were shopping fools. Great deals in a seasonal tourist trap at the end of the season!
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We also checked out Dyea, the original landing site for Stampeders during the Gold Rush. There's nothing left of the town anymore, but it's a beautiful park.
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One of the inlets near Skagway.....

More coming

Such pretty pictures! Me, my mom, and my grandma pretended to be tourists this summer and went to Duluth and it was great fun! I think everybody should try being a tourist in their own area as you can have such a great time and really learn to appreciate your town!

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A glacier near Skagway
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Playing with my new zoom lens. I've always wanted to get closer to this waterfall. It's visible from the highway, but it's a long way off!
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Bears were a recurring theme in our Alaskan trip. We saw five black bears on the way home including this little family.
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Momma bear was none to happy to see us and sent her cubs up a tree in a hurry. We decided that even from the truck, it was a bad idea to annoy Momma bear so we moved on!
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My Momma bear cuddling up to a much safer momma bear in Skagway!

Day two coming up

Ok fainting now!
*will scoop litter boxes for floor space* :p

Those are great pictures!! And I have always wanted to see a bear in the wild. I've only seen them in the Wildlife place in Oregon, where you drive through, and the bears were in a fenced in area, I think. Oh well, I can just enjoy your pictures instead. And I did!! :D

Sunday afternoon we headed the opposite direction to the Braeburn Lodge for lunch. I had a very strange phone call from a total stranger on Saturday night telling me that Stuart was on his way home, but had broken down and would be late. I wasn't expecting Stuart for a couple more days at least! I still don't know who it was that called! I decided to give him 24 hours and then I was planning to call the RCMP in the closest village and ask them to take a look for him on the highway.
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Imagine my relief when he walked into the Braeburn Lodge while we were having lunch! I don't think I've ever been so glad to see him! The picture also shows why I always take visitors out to this run down highway lodge! That's a single hamburger Stuart is eating. Even after 20 hours without food, he couldn't finish it! The cinnamin buns are made in a pie plate! It's worth the hour drive just for a bun!
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My redheaded kid finished Stuart's lunch for him!
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Then we checked out the Fox Lake Burn. It was a massive forest fire in 1998, wasn't fully extinguished until the summer of 1999, burned over 45000 hectares. It's interesting to go back every year and see how the forest has regenerated.

It was a very nice, too short visit.

:)

HI, "Mom"!! ;)

And Welcome Back, Stuart (and Red-Headed Camp Dawg)!

Did anyone compliment Stuart on his "trim job" ...
all *spiffied up* and *trimmed up* to see Mom!!

Lookin GOOD, Bud - Lookin GOOD!! :cool:

Sorry to hear Mom is headed back to civilization ... we'll *miss* her! :(
Hope she enjoyed her stay at the Husky Ranch!
(How's the windows look?)

{{{Hugs}}} for "Mom"!

:D

What a magnificent place! Thanks for the photos.

I love the picture of your mom trying to hide her panic. :D I have quite a similar picture of my in-laws in an observation point over a cliff face. Neither of them were good with heights and it certainly shows! Poor things.

Your pictures are always so breathtaking! Thanks for sharing. Glad you and your Mom had a nice visit!

Breath taking pictures!
Thanks for sharing your mom's visit with us!
Glad to see Stuart & Muskwa are back!

How I would love to come and see that!
I'm a cold weather person but my husband up to now made it with me to Northern British Columbia and not any further ;)

Wonderful pics.

You have left me speachless once again Tamara.. just W :eek: W. Thanks so much for sharing with us, i am glad you and your Mom had a nice visit and that Stuart is back home again.

Wonderful piccies! Mom certainly looked happier when she was hugging the tree!

Are you going to hide Stuart's shoes so he has to stay home for good?

Those pictures were awesome!!! All I can say is WOW!

How is Stuart feeling since his accident? (He has to tell you the TRUTH! ;) )

You live in such a beautiful area! How fun to play a tourist there. I loved the black bear family photos!

Thanks all.

Stuart is doing very well now. No symptoms from the head injury other than a very sensitive scalp! He can't stand to have his head touched at all. He was quite nauseaus for a couple weeks, but that has subsided.

Unfortunately, he's not home to stay! He's going back to camp today to finish a couple things up. Will be home on Thursday and leaves again on Monday for a new job. He'll be working in BC all winter, but Muskwa is staying with me.

I'll go with you Barbara! That looks like a dream to me....

Just breathtaking! Thank you!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Glacier

Stuart is doing very well now, ... other than a very sensitive scalp!

Unfortunately, he's not home to stay!

Leaves again on Monday for a new job.
He'll be working in BC all winter, but Muskwa is staying with me.

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Leaving AGAIN? :(

It's a wonder the Dawgs recognize him any more!

How Far away is the British Columbia job?
And WHAT, pray tell, is the Jack of All Trades going to be doing?
Primitive living conditions again, or civilized living?

It's a shame his Junior Assistant & Guard Dawg (Muskwa) can't tag along. :(

Wish you well, Stuart ... Work SAFE, please! ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cinder & Smoke

Leaving AGAIN? :(

It's a wonder the Dawgs recognize him any more!

How Far away is the British Columbia job?
And WHAT, pray tell, is the Jack of All Trades going to be doing?
Primitive living conditions again, or civilized living?

It's a shame his Junior Assistant & Guard Dawg (Muskwa) can't tag along. :(

Wish you well, Stuart ... Work SAFE, please! ;)

---

Some of them don't, especially the timids. It took Pacer several hours to let Stuart touch him this time.

The BC job is about 1100 miles away from home, 20 odd hours driving time. It's a camp job, but not sure how primitive the camp is. He's starting as a driller's helper, but will likely be a driller in a few months. The schedule is 4 weeks in, two weeks out, until May but camp jobs tend to fall off schedule regularly! If he likes it and it works out, he will stay with the same company and go into a Yukon camp for the summer.

Muskwa is staying home for the first trip at least(which is already off schedule and Stuart won't be home til Christmas). If it's a dog friendly kind of camp, then Muskwa will go with him on the next trip. Will also depend on how he decides to get home for his weeks off. If he has to fly, it's not an option to take Muskwa. Only one airline that comes up transports animals anymore and it's very limited and only as cargo.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Glacier

The BC job is about 1100 miles away from home, 20 odd hours driving time.

He's starting as a driller's helper, but will likely be a driller in a few months.

The schedule is 4 weeks in, two weeks out ...

Muskwa is staying home for the first trip at least
(which is already off schedule and Stuart won't be home til Christmas).

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:eek:
:(

Working on a Drill Rig is **dangerous** work!
* Pipe bouncing into sleds and overhead
* Chains flying on the "deck" to tighten the drill pipes
* Winch lines zipping around
* You need two extra pairs of eyes!

PLEASE - find him something *safer* and closer to Home!
With all his Talents - he can find more enjoyable employment than Drilling!

Meanwhile ... BE CAREFUL, Stuart!

Wow, that really is beautiful, and it looks so serene and relaxing. I am sure it is different if you live there all of the time and you have a full time job and 23 dogs to look after. :) But it sure is relaxing for my online mini-vacations.
I am sorry to hear that Stuart is off for another three month job after Monday. That must be tough.

Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous! Glad Mom had a good time, she must worry about you with Stuart gone so much of the time. (I know I'd be worried about my kid!) Nice to see Muskwa! Do the dogs all recognize him when he gets back? Is he still the alpha around there?
Loved the pictures of the bears, especially the one of the "mama bears" together. ;)

Wow, beautiful! Very beautiful. Welcome home, Stuart and Muskwa. Best wishes at the next job. And Glacier, I'm with Dr. G. on the litter boxes.

Tamara your photos are brilliant - nature at its best :D Makes me want to come up to the Yukon more than ever :)

Please give Stuart my best - he is one tough guy :)

P.S. Looks like Mom had a great time :cool:

Thanks for sharing these photos too. You have such a talent for photography, or is this your job? Whatever. your photos make me want to head out there, it looks like God's country, and so peaceful.

What beautiful pictures! It's great you and your mom had such a nice visit! :)

Glad Stuart made it home okay. What a burger! I'm so hungry now. *laughs*

Those pictures are stunning. I bet your mom had a real nice vacation. :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cyber-sibes

she must worry about you with Stuart gone so much of the time.

Nice to see Muskwa! Do the dogs all recognize him when he gets back? Is he still the alpha around there?

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I don't think anything stops a Mom from worrying. My sis lives across the street; they can see into each other's houses from their front windows. She still worries about sis.

The dogs do recognize Muskwa. Earle is always absolutely delighted to see him. Heyoka and Founder get a little testy for a few days--they both think they could take over as alpha male(neither of them is really an alpha dog though). Muskwa cares less and less about his pack position as he ages, but he still keeps his pack in line when he's home.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cinder & Smoke

:eek:
:(

Working on a Drill Rig is **dangerous** work!

PLEASE - find him something *safer* and closer to Home!
With all his Talents - he can find more enjoyable employment than Drilling!

---

Everything Stuart does is dangerous to some degree. I knew this was coming; he's been talking about drilling since the first one started up in the mine camp! His other option for work is driving a snowplow, at night, all winter. Not much safer really and not even close to the same pay. He has his own reasons, aside from the income, for doing bush work right now that I fully understand, but that he would not understand if I publicly posted them.

Tamara,
I love the pics
... and I am glad Muskwa is home - he is such a honey!!!

I would love a copy of the very first pics - that is stunning!!! Oh, and the waterfall ... :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Glacier

Everything Stuart does is dangerous to some degree.
I knew this was coming; he's been talking about drilling
since the first one started up in the mine camp!

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Sorry to lecture you on a subject you already understand. :(

Hopefully he'll get playing Drilling Roughneck out of his system;
and then will move on to something that can use his Skills and Knowledge.

Tell Stuart that we ALL *worry* about him; and ask that he Work SAFELY!

;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cinder & Smoke

Sorry to lecture you on a subject you already understand. :(

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No need to apologize. I appreciate the concern. If I had my way, he'd stay closer to home and do a nice, boring office job! But he'd be miserable at that! Someday maybe he'll find a middle ground job---not too boring, but not life threatening! :)

What great pictures, thank you for sharing. Brought a smile to my face.

Those are unbelievable. The color of the lake is wonderful! Your mom has a great smile! Were you scared at all on the bridge? I would have been scared, but I would have liked crossing it anyway. That's amazing that the fire wasn't put out until the following year, but look at all that new life! very cool. Glad I saw this thread!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by finn's mom

Were you scared at all on the bridge?

That's amazing that the fire wasn't put out until the following year

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Not really scared, but I was glad there was just the two of us on it! No extra shaking and we could take our time!

The Fox Lake Fire was a crown fire originally, which is why it was out of control for so long. Crown fires can jump quite a distance. Then it settled into the root system and burned underground over the winter. The firefighters dug out the still burning parts the next spring.

I work at an Oil and Gas Trust company in Calgary, Canada, in the Operations Department. I can say that drilling is a fairly safe thing in Canada, there are so many regulations and rules that accidents are few and far between. So as long a Stuart has his wits about him and is with a good crew I have every confidence that he will be just fine, tired and dirty, but fine. I'd be curious to know what rig he ends up with as we are doing work in northern BC.