North through British Columbia - Alaska and Points North: Tips and Tales from the Road - page 61

Whitehorse, YT
Todaywetraveled459km/287minorthwestontheAlaskaHwytoWhitehorseintheYukon
Territories. Between our two cameras we have only two photos. The only wildlife we saw
over the whole day were two rabbits and the entry in my journal that day reads:
“ Long boring day. Not looking forward to having to retrace this route .”
Thatspecificstretchofroadisobviouslyaboringbitbutdon'tletthatputyouofftheYukon.
Otherwise, the scenery is stunning and the city of Whitehorse is very appealing. Situated on
a bend in the Yukon River, this territorial capital is home to 23,000 of the Yukon's 32,000
residents. It's a pretty town with some interesting shops like the one below:
I first traveled to Whitehorse ten years ago to present at a conference for public health
nurses. They invited me to join them for a potluck dinner party. That evening, one after an-
other they told me their stories of coming north for the money but staying for the lifestyle.
They'd graduated nursing school with big balances on their student loans. The government
offered loan forgiveness and salary subsidies for health professionals willing to relocate to
remote and rural locations. Thus the migration north. But through the years they'd all found