I left for a 2 week vacation to the Yukon and Alaska last June 29th, just 8 days after the summer solstice. My flight departed Calgary at 9:45 pm just in time to enjoy a pretty sunset, which you can see below (photos are in sequentially arranged). There had been heavy rain that day and the clouds were starting to break apart as the sun dipped below the Rockies.
As we flew further north, the daylight seemed to be increasing, something I expected but still surprised me by how relatively bright it was. Soon the sun was above the horizon again, illuminating our plane’s engine. It only grew brighter the further north we flew.
We were scheduled to arrive in Whitehorse at 11:30 pm, but were delayed about 15 minutes. We deplaned the old fashioned way down stairs onto the runway at 11:45 pm. Still plenty of daily, as you can see below. In fact, the only time I encountered any darkness during this trip (and it was just relatively dark) was around 1:15 am.
Whitehorse has a small but nice airport decorated with scenes of the north. One of the 2 baggage carousels had two taxidermized caribou in a rather life-like fight. Perhaps the most interesting baggage claim art I’ve ever seen. Another spot in the airport featured the rather rare Dall sheep, which I’ve never seen in the wild before (but hope to someday).
It was to enjoy three busy days in the Whitehorse region before I began a 10 day rafting trip down the Tatenshini/Lower Alsek River, which would take me from the Yukon, through northwestern British Columbia, ending near the Pacific Ocean in Alaska. More on these adventures soon.
(Click on thumbnails to enlarge, right arrow to advance slideshow)
