Days 72 - 73

2004_0613Image0001.JPG Inside the MacBride museum 2004_0613Image0012.JPG a horse-drawn tram used to haul goods around rapids on the Yukon 2004_0613Image0018.JPG The S.S. Klondike 2004_0613Image0021.JPG 2004_0613Image0029.JPG 2004_0613Image0035.JPG In downtown Whitehorse 2004_0613Image0036.JPG 2004_0613Image0044.JPG 2004_0613Image0046.JPG Is this sign really necessary? 2004_0613Image0050.JPG 2004_0613Image0052.JPG

Day 72 - 6/12/04
My 40th birthday - sightseeing in Whitehorse
0 miles

I spent the day seeing the sights in Whitehorse, doing some laundry, and having a little bike work done.  The guy at the bike shop replaced the spokes I lost and trued the wheel, and gave me some spares.  He seemed convinced that the wheel wasn't going to hold up all the way to Fairbanks because of all the weight on the bike, even though I had just mentioned that I'd made it about 4000 miles on the wheel already.

I checked out the local MacBride museum and the S.S. Klondike, a retired paddlewheeler that had traveled the Yukon.   For dinner my Mom arranged for dinner, champagne, balloons and cake in the hotel restaurant.  So, even in the Yukon I was unable to avoid a little public humiliation on my birthday; it was all very nice.  I then went to a local vaudeville review they have in town, called the Frantic Follies, that was very entertaining.  The day was about as enjoyable as a 40th birthday can get.

Day 73 - 6/13/04
Whitehorse, YT to Haines Junction, YT
99 miles

I got a late start today, and then I had three flats on the road today, so I got in pretty late to Haines Junction.  At least the road has flattened out quite a bit, so I made good time when I wasn't repairing a flat.  The wildflowers are really nice up here, with shades of purple and pink seeming to dominate; I can't seem to capture them well in a photograph.  The St. Elias mountains are coming up on the south, and they are fairly spectacular.