Yukon – Day 7 – May 30
We woke up kinda early and took down our tent. We headed over to Lolita’s house for breakfast! Once we were at her house, we took off our hikers and headed inside! Her house reminded me of a log cabin across the creek from us at our lake! Everything was wooden, and looked like it came from a tree – even the railing! It was a very nice houseJ. I think I fell asleep during sometime on her couch because when I woke up, Mel told me that he and Dustin saw me ‘wipe drool off of my face.’… 3 things that I find weird about that…1) why were they watching me sleep? 2) I have never drooled in my life and 3) how did they come to conclusion that I wipe drool from my face..? That was sure a weird thing… I don’t even know – that was… yeah :/ I have no words.
Anyway, I really like going to Lolita’s house! After that, we went into her backyard and went into this weird hut thing that was pretty cool! I think she used it as a guest house but I’m not 100% sure. If I’m correct, it was a Russian invention where you can sleep/stay/hang out in! I liked it in thereJ. After her house; we went to a stop called ‘5 Finger Rapids.’ We drove about 2 hours or so to the lookout and hung out there! The view was super cool! We could see the rapids below us, and the noise of the rushing water was exhilarating – it reminded me of our one campground at Tombstone. I wished that I could sleep there <3. It was really nice outside, so we started on our hike. It seemed like it would be easy going down! It was all steep stairs, then forest and roots, then more stairs, then more roots and trees! It was an interesting thing to see the difference between walking in true nature compared to nature and man-made things (I preferred pure nature – I felt more disconnected) and I really enjoyed just being able to be with not only my thoughts, but with my eco brothers and sisters! Once we got to the bottom, we hung out for a little while at the end. I really liked the view down there – you could really see the rapids! It was funny with all the pictures we went to, when you saw a picture or saw it in real life, you wouldn’t be able to tell that they were the same place! I guess that’s the essence of Place Based Education! It never looks anything the same at all – it’s so much better in real life, like most things!
After that, we headed to the Takhini Hot Springs to set up camp! At our camp, you could just walk across the road and see pure nature! I loved it so much! I think this trip has been the time where I have constantly connected with Mother Nature – which is awesome!
We had a presentation at Bean North Coffee Roasting! We headed over there, getting lost on the way, or course! The place looked like a little cottage in the woods! It was so cute <3 Michael and his wife invited us for supper! I was so excited to have a normal meal an=gain! It started to rain a little, so we went under a gazebo thing with all of the girls. We went to gather our food, and it was amazing!! A giant bowl of chili, a plate full of elk-dogs, and SALAD (keep in mind we haven’t had normal vegetables like the entire trip!!) There was also a huge bowl of mouth-watering fruit punch! I had big helpings of everythingJ. It was delicious! Its crazy how much you miss common foods when they are taken away from you, like fruits and vegetables. I guess that’s like how they feel on some reserves; like the one near Ottawa we talked about with an expert. Maybe it was a good thing to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes! It’s sad to think that some people on reserves, or even less fortunate people in our city, are living not knowing what fresh fruits and vegetables taste likeL. I am sooo fortunate to be able to live in the conditions that I do – where I can go to the store and buy an array of fruits with the allowance that my employed and educated parents gave to me. People say, “I don’t like my veggies,” or, “my banana has a brown spot,” talk about first world problems! Some have never dreamed of tasting a fresh pear or carrot. I am just so glad that I have an education here in Canada, and that I have the ability to have “common foods” (to me, at least).
After that, we had dessert, which was fruit crumble! I took a much… and I was in heaven! It was the best dessert I have ever had! I loved it so much I could eat a tub-full, but I was stuffed, so I decided to lay offJ. I guess what I was trying to get at was that I loved the generous meal made specifically for us by Bean North. I also realized how lucky I am to be able to have fruits and vegetables. Also an education! I am so glad that we had the opportunity to go to Bean North <3
After our meal, we headed into a back room to get a presentation from Michael on fair trade coffee! I sat on a bag of coffeeJ! Michael talked about this co-op he is in with a bunch of coffee farmers in different parts of the world, where the farmers get paid fairly, they can produce organic coffee (which is easier on them). Bean North is also responsible for all of the carbon emissions they let out! He said that many coffee-sellers have gone to the fair trade option, which is awesome! One thing I found surprising was how Tim Hortons was a “Canadian company”, but they barely do any of their work with Canada, and they don’t use fair trade! I guess we shouldn’t use Tim Hortons’ coffee! I really enjoyed the presentation from Michael and Bean North, and I hope that they may continue to thrive in their workJ.
Once we left Bean North, we headed over to the Takhini Hot Springs! I was soo excited for those because it would just be awesome to hang out in a pool, but also see the wondrous mystery of the hot springs! They closed at 9:30 pm and it was already 8:30, so we rushed to get in there! Once we were changed, we hopped in. It reminded me a lot of Canyon Hot Springs in BC! We played volley ball and hung out for a while until 9:30 rolled around. We hopped out of there and got changed. I saw a sign that said, “We close @ 9:30 because it takes 14 hours to refill the pool.” I thought that was crazy! Where do they get the water from? Why does it take 14 hours? Why is it hot? Like I said, that is sure a mysterious thing..! We left the hot springs and went back to our camp at Takhini. I was sure tired, so I crashed as soon as my head hit the tent!
This day sure wqas awesome and filled with a wide variety of things! We went to Lolita’s, went to Bean North, set up at Takhini, and went in the hot springs! I like those days where we had time for fun, and also time for learning. That’s what school should be about! I had a great time today, and I will never forget the good times we hadJ.
We woke up kinda early and took down our tent. We headed over to Lolita’s house for breakfast! Once we were at her house, we took off our hikers and headed inside! Her house reminded me of a log cabin across the creek from us at our lake! Everything was wooden, and looked like it came from a tree – even the railing! It was a very nice houseJ. I think I fell asleep during sometime on her couch because when I woke up, Mel told me that he and Dustin saw me ‘wipe drool off of my face.’… 3 things that I find weird about that…1) why were they watching me sleep? 2) I have never drooled in my life and 3) how did they come to conclusion that I wipe drool from my face..? That was sure a weird thing… I don’t even know – that was… yeah :/ I have no words.
Anyway, I really like going to Lolita’s house! After that, we went into her backyard and went into this weird hut thing that was pretty cool! I think she used it as a guest house but I’m not 100% sure. If I’m correct, it was a Russian invention where you can sleep/stay/hang out in! I liked it in thereJ. After her house; we went to a stop called ‘5 Finger Rapids.’ We drove about 2 hours or so to the lookout and hung out there! The view was super cool! We could see the rapids below us, and the noise of the rushing water was exhilarating – it reminded me of our one campground at Tombstone. I wished that I could sleep there <3. It was really nice outside, so we started on our hike. It seemed like it would be easy going down! It was all steep stairs, then forest and roots, then more stairs, then more roots and trees! It was an interesting thing to see the difference between walking in true nature compared to nature and man-made things (I preferred pure nature – I felt more disconnected) and I really enjoyed just being able to be with not only my thoughts, but with my eco brothers and sisters! Once we got to the bottom, we hung out for a little while at the end. I really liked the view down there – you could really see the rapids! It was funny with all the pictures we went to, when you saw a picture or saw it in real life, you wouldn’t be able to tell that they were the same place! I guess that’s the essence of Place Based Education! It never looks anything the same at all – it’s so much better in real life, like most things!
After that, we headed to the Takhini Hot Springs to set up camp! At our camp, you could just walk across the road and see pure nature! I loved it so much! I think this trip has been the time where I have constantly connected with Mother Nature – which is awesome!
We had a presentation at Bean North Coffee Roasting! We headed over there, getting lost on the way, or course! The place looked like a little cottage in the woods! It was so cute <3 Michael and his wife invited us for supper! I was so excited to have a normal meal an=gain! It started to rain a little, so we went under a gazebo thing with all of the girls. We went to gather our food, and it was amazing!! A giant bowl of chili, a plate full of elk-dogs, and SALAD (keep in mind we haven’t had normal vegetables like the entire trip!!) There was also a huge bowl of mouth-watering fruit punch! I had big helpings of everythingJ. It was delicious! Its crazy how much you miss common foods when they are taken away from you, like fruits and vegetables. I guess that’s like how they feel on some reserves; like the one near Ottawa we talked about with an expert. Maybe it was a good thing to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes! It’s sad to think that some people on reserves, or even less fortunate people in our city, are living not knowing what fresh fruits and vegetables taste likeL. I am sooo fortunate to be able to live in the conditions that I do – where I can go to the store and buy an array of fruits with the allowance that my employed and educated parents gave to me. People say, “I don’t like my veggies,” or, “my banana has a brown spot,” talk about first world problems! Some have never dreamed of tasting a fresh pear or carrot. I am just so glad that I have an education here in Canada, and that I have the ability to have “common foods” (to me, at least).
After that, we had dessert, which was fruit crumble! I took a much… and I was in heaven! It was the best dessert I have ever had! I loved it so much I could eat a tub-full, but I was stuffed, so I decided to lay offJ. I guess what I was trying to get at was that I loved the generous meal made specifically for us by Bean North. I also realized how lucky I am to be able to have fruits and vegetables. Also an education! I am so glad that we had the opportunity to go to Bean North <3
After our meal, we headed into a back room to get a presentation from Michael on fair trade coffee! I sat on a bag of coffeeJ! Michael talked about this co-op he is in with a bunch of coffee farmers in different parts of the world, where the farmers get paid fairly, they can produce organic coffee (which is easier on them). Bean North is also responsible for all of the carbon emissions they let out! He said that many coffee-sellers have gone to the fair trade option, which is awesome! One thing I found surprising was how Tim Hortons was a “Canadian company”, but they barely do any of their work with Canada, and they don’t use fair trade! I guess we shouldn’t use Tim Hortons’ coffee! I really enjoyed the presentation from Michael and Bean North, and I hope that they may continue to thrive in their workJ.
Once we left Bean North, we headed over to the Takhini Hot Springs! I was soo excited for those because it would just be awesome to hang out in a pool, but also see the wondrous mystery of the hot springs! They closed at 9:30 pm and it was already 8:30, so we rushed to get in there! Once we were changed, we hopped in. It reminded me a lot of Canyon Hot Springs in BC! We played volley ball and hung out for a while until 9:30 rolled around. We hopped out of there and got changed. I saw a sign that said, “We close @ 9:30 because it takes 14 hours to refill the pool.” I thought that was crazy! Where do they get the water from? Why does it take 14 hours? Why is it hot? Like I said, that is sure a mysterious thing..! We left the hot springs and went back to our camp at Takhini. I was sure tired, so I crashed as soon as my head hit the tent!
This day sure wqas awesome and filled with a wide variety of things! We went to Lolita’s, went to Bean North, set up at Takhini, and went in the hot springs! I like those days where we had time for fun, and also time for learning. That’s what school should be about! I had a great time today, and I will never forget the good times we hadJ.