Yukon – Day 6 – May 29, 2015
Today was a very interesting experience – we went to the legendary town, Dawson, climbed The Dome, got a cool presentation on penguins, and received wonderful letters from our family! This day was a big adventure, and here is how my day went!
We woke up in Tombstone this morning and I think I woke up at around 6:00 AM. I was super excited because we were heading to Dawson City! Mom and Dad always talk about Dawson, and how cool the buildings and houses were there. Mom even said that the houses were on stilts because of the permafrost freezing and thawing. I was also pumped because we could SHOWER!!!! We hadn’t showered for 6 days, which is the longest I’ve ever gone without a shower (which is, not to mention, totally disgusting!) We also got a tasty meal there! Here is my day more in detail:
Driving to Dawson City was crazy! I was so ready to get off of the bus I could barely contain my excitement! When we arrived in the town, I was reminded a lot of Icy Strait Point in Alaska – well the buildings at least – and everything was so colorful! My favorite part about the town was definitely the character. All of the old buildings gave off an interesting smell – almost like old honey or something! I really couldn’t wait to get out and explore! We walked into the shower place and I got really excited! It was the best shower I’d ever had! I guess you really miss nice things when they are taken away from you! Once we were done, we went back outside an explored!!
We were scheduled for a presentation with some Han/Tr’ondek Hwech’in people, so we walked over to the cultural building. I bought some gifts for my sisters in the gift shop, which was cool! Allison and another girl sang a welcome song for us, and it was really nice! Then we moved into the 1st exhibit called, “The Thunder in our Voices.” I liked how they showed us all of these powerful people who stopped the Mackenzie Pipeline. If they can do it, then we can protect the Peel! She talked a lot about their culture and more specific details when we moved into the next exhibit. She told us how her and her family built this birch bark canoe, and how they went fishing for Chinook Salmon, but now barely any of them come anymore. Their people wrote a song so that the King and Chinook salmon come back. Allison sang it for us and we did the dance (move your hands in a swimmy motion). It was really fun to take part in their culture! We moved into this room and watched a video on the First Nation group, and it was pretty neat-o! I learned where the Tr’ondek Hwech’in land is in the Yukon, and that “Tr’ondek” means “rock waterway!” There was also a lot of information on Chief Isaac – how he took the Han culture to Alaska to keep it safe during the Gold Rush. I hope the people in Saskatchewan can regain their strength and culture like the people in the Yukon!
Once we were finished in the movie area, we were supposed to memorize a plaque. I chose one about medicine with spruce and birch. I discovered that spruce sap and rabbit skin make a great Polysporin and Band-Aid! You may also eat baby spruce shoots. Birch bark also works to set bones!!
After the presentation, we went for lunch at a burger place! I was sooo excited because I never had a normal meal in such a long time! I ordered a burger and fries, and when the food came I was super happy! To make it even better, it was sure delicious! I was really glad to have some real food in my stomach!!
After lunch, we got a chance to explore Dawson! I was really excited because the town looked really unique, antique, and manifique! A few other people and I started walking to an ice cream shop for dessert! After that, we moved on to a gift shop, and it was weird because there were all of these traditional First Nations items, and then in the back there were random washing machines and printers! We all thought that that was funnyJ. After checking in, we went to another gift shop where I got my mom and dad gifts! After that exploring, we got another opportunity to hike up “The Dome!” (Suspicious name!!) We hiked about half way, but we decided that it would be too steep, so we bussed the rest of the way. The view up there was glorious – we could see miles and miles of trees, and a beautiful, yet scary, forest fire. It was pretty to see the plumes of deep purple smoke rising into the air, and the blazing red flames coming higher by the minute, but it was scary to think of what was being hurt by the fire.
In the middle of taking pictures, Dustin and Mel came over to us with a pig crate of envelopes in their hands. They told us the letters were for us – I thought that they were from year 5 -> would it be a privilege letter? A Bella Bella letter? I had no clue… but then they said that the letters were from our families!! Some people started crying, others started laughing, and all I could think was “What! Where are the cameras? I don’t remember signing up for Big Brother! When was I nominated HOH?” I was just shocked. When I got my pack, I thought there would only be one letter, but the entire package was filled!! I received a sweet letter from my mom, a joking, but nice, letter from my dad, a funny drawing from my sister, a funny, but sweet, drawing from my other sister, a painting from my cousins, a letter and pin from my grandma and papa, and a cool letter from my grandma and Glennnnn! I was so happy that we got those, and I can’t believe how generous my family was <3. My grandma included a poem thing that I really appreciated! It went like this,
You. Are. Amazing.
As. You. Are.
Stronger than you know.
More beautiful than you think.
Worthier than you believe.
More loved than you can ever imagine.
Passionate about making a difference.
Fiery when protecting those you love.
Learning. Growing. Not alone.
Warm. Giving. Generous.
Quirky. Funny. Smart.
Flawed. Whole. Scared. Brave.
And so, so, so. Much. More.
Be strong. Be confident. Be you.
~copyright: Tia Sparkles Singh, 2011.
That poem really spoke to me for some reason. I feel like it was meant for me. Made for me. It was insane! Let’s just say that it was very touching!
I really like how Dustin and Mel did that, and it made me feel closer to my family – like I was at home. Reading all of the kind, personalized words was super sweet, and their advice was wise, and clung to me really hard. I am so glad that we got the chance to open all of those letters/poems/gifts/pictures and I am very thankful for my loving, awesome familyJ.
After we were done at The Dome, we headed back to our camp at Tombstone. Once we got there, we set up our supper. We got a cool presentation from Devon and Lolita about Emperor Penguins! It was a shocking topic, but it fit the chilliness of the north (or south) pole! I liked the change of tone with the presentations – many were so serious, but this one was pretty playful if you ask me! Here is what I learned from this presentation:
Emperor Penguins, the tallest penguins in the world (1.2m) live in Antarctica! There is a lot of snow there, and a lot of water has been frozen in the -80 degrees Celsius weather, so the penguins eat snow for water! They also eat krill, small seafood, and fish. Sometimes to move around, they slide on their bellies – using their feet as propellers! These animals are very simple beings, yet so detailed!
I really liked the presentations and it was good to learn about a cool animal (pun intendedJ) I was glad to have some sort of animal science in there, so that was cool! I was very glad to have Devon and Lolita chat with us!
After the fabulous presentation, we hit the hay! I was exhausted after our long day of travelling, exploring, learning, hiking, laughing, adventuring, and so much more! This day was very fun and I will never lose the memories that we made that day!
Today was a very interesting experience – we went to the legendary town, Dawson, climbed The Dome, got a cool presentation on penguins, and received wonderful letters from our family! This day was a big adventure, and here is how my day went!
We woke up in Tombstone this morning and I think I woke up at around 6:00 AM. I was super excited because we were heading to Dawson City! Mom and Dad always talk about Dawson, and how cool the buildings and houses were there. Mom even said that the houses were on stilts because of the permafrost freezing and thawing. I was also pumped because we could SHOWER!!!! We hadn’t showered for 6 days, which is the longest I’ve ever gone without a shower (which is, not to mention, totally disgusting!) We also got a tasty meal there! Here is my day more in detail:
Driving to Dawson City was crazy! I was so ready to get off of the bus I could barely contain my excitement! When we arrived in the town, I was reminded a lot of Icy Strait Point in Alaska – well the buildings at least – and everything was so colorful! My favorite part about the town was definitely the character. All of the old buildings gave off an interesting smell – almost like old honey or something! I really couldn’t wait to get out and explore! We walked into the shower place and I got really excited! It was the best shower I’d ever had! I guess you really miss nice things when they are taken away from you! Once we were done, we went back outside an explored!!
We were scheduled for a presentation with some Han/Tr’ondek Hwech’in people, so we walked over to the cultural building. I bought some gifts for my sisters in the gift shop, which was cool! Allison and another girl sang a welcome song for us, and it was really nice! Then we moved into the 1st exhibit called, “The Thunder in our Voices.” I liked how they showed us all of these powerful people who stopped the Mackenzie Pipeline. If they can do it, then we can protect the Peel! She talked a lot about their culture and more specific details when we moved into the next exhibit. She told us how her and her family built this birch bark canoe, and how they went fishing for Chinook Salmon, but now barely any of them come anymore. Their people wrote a song so that the King and Chinook salmon come back. Allison sang it for us and we did the dance (move your hands in a swimmy motion). It was really fun to take part in their culture! We moved into this room and watched a video on the First Nation group, and it was pretty neat-o! I learned where the Tr’ondek Hwech’in land is in the Yukon, and that “Tr’ondek” means “rock waterway!” There was also a lot of information on Chief Isaac – how he took the Han culture to Alaska to keep it safe during the Gold Rush. I hope the people in Saskatchewan can regain their strength and culture like the people in the Yukon!
Once we were finished in the movie area, we were supposed to memorize a plaque. I chose one about medicine with spruce and birch. I discovered that spruce sap and rabbit skin make a great Polysporin and Band-Aid! You may also eat baby spruce shoots. Birch bark also works to set bones!!
After the presentation, we went for lunch at a burger place! I was sooo excited because I never had a normal meal in such a long time! I ordered a burger and fries, and when the food came I was super happy! To make it even better, it was sure delicious! I was really glad to have some real food in my stomach!!
After lunch, we got a chance to explore Dawson! I was really excited because the town looked really unique, antique, and manifique! A few other people and I started walking to an ice cream shop for dessert! After that, we moved on to a gift shop, and it was weird because there were all of these traditional First Nations items, and then in the back there were random washing machines and printers! We all thought that that was funnyJ. After checking in, we went to another gift shop where I got my mom and dad gifts! After that exploring, we got another opportunity to hike up “The Dome!” (Suspicious name!!) We hiked about half way, but we decided that it would be too steep, so we bussed the rest of the way. The view up there was glorious – we could see miles and miles of trees, and a beautiful, yet scary, forest fire. It was pretty to see the plumes of deep purple smoke rising into the air, and the blazing red flames coming higher by the minute, but it was scary to think of what was being hurt by the fire.
In the middle of taking pictures, Dustin and Mel came over to us with a pig crate of envelopes in their hands. They told us the letters were for us – I thought that they were from year 5 -> would it be a privilege letter? A Bella Bella letter? I had no clue… but then they said that the letters were from our families!! Some people started crying, others started laughing, and all I could think was “What! Where are the cameras? I don’t remember signing up for Big Brother! When was I nominated HOH?” I was just shocked. When I got my pack, I thought there would only be one letter, but the entire package was filled!! I received a sweet letter from my mom, a joking, but nice, letter from my dad, a funny drawing from my sister, a funny, but sweet, drawing from my other sister, a painting from my cousins, a letter and pin from my grandma and papa, and a cool letter from my grandma and Glennnnn! I was so happy that we got those, and I can’t believe how generous my family was <3. My grandma included a poem thing that I really appreciated! It went like this,
You. Are. Amazing.
As. You. Are.
Stronger than you know.
More beautiful than you think.
Worthier than you believe.
More loved than you can ever imagine.
Passionate about making a difference.
Fiery when protecting those you love.
Learning. Growing. Not alone.
Warm. Giving. Generous.
Quirky. Funny. Smart.
Flawed. Whole. Scared. Brave.
And so, so, so. Much. More.
Be strong. Be confident. Be you.
~copyright: Tia Sparkles Singh, 2011.
That poem really spoke to me for some reason. I feel like it was meant for me. Made for me. It was insane! Let’s just say that it was very touching!
I really like how Dustin and Mel did that, and it made me feel closer to my family – like I was at home. Reading all of the kind, personalized words was super sweet, and their advice was wise, and clung to me really hard. I am so glad that we got the chance to open all of those letters/poems/gifts/pictures and I am very thankful for my loving, awesome familyJ.
After we were done at The Dome, we headed back to our camp at Tombstone. Once we got there, we set up our supper. We got a cool presentation from Devon and Lolita about Emperor Penguins! It was a shocking topic, but it fit the chilliness of the north (or south) pole! I liked the change of tone with the presentations – many were so serious, but this one was pretty playful if you ask me! Here is what I learned from this presentation:
Emperor Penguins, the tallest penguins in the world (1.2m) live in Antarctica! There is a lot of snow there, and a lot of water has been frozen in the -80 degrees Celsius weather, so the penguins eat snow for water! They also eat krill, small seafood, and fish. Sometimes to move around, they slide on their bellies – using their feet as propellers! These animals are very simple beings, yet so detailed!
I really liked the presentations and it was good to learn about a cool animal (pun intendedJ) I was glad to have some sort of animal science in there, so that was cool! I was very glad to have Devon and Lolita chat with us!
After the fabulous presentation, we hit the hay! I was exhausted after our long day of travelling, exploring, learning, hiking, laughing, adventuring, and so much more! This day was very fun and I will never lose the memories that we made that day!