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Photo
above: Taken by Editor Jerry W. Bird in the Western
USA during his filming project for Petrolane Inc.
of Los Angeles
Journeys
Into History: North America's Country Inns, Lodges
and Roadhouses
by
Jerry
W. Bird
There
are snows that are older than history
There are woods where the weird shadows slant
The stillness, the moonlight, the mystery
I've bade 'em good-bye - but I can't."
Robert w. Service
 Dawson
City's Yukon Hotel (above), was one of several
former gold rush hotels that were still standing
(or leaning slightly) when I was a youngster
roaming the town. Those still in operation included
the Occidental, Westminster, Royal Alexandra, Pearl
Harbour, and a variety of lesser known
establishments, most with the familiar false fronts
and tin roofs. My friends and I loved to explore
the boarded up, abandoned relics, but most
especially to visit the string of road houses that
stretched along the old stage route between Dawson
City and Whitehorse. My granddad, Ernie J.
Somerton, a many of many talents, was one of the
first to operate the Caterpillar train that plied
that route along the frozen Yukon river in the 30s
and 40s. In time, our editors will add more details
, photos and descriptions of these historic inns,
but for now I offer, the following. It's an excerpt
on travel to and from Canada's Yukon Territory
prior to World War II and the vast Alaska Highway
project, which brought rapid change, and an end to
our laid back lifestyle.
While
most passengers approach the 'Inside Passage' from
points due south, my first experience of this 1,200
mile Marine Highway, was coming from Canada's
Klondike, having plied the Yukon River for four
eventful days aboard the SS Casca, a classic
paddle-wheeler ; chugging  and
puffing our way upstream from Dawson City to
Whitehorse. There we boarded the narrow-gauge
White
Pass & Yukon
Railway
for a day trip, detraining on a wooden platform at
historic Skagway. Fortunately, for tourists who
sail north from Vancouver and points south during
the Alaska cruise season, the railway is still
operating. While it doesn't go all the way to
Whitehorse, the tracks have been restored along
lake Bennett to Carcross, Yukon, a short drive from
Whitehorse.
They call it "The Railway built of Gold" and it is
now the longest-operating narrow-gauge railroad in
North America. It is really a journey into history,
as the train follows the same Klondike Trail that
broke the hearts of many, and lifted the spirits of
others, who made that famous climb through the
White Pass in 1898. For more on riverboats,
including the Steamer Keno (above) which I worked
on for two glorious summers, see
Klondike
Memories.
By the way, those sacks on the barge in the
foreground are coal from the mines at Carmacks,
Yukon, near the Five Finger Rapids.
More Canadiana: Divers hunt forCaptain Vancouver's
anchor
 In
1792, the explorer lost three anchors while
exploring the Pacific Coast. When divers recover a
huge ancient anchor Friday from the waters off
Tacoma, Wa, they hope to answer a question that has
plagued maritime historians for years: Is this one
of the anchors Captain George Vancouver lost more
than 200 years ago during his exploration of the
Pacific Northwest? Story to come.
 Edmonton's
Grant MacConachie,
Founder of Canadian Pacific Airlines, Grant dreamed
of an air bridge to the Orient and across the pole.
Plus others, in our Icons of Aviation series. (item
appeared in our Apec edition - to come).
Mr.
Alaska:
Book Reviews include a biography of the most
dedicated tourism pioneer in America's North
Country, Mr. Alaska, Charlie West.
More Icons
of Aviation:
"There she stands, the sleek, silver Avro CF-100,
pride of the Royal Canadian Air Force in my day ...
sassy as ever, her metallic body gleaming in the
sunshine of another spring. When we first met at
Trenton Air Force Base in Southern Ontario, she was
Canada's debutante, a grand new star in the theater
of the sky. (Canadian
Museum of
Flight
)
Mining's
Early Days:
"On
the Sea-to-Sky Highway from Vancouver to
Whistler-Blackcomb, North America's top ski
destination resort, there are many unique tourist
attractions. One that stands out in my mind, is the
museum at Britannia Beach- a salute to British
Columbia's Mining industry and those who made their
living underground." See
BC Museum of
Mining
story.
 Famous
Doors of
Hospitality:
"British Columbia and the Yukon are dotted with
famous hotels, inns, lodges and resorts - a few
having existed since Gold Rush Days, others but
faded memories. Some remain as attractive and
popular as ever, keeping up with the times, such as
the palatial Banff Springs, and the elegant Empress
Hotel in Victoria. Harrison Hot Springs Resort also
'springs to mind'- a legend of CPR's glory days,
when movie stars to royalty rode the train, staying
at hotels and resorts at or near the main line.
See
Canada's Hotels
Doing a round of
business meetings in Vancouver,
Langley, Victoria and Seattle? You can cover all
cities in a single day and return refreshed for
your next day's activities. Travel time Seattle to
Victoria is 34 minutes, and Vancouver travelers can
reach downtown Seattle in 70 minutes, with a brief
stop in Victoria. Helijet Airways has two busy
heliports in Vancouver; the new international
airport location and the downtown harbour location
next to Vancouver's Canada Place, Convention
Centre, Waterfront SkyTrain-Seabus-West Coast Rail
Terminal and Cruise Ship Terminal. (604) 273-4688,
fax (604) 273-5301.
Helijet: Airline
of the Future.
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