North through British Columbia - Alaska and Points North: Tips and Tales from the Road - page 62

love - not just with northern men but with a lifestyle that is community oriented and takes
full advantage of the winter climate.
Outdoors-oriented it may be but it's also an artsy community with more galleries and craft
outlets per block than I've seen anywhere. It's all exceedingly original and high quality. I
was to notice this in other, often remote communities in the north - the exceptionally high
quality of the arts and crafts. Those 20+ hour winter days and nights appear to give artists
the time they need to perfect their craft.
If you are shopping, look for the “Created in the Yukon” icon to ensure you're buying a
genuine work of art created/inspired in the north.
Wewill bereturning back throughWhitehorse again sowill spendmore time exploring the
city then. For tonight, we are holed up in the Hi-Country RV Park on the hill overlooking
the city.
Provincial/national/city campgrounds are where we usually stay because the campgrounds
are more wilderness-oriented, the sites spaced further apart. Commercial RV parks offer
amenities like hot showers and laundry but one tends to be parked cheek-by-jowl.
But after a week of park sites it is time to have a really LONG hot shower, clean up the
van, do laundry, check the email and re-stock the larder. This RV park is an exceptionally
pleasant place and at $24per night a fair price forsure as facilities are spotless and the rates
in the laundry are reasonable.
On the way back through we discover that even the $24 is unnecessarily expensive. The
same campground has unserviced sites for $15 per night. These “tent” sites are actually
spaced muchfurtherapart -moreprivate. Ourvanhasadouble-battery system that iseasily
good for 3-4 days without driving or re-charging. There is no need to pay for an electrical
hook-up we don't need. We live and learn.
On this visit to the Hi-Country RV Park we are assigned a spot in the central corral where
lots of other small rigs are backed in. We pass an enjoyable evening with other road trip-
pers who travel in similar sized campervans and truck campers. They tell us that May/June
is the best time, weather-wise, for Alaska and they are now pointed south. Did not know
that.