Yukon Gold

The Yukon Territory is a special place. It is wild and spacious. The light can be fleeting and the weather can be challenging. Fall comes early. In Dawson, they loose 6 minutes of daylight every day.

Goldensides View, Tombstone Territorial Park, YT

Male Spruce Grouse

Grizzly Bear

We have moved south to Kluane National Park. We will spend our last few days in the Yukon here.

Flying Squirrel Creek, YT

Yukon in Autumn

Look Up

As we headed to bed, it had clouded over and looked like rain. I had checked the weather and it was supposed to clear in Dawson City, Yukon at midnight. I figured it would clear about an hour later in Tombstone Territorial Park. I set the alarm for 1am. When it went off, it was raining hard. I turned off the alarm and went back to sleep. Around 2 am, I rolled over and looked up at the sky. I could see stars and a streak of light. We got up and it was on, the light show of the north. Aurora Borealis is also called northern lights. The thing is, when you are this far north, it’s not in the northerly direction. It’s above you and in every direction.

Aurora Borealis at Tombstone Park, YT

The photos do not really do it justice. To stand there and watch this unfold is something everyone needs to experience for themselves. The best way I can explain it, God is dipping a ladle into a bucket of light and pouring it over the top of the world. Pinch me, I must be dreaming!

Aurora Borealis at Tombstone Park, YT

Aurora Borealis at Tombstone Park, YT

The Road

Dempster Highway, Yukon/NWT Border

I’m always a little nervous as I turn north on the Dempster Highway. This time was no exception. The road was rough. It was closed in several places just the day before. I worry about the van, the tires, and the gas. I mostly worry about the road. It can be a challenge when it is rough. We made our way to Tombstone Territorial Park.

Tombstone Territorial Park Sign, YT

We got a great campsite with a 360-degree view. I didn’t drive much after we got there. I wanted to save gas for the run to the Arctic Circle the next day.

The next day we woke up at 5am to frost on the dining tent. About 6am as we drove north past the Tombstone Viewpoint we caught the full moon setting - a good omen.

Full Moon, Tombstone Park, YT

The road was very rough in some areas but we made it fine. We camped at Rock River near the Yukon/NWT border. It is very beautiful. Lori and I looked for caribou but we must have been a bit early, as we didn’t see much of anything. Driving back to camp, we did spot a Grizzly at the side of the road. I did my best to get a shot but it never stopped. It just kept eating and walking. Still it was a thrill to see.

Grizzly Bear

The next day we decided to head south. It is so wet that we fear one more rainstorm will close the road again. We will resupply and head back up as far as Tombstone tomorrow.

Northwest Territories on the Dempster

Happy New Year!

2012 was quite a year for us. I don’t think I have had a better year for photography. After weeks of editing and processing, I’ve finally made my way through the summer shoot. 60,000 images boiled down to 2100 worked images. This process is usually demoralizing and sometimes downright depressing but this year seemed different. I really enjoyed the marathon session of editing. Reliving this trip was wonderful. I was surprised with the number of panoramic images I did. If you would like to see more of the most recent images, check out our latest page (click).

Here are some my favourite images of the year:

Blue Jay - Click for larger

Female Black Bear - Click for larger

Common Loon - Click for larger

White-tailed Deer Leaping - Click for larger

Stormy Saskatchewan Dawn - Click for larger

Great Horned Owl - Click for larger

Pika - Click for larger

Upper Kananaskis Lake - Click for larger

Porcupine Caribou - Click for larger

Native Hunter - Click for larger

Tombstone Territorial Park, YT - Click for larger

Kluane Range, Yukon - Click for larger

Salmon Glacier, British Columbia - Click for larger

Maligne Lake Boathouse - Click for larger

Elk Island National Park, AB - Click for larger

The memory cards are cleared. The batteries are charged.

Next!

Our Own Bed

We are finally home. This has been one of the best summer trips we have ever had. However, it feels great to be home after travelling almost 27,000 km. I get to a point where I’m creatively spent and no longer productive. I wish I could just stop and rest along the way but it is so hard to not shoot when you are travelling in Canada.

Tombstone Territorial Park, YT - Click for larger

I thought it would be interesting to share my 5 favorite and least favorite moments of the trip. Let’s start with the negative so we can end this on an up note.

5 Least favorite things about our trip:

• Missing my mom’s surprise 85th birthday party. Sorry mom!
• Lori and I getting sick on the road. It’s never fun to be sick but when travelling it is especially hard.
• Problems and worries about the van. I worried everyday something would give out. It finally did resulting in a $700 repair bill and 2 nights in a motel.
• No decent photos of Grizzlies or northern lights.
• The incredibly long days of driving. Mind numbing really.

5 Favorite moments:

• The moment I photographed the barren land caribou north of the Arctic Circle. A dream come true.

Porcupine Caribou - Click for larger

• Celebrating our 30th anniversary in Jasper with friends.

American Pika - Click for larger

• Camping in Grasslands National Park during a thunderstorm. The light was fantastic and I howled and the coyotes answered!

Grasslands National Park - Click for larger

• Standing above the Salmon Glacier in BC.

Viewing the Salmon Glacier, BC - Click for larger

• Witnessing Bull Elk in rut in Jasper.

Bull Elk Bugling - Click for larger

As we rest up for our next adventure, we will work our way through the many thousands of new images. I will continue to share as we go.

12 Days

Fall comes early on the Dempster Highway.

Frosted Cloudberry Leaves - Click for larger

It would change every day. Lori and I enjoyed our time here. We spent 12 days up the Dempster Highway.

Blackstone Range, Tombstone Territorial Park, Yukon - Click for larger

It's not always a forgiving highway. We did have a flat tire but it could not have come at a better time - no traffic and solid ground to jack up the van. The warning light came on and indicated the left rear tire was losing pressure. I stopped and grabbed the tire pressure gauge. But as soon as I was out of the van, I could hear the air leaking. A sharp shale rock had punctured it. This is a common problem here. It is also the reason we came prepared with 2 full spares.

Changing the Flat Tire up the Dempster Highway - Click for larger

Camping for all of the 12 days was tough. It is a dusty place when it's dry and muddy when wet. The road can wear you down.

Camping up the Dempster Highway - Click for larger

The road is wearing especially when you are working both early mornings and late nights. We would usually wake up at 5 am and check the sky. At 5:30 we would get up and drive/hike to our designated spot for the morning shoot. Sometimes the light would co-operate and sometimes not. After shooting the morning we would go back to camp to do backups and have a snooze. Later we would play cards, eat dinner and head back out to shoot landscapes and anything and everything that showed up. Generally we would get back after 10 pm and head to bed.

Male Spruce Grouse - Click for larger

Male Willow Ptarmigan - Click for larger

Arctic Ground Squirrel - Click for larger

Cloudy Range, Tombstone Territorial Park, Yukon - Click for larger

Blackstone Range, Tombstone Territorial Park, Yukon - Click for larger

We head to Alaska next. I really hope to see the Dempster again. It's easily the most spectacular place I have ever been.

Beaten by the Road

Ah, but not this time. We made it to the end of the Dempster Highway!

Igloo Church, Inuvik - Click for larger

Our last attempt at the Dempster Highway was in 2010. We almost made it to Eagle Plains but had to turn back because of bad weather. This time we faced a very different road. Dry, warm weather made for good but dusty driving. This has to be one of the most beautiful highways in the world!

Tombstone Territorial Park - Click for larger

Beaver - Click for larger

We drove all the way up to Inuvik in the Northwest Territories. This is as far as the road goes in the summer. In the winter you can drive all the way up to Tuktoyaktuk on ice roads.

Crossing the Mackenzie River - Click for larger

On the way back south we decided to spend a few days at the Yukon/NWT border just inside the Arctic Circle. The Porcupine Caribou herd winters here and they are starting to move in. We spotted a small herd and waited by the side of the road. They walked quite close to us. I didn’t have much light but I did what I could. This was very exciting to see barren-land caribou!

Porcupine Caribou Herd - Click for larger

Porcupine Caribou Herd - Click for larger

Porcupine Caribou Herd - Click for larger

As we were shooting, hunters came by and started shooting, but in a very different way! I had the opportunity to help a local hunter gut and drag his kill off the tundra.

Native Hunter - Click for larger

Fred, a 70-year-old Gwich’in man was very worried about Grizzly Bears. Especially when Lori and I told him we had just seen 2 just south of where we were sitting. I now had blood all over me and I smelled like a caribou. He said he didn’t have a permit to shoot a bear. I said “But you would shoot one if it came at us?”
He smiled and said, “Yes, but we would need more firepower than this old gun” as he pointed to his old 303 British rifle.
“What have I gotten myself into?” I wondered.
He then said, “Every thing follows the caribou, men, wolves, ravens, bears and even photographers! Those bears can smell these guts for miles. Keep a close watch. Always stop what you are doing and have a good look around.”
Thankfully, we didn’t see any.
What a great experience this has been!