For Travel Tuesday, lets see what is going on in AK and Canada this Summer:
Now, to get to Alaska, you have to go through Canada, that is unless you fly, or sail from WA:
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KM = Miles:
"Generally when you enter Canada the basic thing to remember is that kilometers are shorter than miles so there are more of them. The ratio is approximately 100 kilometers equals 60 miles.
Decades ago my father taught me a fairly simple way to figure things out in my head. His words were, "Multiply the number of kilometers by six and drop the last digit."
For example, if a sign indicates your destination is 350 kilometers away, multiplying by six yields 2,100. Drop the last digit and you have 210 miles, a figure that is correct within a kilometer or two. Or if a speed limit sign in a school zone says 30 KPH, this formula will yield 18 MPH."
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Camp Hosts are needed in Alaska.
http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/vip/hostlist.htm
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The 13th annual Yukon River Quest is June 29 through July 3, 2011. Whitehorse to Dawson City.
Yukon - Yukon River Quest
"Recognized as one of the toughest adventure marathon events in the world, the Yukon River Quest is held on the Yukon River from Whitehorse to Dawson City in Canada's Yukon. It's the longest annual canoe and kayak race in the world at 460 miles, and paddlers from around the globe journey to the Yukon every summer to compete. With just two mandatory rest stops totaling 10 hours over the entire course, this race is not for the faint of heart.
A must-see attraction in Whitehorse is the S.S. Klondike National Historical Site. The British Yukon Navigation Company sternwheel fleet navigated the upper Yukon River between Whitehorse and Dawson City for the first half of the 20th century and today visitors can tour the S.S. Klondike sternwheeler, restored to its original 1937-40 appearance. The site pays homage to the history of riverboat transportation along the Yukon River as a main mode of transport. The pedestrian Millennium Trail from the Robert Service Campground makes for a pleasant walk over to the vessel site.
Today skeletons of abandoned sternwheelers can still be spotted along the banks of the Yukon River, the fourth largest river in North America. At the time of the Gold Rush, the Yukon River represented a spirit of success, which continues today as paddlers ply the same harsh and remote route toward the finish line in Dawson City.
RV and tent camping are located in several locations south of Whitehorse off the Alaska Highway. "
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The 50th anniversary of WEIO is July 20-23, 2011 in Fairbanks.
Alaska - World Eskimo-Indian Olympics
"The city of Fairbanks in Interior Alaska is often the conclusion to many an Alaska Highway itinerary. This summer offers travelers the perfect end-of-trip commemoration at one of Alaska' most notable events: the annual World Eskimo-Indian Olympics (WEIO) celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2011. The four-day festival in July displays the customs, games and skills of Native peoples in circumpolar areas of the world. With such a milestone anniversary, event organizers are predicting it will be the highest-profile WEIO event to date.
Some of the more well known events include the One- or Two-Foot High Kick, where an athlete must jump off the floor using both feet and kick a suspended object with one (or two) feet. The renowned Blanket Toss involves a group of people that toss one person in the air from the middle of a large walrus skin. This ritual has been performed in whaling communities in for as long as most elders can remember. WEIO emphasizes that the survival of these customs is key, and athletic events illustrate the need to be disciplined physically and mentally.
The Carlson Center in Fairbanks is the home base for WEIO, and is located near Pioneer Park on the banks of the Chena River. Athletic competitions slated for the event include: the Knuckle Hop or Seal Hop, the Four-Man Carry, Ear Weight, Ear Pull, Drop the Bomb, One-Hand Reach, Alaskan High Kick, Kneel Jump, Indian Stick Pull, Eskimo Stick Pull, Toe Kick and the Arm Pull. Read more about these events at www.weio.org/the_games.htm. The WEIO event has grown to over 50 games, with an increasing number of athletes competing and records are broken every year."
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Sitka National Historical Park, Alaska
If you go > >
From the park you can venture to nearby Castle Hill, a National Historic Landmark and an Alaska state park, where Russia officially transferred the region to the United States in a flag ceremony on October 18, 1867. "
View the slideshow > >
http://my.npca.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=4561.0&pw_id=1621
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The 34th annual Canmore Folk Festival will be held July 30 to August 1, 2011, Canmore, Alberta
Alberta - Canmore Folk Festival
"Travelers en route to Alaska from Alberta can opt in to the grooviest of all side trips from Calgary with a stop at the Canmore Folk Festival. Held during the Heritage Day long weekend each year in early August, the event was the first folk music festival in Alberta when it began in 1978. It remains a huge hit with both locals and visitors today, attracting up to 15,000 music fans annually from Alberta, Western Canada, the Pacific Northwest and beyond. The festival offers travelers a taste of folk, world, blues and roots music from the picturesque town of Canmore, gateway to the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rockies.
The 65-mile drive west of Calgary along Highway 1 and the Alberta Rocky Mountain Route to Alaska offers some of Alberta's most spectacular scenery. While the Alaska Highway route north of Calgary is typically faster, visitors can choose this more leisurely detour as an alternative course, or just travel the 1.5 hours each way as a convenient day trip. On the way keep an eye out for the famous trio of peaks dotting the horizon, the Three Sisters.
The towering peaks of Alberta's Rocky Mountains dominate the view from the festival's venue, Centennial Park, located in downtown Canmore. The park is nestled at the heart of Canmore's valley bottom and the extraordinary acoustics during the festival delight listeners year after year. Up to 18 individual acts of musicians from diverse backgrounds perform over the three-day festival; for six hours each evening, six acts give their all on the main stage.
The festival isn't just a haven for adult folk fanatics. Bring the kids and enjoy a designated alcohol-free family site, a free street dance performance on the Friday night, free kids concerts that Saturday afternoon, and a kids-only area chock full of fun activities like crafts, a puppet theater, climbing wall, clowns and jugglers and an inflated bouncing castle. Centennial Park also has two playgrounds on site, and a "tot lot" for toddlers, adjacent to the designated family area. Parking at the event is free and RV-friendly."
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Your North to Alaska Story = $250 gas card!
"Are you driving North to Alaska this summer and would you like a little help with the gas?
We need your wit, observations and experiences along the way for a new community feature that will be launched on NorthToAlaska.com.
Groups selected to participate will be given a $250 gas card for sharing the adventure of driving North to Alaska.
Details at: http://www.up0.net/functions/message_view.html?mid=978726&mlid=5786&siteid=666846&uid=00d6a5a985
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Yesterday:
8.00 AM came quickly to take Jay for his doctor's appointment. I am always up by 6.00 AM, but I had slept a bit late, so I rushed around, took care of my animals, and dressed in a hurry.
Sorry for the next ramblings, but I have been feeling very distressed over my little orphan kittens that I bottle fed since they were about 10 days old. Now they are old enough to go to their new homes. Just getting my thoughts and anxieties out on this keyboard.
My SPCA boss hadn't heard from the lady who met my kittens last Friday, and we still didn't know which one(s) she might adopt. We thought that she was going to choose Pal and Pebbles. So my main worry was little Precious, who was a frail 4 oz when I got her, and wasn't expected to live. Now she is 3lb, but I just couldn't see her being in the fast shuffle of the big Houston SPCA, which is where my left-over kittens would go. I made up my mind that if the lady didn't take her, that I would keep her for now, and not take her to the big SPCA, she would be so scared, as she is so sweet and sensitive.
Precious reminds me so much of another kitten that I rescued some years ago. This little kitten had been thrown into a dumpster, and left to die. It had been raining so the dumpster had water in it, and was full of garbage. I wasn't tall enough to get in the dumpster, or I would, so I paid someone to get in there and throw out all the garbage, and get the kitten from the bottom of the dumpster. She was just a tiny lifeless, limp little thing, maybe not even weaned. After rubbing some life into her with a towel, I carried her in my bra to keep her warm, and rushed her to my house. She drank some Kitten Replacement Milk from a bottle, so I set her up in a carrier in my bedroom, and hoped she would still be alive in the morning. "Dumpy" survived, but her neck was damaged from being thrown, and she always had her little head to one side. She had a darling disposition.
Hopefully, it was the right thing when she was adopted by a family with a handicapped daughter. The lady of the family didn't seem too fond of my little Dumpy, or any animal, and said that she couldn't sleep in the same room as the daughter. She obviously wasn't going to do any of the caretaking, and I hope the daughter knew how to take care of the little cat. They never got in touch with us again, that was the thing that hurt the most.
I would have kept Dumpy, but then she would have been an older handicapped cat looking for a home, not a cute kitten, as she would outlive me. Often I have asked my SPCA boss to check up on her, but she never has the time, or something happened, and she doesn't want to tell me. People don't realize that the Rescue where they got their pet, and especially the foster moms, like to hear about their 'babies'. I think about Dumpy almost every day, and wonder how she is.
I couldn't go through that with Precious, too. If she went to the big SPCA, we wouldn't be able to find out if she been adopted, or if they found some excuse to put her to sleep. Just like I do with Dumpy, I would always be worrying about her. As long as she is adopted here through our little SPCA, I have a chance of hearing about her wellbeing. Precious better go to someone who will keep in touch once in a while. A lot of adoptive parents send us pictures of their animals once in a while, why can't all of them? My SPCA boss forwards them to their previous foster moms, so I have an album of them.
My neighbor came over and showed me a little tiny, lost, meowing, feral, white kitten that wouldn't come out from under a truck across the street. All I could do was take it some canned food. If it comes over here, we can trap it, and get it to Animal Control.
The phone call finally came, and the lady just wants Pal. But I will be taking care of him during his recovery after his neutering today, and keep him for her, until the 12th. July, when she will be off for the summer. My SPCA boss said that Precious can go with Pal to get spayed, if I will keep her until she gets adopted. That is an enormous load off my mind. Worrying about Precious ruined my appetite, so I have lost over 10 lb. She will be good company for Prime, who misses Patches, as they like each other.
As it would be such a long, hot drive to take Pebbles to Houston SPCA, my boss said that she can get spayed, too, and she will try to find another foster mom for her.
I am so relieved, so now I have to get three "Post Surgery" areas ready today.
2 comments:
What an ordeal with those kittens! Sure hope Precious finds a home soon.
I couldn't do what you do. I would end up with hundreds of pets and you know how that works out. . .
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