Tag Archives: mammals

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Carcross & Wildlife Preserve

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August 8, 2025 – Historic Carcross and Yukon Wildlife Preserve, Yukon

2025 Yukon & Northwest Territories

We have breakfast in Ricky’s at the hotel, take our bags to the lobby for loading on the bus and depart Quality Inn heading south on the Alaska Highway. We stop at beautiful Emerald Lake and arrive in historic Carcross on Bennett Lake mid-morning. We have over an hour on our own to explore this interesting historic town, where the gold rush miners arrived after having built their own boats to cross Bennett Lake on their way to Dawson City (hundreds of miles further overland).

We stop at the Carcross Desert, which is the smallest desert in the world, and what remains of a glacial lake. A few of our group hike to the top of the dunes before we hit the road again, heading north to our lunch stop at Bean North’s cafe.

Carcross
Carcross
15 photos

The Yukon Wildlife Preserve in the Macpherson-Grizzly Valley not far from Whitehorse is our final stop of the day. This experience gives our group a unique opportunity to see Yukon’s wildlife, which is otherwise hard to spot in the wild. This preserve is owned by the Yukon government and is operated by a non-profit, who’s dedicated staff who are very mindful of the wild animals’ needs. It is 283 hectares (700 acres) in size, so the animals have lots of space to roam, graze, hide, and interact with each other without humans being in the way. I’m not a fan of zoos or game farms, however this preserve gives visitors a wonderful experience – JoeTourist recommended!

Locations of the wildlife in the Yukon Wildlife Preserve

Our group split into two: those who want to walk the access roads on foot, and those of us who prefer a narrated Group Tour on our bus, but with stops along the way. We have almost two hours here, which allows us to not be rushed.

List of wildlife I observe and photograph:

  • Mule deer
  • Elk herd
  • Moose in the distance
  • Thin-horned sheep
  • Musk ox
  • Arctic ground squirrel
  • Elk males
  • Thin-horned sheep
  • Woodland Caribou
  • Billy goats on the ridge
  • Moose
  • Bison
Yukon Wildlife Preserve
Yukon Wildlife Preserve
9 photos
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Whitehorse

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July 30, 2025 – Local sights in Whitehorse

2025 Yukon & Northwest Territories

Our group have the included breakfast at the hotel before our tour director walks us over to the MacBride Museum, which is only a short distance away. There are the usual stuffed animals and birds, but I find the transportation history and artifacts of the Yukon fascinating, since it includes early sleds, horse-drawn and rail wagons, snowmobiles and more. I discover an old Peerless Magnarc movie projector, which unfortunately our museum guide doesn’t talk about. There is an authentic Miner’s tent showing all the supplies the miners had to haul with them into the gold mining areas. The Telegraph office is the oldest building still standing in Whitehorse, and includes original telegraph and telephone equipment, as well as a 1970s radio station.

The Telegraph Office

Our bus shows up outside the museum to take us on a locally guided tour of Whitehorse. First stop is the SS Klondike sternwheeler, which is currently being restored by Parks Canada. We learn about the critical role these boats played in moving freight in the summer months between Whitehorse, Dawson City, and other mining towns. We visit a Hydro dam and fish ladder on the Yukon River, and spot a black bear cub as it crosses the road and climbs up the nearby hill. Our final stop before returning to the hotel is Miles Canyon on the Yukon River, where there is a pedestrian bridge to cross the river. It’s hard to believe the sternwheelers made it through this narrow passage lined with basalt columns! (see banner image above)

The Klondike paddlewheeler - under repair

After we return to Whitehorse, I have a late lunch at the Java Connection (TripAdvisor) since it is near the hotel. The chicken and pesto sourdough panini is very tasty, and I have a cappuccino before returning to the hotel. Late this afternoon, we visit the Beringia Centre, which features skulls and dioramas of Ice Age animals, and stories and artifacts of First peoples in the area. Our guide talks about the Blue Fish Caves (pdf) where many of these artifacts were found, and Dry Tundra grasslands, which were prevalent in the Yukon during the Ice Age, and where many of the animals on display lived.

Diorama: Giant Short-faced Bear defending a kill from wolves

I have a nice halibut and fish dinner at the nearby Klondike Rib & Salmon after we return to the city before walking along the Yukon River waterfront. There is a Trolley rail line operating along a section of the tracks, but the railway shed with the historic engine is closed. Despite it being late evening, there is lots of light since the Sun doesn’t set for several hours yet. When I return to the hotel, I make use of the blackout curtains to ensure I get to sleep.

Train shed and rail detris on the Yukon river shoreline
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Tamarindo Estuary

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2009 Southern Skies Fiesta & Tamarindo Coast

March 3, 2009 – Tuesday – Tamarindo Estuary, Costa Rica (day 3)

My friends and I are up at 6am in order to be picked up at 7am for a taxi ride to the Hotel Bula Bula, the starting point for our two hour motorboat trip up the estuary. Since we’re up so early, we have time to quickly go down the beach in search of turtle tracks. We find no new tracks but some turtle egg remnants are around a former nest, and there is a Frigate bird soaring over the beach. We return in time to take the taxi to our launch point for the boat trip. We have time for a very nice breakfast in The Great Waltini’s restaurant (now closed), where they have a tame parrot who entertains everyone with his antics.

Crocodile in the water

After breakfast we board the little 8-seater boat and wind our way through the narrow channels of Estero Tamarindo, a national wildlife refuge. Since we depart at 8am, the temperature is pleasantly cool. We see lots of birds, a group of Howler monkeys, and a couple of crocodiles. We return to our launch point by 10am and our taxi is waiting to take us back to the hotel. Cost of the boat trip is US$25 each, plus US$10 each way for the taxi – breakfast extra of course.

My friends join me on my balcony and bring some cold coffee to sip while we watch the action at the pool. After they leave, I take my iPhone and earphones down to a hammock and spend an hour listening to music before wandering up to the restaurant for lunch – a beer and a quesadilla. What a life! We meet Wilson, the owner of the hotel, who is a real character with lots of stories to tell.

I return to my room to download the latest photos from my cameras to have a look at the results from today’s excursion to the estuary, and I also check my email from home. I am really enjoying having my notebook computer with me while I travel. It gives me something familiar to do, helps me to stay in touch with home, and I can process the travel photos I’ve taken. Of course, on this particular trip I’ve also used it to process my astrophotos, so I can see if I’ve had some success the previous night.

I do some laundry in the bathroom and hang them over the rail to dry in the hot afternoon sun and strong winds – they are dry in an hour! After tramping around in the muck to see the Howler Monkeys this morning, I decide to also wash off my running shoes, and put them out on the balcony to dry overnight.

A crowd of people gather on the beach to watch the spectacular sunsets each evening. As with elsewhere in the tropics, the sun sets in about twenty minutes…by 6:15pm it’s all over. I’ve taken some good photos of the sunsets over the last few days. Getting some subject matter in the foreground is always a challenge, but the colours are spectacular.