11.03. - Haýnes çatrygy, onukon

Before our trip to Haines Junction, Kim took us to Miles Canyon. Miles Canyon is a (comparatively) small canyon in the immediate vicinity of Whitehorse. Here we hiked for 2 hours and enjoyed the nature at about -23°C.

By 2:00 PM, we were back home and wanted to grab something to eat as breakfast was a bit sparse. Unfortunately, that didn't happen because our host father Ryan and his children Margaret and Benji arrived at 2:10 PM to pick us up. Well, then no food for us. We got into the car, grabbed some supplies (horse feed and groceries) and then headed to Haines Junction. It's just a stone's throw away from Whitehorse, about 150 km and approximately 2 hours drive. Margaret (10) and Benji (7) turned out to be very lively and spirited children during the drive. When we arrived, we had a quick chore of feeding the dogs and shoveling horse manure, and then became the new playmates of the kids (building snow caves, igloos, and booby traps). Dinner was served around 7:00 PM, followed by a round of Uno, and then the kids went to bed. On our very first day, we were lucky to see a moose. And yes, in the picture above, that's a moose!!! They come to the horse paddock to eat their hay. The guard dog, Duke, doesn't take his job very seriously here. I then got closer to the moose with Ryan and we stood about 20 meters away. Unfortunately, it was already too dark to take photos. The moose didn't mind at all, Duke barked once briefly and then hid behind host father Ryan. Nancy, the female dog who is not really a guard dog, did a better job, but it also didn't bother the moose much.
All in all, a successful first day here. Let's see what else is to come.