Yukon Ho
It’s been a few years since the whole Peters clan was able to come up to the Yukon together to visit the Harms side of the family, and this time we had a few Kehlers who came up as well.
Day 1
We had gotten in around midnight, carrying a ridiculous total of 12 checked bags. It looked like we were moving all our worldly possesions up here but instead, the real and almost more ridiculous reason being, that we were transporting 75 pounds on honey, 15 pounds of coffee and then an eclectic mix of various other items for our Northern cousins. Dad could only shake his head.
The next morning everyone, all 27 of us, invaded the Takini hot springs pool. The number of cousins has increased since the last gathering, and there are still more en route. More and more family members slowly trickled in and we splashed around a lot before heading back to the farm for lunch. We spent the rest of the day shooting guns and riding horses. Rachael and I rode bare back down to the river, though Denali was very obstinate about going in the water, but on the way back I managed to ride side-saddle for a bit which is made trickier by not actually having a saddle.
Day 2
We introduced Günter the T-Rex to the little cousins to a mixed reception. Levi was very concerned, Ronin cried, but Finn decided to fight him. More horseback riding and I was trying to get Denali to canter for me, with no avail. The boys went quadding with Kevin and Dale and Dad was occupied with hand carving a spoon. A toy I brought up here to mess around with is a little camera drone, so practicing how to fly and film with that has interspersed many of the other activities, mainly because it only has a 16 minute flight time before it needs to charge and I go do something else. The dog goes nuts over it so as long as it avoids the jaws of death I’m happy.
For the evening we went to the campsite down at Kuswa and had hot dogs beside the lake and played a few rounds of ‘George’ (hitting a small stick with a bigger stick like baseball). We were trying to take a mass family photo (imagine the difficulty of organizing a normal family photo and then include 7 children, a baby, and a dog) yet Steven managed to be the biggest upset to order. While the shutter was clicking he started stroking Russ’ beard and grinning evilly and the look of terror and uncertainty on Russ’ face will forever be treasured. The second I figured we had got a functional shot (or pieces enough that photoshop could put together the rest), Russ shot after Steven and chased him all down the beach. Steve is a smart ass, and he can continue to be one because he is also ridiculously fast. Russ learned this and eventually had to give up the chase.
We had a quiet moment later in the evening. Uncle Pete Kehler passed away last September and since the Yukon was one of his favourite places to come and hunt, Joyce had brought up some of his ashes to spread into the river. We sang a hymn beside the calm water and had a moment of reflection and memories.
Day 3
The whole troop drove up to Haynes junction to go hiking. I am not a hiker. If you ever invite me to go hiking and I seem really excited a) I am lying. If you are convinced, I am a good actor and b) I enjoy your company enough to do it anyway. I like my family so I went. Started out alright but the steeper the angle of incline the steeper the decline of fun. I made my way up, slowly and not quite surely, while most of the cousins bounded up the mountain like goats. What had started out as a clear day quickly became gray and wet and by the time we all made it to the top it reminded me a lot of my Scotland trip with mom. The view from the top lessened as the clouds moved in so we quickly made our way back down and to the cars. Of course, by the time we got down, it had cleared up and was nice and sunny again. I heard the joke “hey Jenn, wanna run back to the top again now that it’s clear?” four times. Not a very original bunch sometimes. We had a picnic by the lake and then stopped to get milkshakes on the road back home.
Day 5
Today’s adventure was a quick canoe trip down the Yukon River. We put the boats in at Whitehorse and then eddie hopped down the river. Very near the beginning, we found a replica HMS Klondike made of driftwood stuck in a tree on the water so Kevin quickly collected it and decided to take claim is as salvage rights. I rode ‘princess’ so that I was able to take photos without the paddling part interfering but as we were nearing the bridge, Hannah had to get out and head home so I took the kayak the rest of the way.
Day 6
We spent a more quiet day around the farm, gopher hunting and then went into town where I finally found Katya a birthday present- only 4 months late!
Day 7/8 Braeburn
The first wave of us set out for Braeburn in the morning. Katie’s family have a cabin on the lake and generously invite various groups to come for weekends. We continued to play the ’20 questions, guess that animal/character/person’ and somehow the answer continued to be 'platypus'. When we got there it was cold enough that the group of us instantly dropped our bags and started the fire in the sauna. I like the getting warm part of the sauna, especially of frigid days, however the jumping in the cold lake after the fact I often have issues with. Luckily for me, I have brothers and cousins to assist me should that need arise.
We had a campfire, roasting hot dogs and smores quickly so we could eat them by ourselves before the others arrived. The rest of the clan arrived until there were 23 of us in total. The evening followed with many games of Bang and not infrequent trips to the sauna. The sauna walls are etched with its visitor’s name so Chris got to add his name this trip.
Later in the evening, I was already tucked into my sleeping bag when I began hearing twittery giggling from the room below. I had a pretty good guess what that meant. I came down the stairs and by the glow of headlamps I could see the sparkly new ring on Rachael’s finger. In the morning it was easier to see the giant grin plastered on my sister’s face and she recounted how their sunset canoe proposal had gone. Personally, I’m impressed that Chris managed to maintain enough balance in a canoe to turn around, get to the middle, and get down on one knee. It was such a Canadian proposal, they were beside a beaver dam where 9 beavers, not grasping the romantic moment before them, were angrily slapping their tails at the interruption. I quickly went into photographer mode and when the rain allowed we went out and took a few shots on the lake and in the woods. It was a very quiet weekend, just squirrel hunting, sauna-ing, going for walks, water skiing, swamp monster hunting (Steven in his ghillie suit stalking the cousins) and sitting around the cabin reading.
Day 9
Our last day in the Yukon Kevin, Katie, Steven, Ryan and I took a quick quad trip up to the microwave tower. It’s an amazing view from up there, one which you appreciate even more when you’re almost thrown off. We also managed to get Kevin, dressed as Günter to ride Denali, who must be the most bomb-proof horse in existence. We had a nice lunch in Whitehorse before beginning the long slew of goodbyes as we headed to the airport.
