A Second Day of Museuming in Whitehorse

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My second morning of this visit to Whitehorse dawned clear and bright once again. It was hard to believe that they had been having a crappy spring and summer, except for the fact that it was so chilly. I haven't worn my shorts really much at all since Inuvik, where it was very nice and warm.



I took my time as I had noted that things didn't really open before 9 in the morning, if not 10. I had plenty of time. I packed up my tent and other things and put them in my car and I was off towards my first desired stop, the Kwanlin Dun Cultural Centre. It really is a slick looking building. However, once again, it is very new, just as the centre in Haines Junction. That meant that there was really not much in place yet. They had some cultural information plaques up, and there were a couple of interesting movie shorts playing in a viewing room.



There was also a room with a new direction in archaeology for the region. As a result of the changing climate, a bunch of “snow patches,” as they are called, have been melting away. These snow patches were apparently good spots for hunting and other activities. As the snow patches have been melting away, artefacts have been coming to light. They are providing a wealth of information on hunting techniques and equipment of the First Nations of thousands of years ago. They are also giving other information about clothing and even the patterns of caribou and other wildlife. As the climate changes further, the information that comes from this kind of source will continue to grow.



But aside from these few bits of interest, there was not much else in place yet. They have interactive stuff on iPads, that weren't yet up and running. There are rooms where things will probably be held, and where other displays will probably be set up. But they aren't finished yet. I am just a bit too early. Too bad.



From there, I went up to the art gallery and public archives. The gallery was small, but they still wanted 10 dollars for a visit. I offered 5 (it was a by-donation visit). The archives had one display set up in one little room on the musical traditions of the Yukon. They didn't want any fee for that. Those two spots, at the university, took about half an hour to go through. And they weren't very interesting.



My final visit in Whitehorse was to the Copperbelt Museum. Whitehorse, and the Yukon in general, shot to prominence because of the Klondike Gold Rush, but there is far more to the Yukon than just gold. There is the rich landscapes and cultures of the north, and many other natural resources as well. One of those is copper. Whitehorse sits in the middle of a large swath of copper-bearing earth, the copperbelt. In the days after the gold strikes, others came looking for other minerals to exploit. The copper barons set up shop around Whitehorse. Many mines sprang up in the vicinity. The Copperbelt Museum commemorates those mines. Of course, it doesn't do that very effectively, but again I was told that they are working on it.



There were a couple of interesting displays, one about the nearby pit mine that became a shaft mine that was abandoned after a cave in. The other display showed some of the personages who were prominent in the copper mining in the area. One of those was Skookum Jim, of Klondike fame. As I find more and more references to him in various events in the Yukon, I find myself thinking that maybe he knew a lot more about the resources of the Yukon that he is portrayed as knowing. I find myself wondering if he actually knew about all of these resources, gold, copper, good passes and trails, and simply capitalized on them by sharing them with the right people at the right time. I would be run out of the territory if I shared such thoughts, though, I'm sure. But the man really is everywhere and was involved in so many of the major events.



The Copperbelt Museum also had a mini-train that the guy running the museum used to give the patrons a ride. It was nice, but I left thinking I had just revisited Bowness Park in Calgary.



By this time, early afternoon, the clouds were rolling in and it looked like it was going to be rainy later. A perfect time to skedaddle.



I stopped in at the visitor centre to find out about the Juneau trip out of Skagway, and found out that with all the cruise ships and whatnot, I would be best to book the trip as soon as possible. I had planned to head to Skagway out of Whitehorse and then to Atlin. But when we called the boat trip office, the earliest time I could get a ticket was three days hence. Uh-oh. I probably should have foregone the idea, but I booked it. Then I figured I could head to Atlin first instead, spend a day kind of resting, and then head to Skagway.



But my weather luck had run out. As I headed down towards Atlin, the clouds thickened and it began to rain. The road wasn't too bad, just muddy, but I arrived in the rain. As I rolled into town, I saw a sign for a hostel. Not really wanting to deal with the rain and a tent, I went to the hostel to see if they had any space. Normally she would have had space, but there had just been a music festival in town and there were still a few people about. She had no space. It was a shame, too. The place looked nice.



So I was faced with the icky prospect of setting up my tent in the rain. Once up, I wouldn't have much trouble, but I just didn't want to be setting it up in the rain. I found a nearby campground and had a look. I found a couple of sites with dry areas under trees. I couldn't figure out why they were dry, when other trees had no such dry spots, but I kicked into gear and set up under one of the dry trees. I hit the sack early because I was really tired and spent a reasonably comfortable night in the rain, alone in the campground.

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Photos

Kwanlin Dun Cultural Centre
Many of the First Nations in the north are opening cultural centres that welcome the public and display some of their culture and customs. The Kwanlin Dun Cultural Centre in Whitehorse is qutie nice and has many exhibits and displays.

A Mini Train
Whitehorse has a number of copper mines nearby. The Copperbelt Museum has displays and infromation relating to one of them, the Copperbelt Mine. They also have a small train that used to haul copper to the waiting freight trains. Now it takes visitors on a loop around the property.

The Copperbelt Mine Property
From the mini train, visitors get a look at some of the equipment used in copper mining,.