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Ramblin' Around the Yukon Carlene and Rick Lewall Wayne Connorton introduced Rick and Carlene who last year celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary by visiting their children and grandchildren who are spread out from Comox BC to Fredericton NB. Rick has been a most active member of Rotary serving as president of the club, leading many of its committees and working at the district level chairing a major conference and the Interact group. He and Carlene have contributed a great deal to their community including the Sports Hall of Fame, Delta Gymnastics, Kin Village and Food on the Corner. For their major involvement they have been recognized as citizens of the year; Carlene in 2011 and Rick in 2016. Their love of travel has taken them to work on Rotary projects in Africa. Attending a fundraiser Rick ended up with a return ticket from Air North. He and Carlene took this opportunity in pre-Covid days to use this as an opportunity to explore our country's North . They flew to Whitehorse spent three days there and flew on to Dawson City. Their presentation was in the form of arranged photos and videos with a music background. The highlights of their visit included : Whitehorse - Beringia Centre featuring the land bridge that once connected Siberia to the Yukon territories - Interpretive Centre displaying exhibits of ice age mammals including a 2 meter long beaver - Transportation museum displaying the role of the northern bush pilots and the building of the White Pass& Yukon RR Dawson City - Viewing working gold mines and their dredging operations - Sluicing/panning for gold, albeit unsuccessfully - Visiting the Robert Service Cabin operated by Parks Canada - Visiting the Jack London Museum and House - Partying at Diamond Tooth Gertie's and taking in a floorshow - Gaining a certificate for drinking the Sourtoe Cocktail - Driving the Top of The World Highway which offers natural but remote beauty After the presentation the well engaged audience in a Q and A session learned that: . mid- Sept is a good time to visit for the changing of the colours . six days is enough for the two centers- more needed if you drive . a peanut butter jar can hold $25000 worth of gold . car rentals in Dawson City will set you back $190 a day . taste of the Sourtoe Cocktail is sweet bourbon (and your lips must touch the toe) . the highlight of the trip was the phenomenal natural beauty and Park Canada's role in preserving it Cindy Phillip thanked Carlene and Rick for their presentation. Sharing the adventure with their well-organized display gave us an appreciation of Canada's north and its history in the gold rush. We look forward to their next travel adventures and future presentations. |
