My Amazing Yukon Life : Recent Episodes
Daniel Halen
This podcast shares the incredible stories of Yukon people with the “outside” world. Sit back and fill your gold poke with nuggets of knowledge, as we pan through stories of desperate struggle, wild adventure, love, despair and untold fortune. Recounted by those with the tenacity, determination and grit to survive and thrive amidst the magic and mystery of Canada's Yukon.
Affectionately known by it's original name " The Reckless Raven", and quickly rebranded as "The Yukon 50 Mile Ultra & Relay, this race has just celebrated it's 9th year of blisters and bliss through the mountains, streams, trails, and backcountry through 80 kilometres of pristine Yukon wilderness.
This event was created over several conversations by some very community minded athletes who knew full well that the Whitehorse Copper Belt area and surrounding mountains would be a fantastic place to host an Ultra Race.
Since the ancient trail system, cross country ski trails and wild game trails would all naturally lend themselves to such an event, the rest should be easy...or so they thought.
The only problem was, when, how, who? Having never creating a running event of this magnitude before, the race coordinators pondered over the details of organizing a wilderness race that truly is a "wilderness experience race" unlike anything else of it's kind in Canada.
For more information about the Yukon 50 Mile Ultra & Relay, visit their website at https://raven.runforlife.ca/ and show them some love.
To listen to the full M.A.Y.L. podcast show series, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
I encourage you to become a member of the My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Groupwhere our stories can come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another, recording and preserving personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen
Support the show
Support the show
As a young girl running her own dog team on a remote trap near her small village home of Fort Selkirk, Ione Christensen gleefully pioneered her adventures and experiences into a diverse skill set that would long serve her for the many career opportunities she joyfully accepted in her adult life. She subconsciously began working as a “leader” at a very formattable age, developing skills that would serve her well in her adult life tackling the highest of careers in both the Yukon and Canadian Government in Ottawa.
Ione is credited as the first woman to hold a litany of previously male dominated positions within the Yukon Government, and undoubtedly blazed a trail for many women who followed in her path of equality. As a major Canadian political figure working towards governmental policy change in Ottawa in her position as a Canadian Senator, Ione has not only seen the positive changes within Canada, but has to a large extent, been the change.
Today's podcast is the second part of a two-part series that chronicles Ione’s life as one of the most notable and admired Yukoners who to this very day receives awards and recognition everywhere she goes. She’s a delight to talk with and Ii you ask her nicely, she may even bake you an authentic sourdough biscuit to go with the tea while she tells you about some of her incredible adventures.
To listen to the full M.A.Y.L. podcast show series, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
I encourage you to become a member of the My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Groupwhere our stories can come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another, recording and preserving personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen
Support the show
Growing up in the remote settlement of Yukon's Fort Selkirk during the 1930's and 40's, Ione Christenson's life has been significantly influenced and enriched from the multitude of experiences she embraced since her arrival there as a three year old child.
As a young girl running her own dog team on a trap line west of her small village home, she quickly and joyfully embodied the spirit of a pioneering adventurer eager for experiences that would connect her to the land throughout her lifetime. She likens her treasure chest of people skills to her early years of leading her dog team through the wilds of Yukon, subconsciously working as a leader.
Not one to ever shy away from the challenge of a real days worth of hard work, Ione happily worked along side her mother and father assisting in the daily chores and tasks of maintaining a residence in this remote location, all the while learning the necessary skills to thrive as both a child and later, as a major Canadian political figure working towards governmental policy change.
Today's podcast is the first of several shows that will chronicle the journey of the young Ione Christenson, from her simple holistic beginning of living on the land during the 1930's, right up to today, as she recounts her early memories and provides a sneak peak into her involvement as a political leader tasked with making executive decisions that positively affected Canadians.
To listen to the full M.A.Y.L. podcast show series, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
I encourage you to become a member of the My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Groupwhere our stories can come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another, recording and preserving personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen
Support the show
"Bino" and Lynda Ficiur struck out from Lethbridge Alberta in the 1960's as young newlyweds to live the Klondike gold mining life of hard work and adventure in the Yukon Consolidated Gold Corporation's "Bear Creek" mining camp, located just outside of Dawson City. Lynda raised their family in camp, while Bino worked tirelessly in the goldfields. He was quickly promoted from steam point crew member, tasked with the thawing of the frozen ground in front of the dredge, to one of the four lead hands responsible for the care, maintenance, and overall operations of Dredge #11, right up to the day of its tragic demise when it sprung a leak and sank to the bottom of the pond it was creating.
We discover and discuss the beginnings and the end of the YCGC dredging operations with the people who actually ran the equipment, toiled for gold, and raised their family during these halcyon times in the Bear Creek camp.
While visiting the Dawson City area today, evidence of this mining technology can still be seen throughout the Klondike Valley region. Each dredge left behind enormous "tailings piles" of washed white quartz rock and gravel as the waste material exited the conveyor belt, while it's bucket line scoured down to bedrock extracting tens of millions of dollars worth of gold over its productive lifetime.
This extremely prosperous, yet destructive mining process that worked the creeks of the Klondike Valley was fast coming to an end due to environmental pressures, newly refined extraction methods, and overall lack of staked claims to expand operations, thus, putting an end to these incredible machines just prior to the winter freeze up of 1966.
To listen to the full M.A.Y.L. podcast show series, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
I encourage you to become a member of the My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group where our stories can come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another, recording and preserving personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen
Support the show
Support the show
In order to live life to the fullest here in the Yukon, you have to get outside of your comfort zone and experience this place and all of its beauty, danger, and grandiose magnitude up close and personal while embracing both the journey and the destination. As they say, " if you're not living on the edge, then you're taking up too much space".
The range of adventures and experiences awaiting you in the Yukon are unlike anything else in the world, and if you choose to live here, then you owe it to yourself to test your mettle on the rivers, mountains, glaciers, and snow pack, living life to the max as it was meant to be lived.
Today's guest, adventurer Angie Sabo, lives her life in this manner and has recently tackled Canada's 5th tallest peak, Mount Steele, with an elevation 5067 metres. Mount Steele, located in the St. Elias Mountain Range of the Yukon Territory, has long been one of the "bucket list" mountains for adventures from around the world and has been on Sabo's radar for many years.
Join us today as we learn about Angie's training, preparation, support network, and overall excitement for adventure as she reflects upon and her Mount Steele ascent along side her son Ray Sabo, as they climb into the wilds of the St. Elias Mountain range to tackle this ominous peak.
To listen to the full M.A.Y.L. podcast show series, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
I encourage you to become a member of the My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group where our stories can come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another, recording and preserving personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen
Support the show
Support the show
The need for an efficient mode of mass transit in the Yukon was answered by the all mighty tour bus, bringing not only people, but valuable supplies up the 1387 miles of Alaska Highway starting from Mile Zero in Dawson Creek BC to Delta Junction Alaska. This once infrequently driven highway, is considered by many as a bucket list adventure, and the rubber tire traffic of tourism still abounds during the summer and quite often winter months with people wishing to experience the extremes of endless daylight in the summer, and the Aurora Borealis during the darkness of winter.
Today's guest, Petra Hankinson, has been driving this special highway and many more since she was old enough to get her feet onto the pedals and just tall enough to peak over the dashboard. Having a driver's license back in the day was of little concern to her when she first arrived to the Yukon back in the 60's, and ironically enough, she's now a driving instructor teaching those wishing to pursue driving a bus/commercial transport vehicle as a career. From no license, to fully certified, experienced and equipped to teach you how to roll a 50 ft vehicle through the twists and turns of a city or any number of far off destinations. Oh how life seems to have come around full circle.
Join us on "Tales from the Yukon Tour Bus" as we learn about Petra's early times as a homesteader living well off the grid for many years and learning how to survive and thrive in a land that can teach you lessons on a daily basis. Her humorous wit is sure to have you laughing and shaking your head in disbelief as she drives us down memory lane through the often times bumpy road of growing up in the Yukon during the good old days.
To listen to the full M.A.Y.L. podcast show series, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
I encourage you to become a member of the My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Groupwhere our stories can come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another, recording and preserving personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen
Support the show
Living in the wilds of Canada's Yukon Territory, Norm Winther has carved his life out of some of the most rugged and demanding parts of the territory, while living each and every day as an authentic trapper. With this diverse lifestyle comes the development of skills that are ever changing and as vast as the landscape that surrounds him.
The urgency of the moment to live in this frozen environment, has tested Norm's mettle time and time again, as he clawed his way from the icy waters on the brink of death, to the high likelihood of starvation, being delayed in the bush by extreme weather for many weeks on end.
The measurement of a person's determination, grit and tenacity, can only be tested under the extreme conditions of a - 50 Yukon winter, and this Winther has proven he is as determined as they come.
Join me in "The Last Trapper's" cabin on Jackfish Lake as we discuss but a few of Norm's adventures and how a random job as a mechanic along side a Nicholas Vanier documentary years prior led Norm Winter to star as himself, on Vanier's future movie, "The Last Trapper"
Click here to watch The Last Trapper on IMDp https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0395514/
To listen to the full M.A.Y.L. podcast show series, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
I encourage you to become a member of the My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group where our stories can come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another, recording and preserving personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen
Support the Show.
Support the show
Artist Jim Robb has been a staple of the Yukon's art scene since the mid 1950's and is best know for his "Colourful Five Percent" books which are available in local Yukon bookstores and galleries. His works capture the quality and uniqueness of the many varied and colourful character and places that many would argue, have made the Yukon a little more colourful than anywhere else in the north.
https://yukonart.ca/collections/jim-robb
https://yukonart.ca/products/colourful-five-percent-book-volume-1
Jim's earliest artwork was primarily done on raw moose hide. The hide would be stretched into all kinds of different shapes, most often by Annie and Harry Silverfox along with their son Billy, and drawn in pastel and charcoal. Harry's knowledge and friendship led Jim to become the first person to use the insides of snowshoes as frames.
Dawson City, the summer of ‘61, saw Jim beginning to use pen, ink, watercolour and photography as his mediums of choice as he continued his artistic development. In 1971 he started writing & illustrating a column, "The Colourful Five Percent", for the Whitehorse Star, which primarily dealt with the life of historical buildings and 'Yukon characters'.
Over the years Jim has had 3 books published, and yes, 'they are read in all the better cabins'. They are comprised of short stories, photographs and drawings mostly about interesting and colourful Yukon personalities, the 'Colourful Percent'. The first volume has been reprinted and is available here. https://yukonart.ca/products/colourful-five-percent-book-volume-1
In 1975, well known anthropologist Julie Cruickshank, with Jim's participation, put out a book on the Yukon's First Nation peoples. In recognition of Jim Robb's magnificent contribution of gathering and preserving Yukon history he was awarded Canada's highest honor "The Order of Canada" in 2003.
Jim Robb and the Colourful Five Percent- Video by Mike Rudyk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXz06y8DKMM
To listen to the full M.A.Y.L. podcast show series, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.comwhere you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
I encourage you to become a member of the My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group where our stories can come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another, recording and preserving personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen
Support the show
Support the show
At the top of the world in the Yukon and Alaska wilderness of northwestern North America, the Yukon Quest 1,000 Mile International Sled Dog Race, an epic winter sports event takes place every year on the first Saturday of February.
One might ask, how many tries does it take to win the Yukon Quest Dog Sled Race? Much of the answer lies in your own personal conviction and dedication to the sport, along with your ability to build an incredible connection with your dogs and support team. Years of dedication are needed if a musher hopes to even complete, much less win, and that's certainly the case for Veteran Yukon Musher Frank Turner.
As written in the February 23rd 1995 edition of the Whitehorse Star, "It took him 12 tries to do it, but at 4:40 this morning Alaska time, Frank Turner finally won his first Yukon Quest. He did it in record fashion. No other winner has ever turned in the 10-day, 16-hour, 18 minute performance that the 47-year-old Whitehorse resident did".
Turner's record setting time stood for the next dozen years, just recently broken by the late dog musher Lance Mackie, who crossed the finish line nearly six hours faster than anyone else in history. To Turner's legacy, he was also entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as "the musher with the most times to take part in the annual Yukon Quest sled dog race is 23 by Frank Turner (Canada) between 1984 and 2008", a record that has yet to be broken.
To listen to the full podcast show, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.comwhere you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our personal stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
The Yukon Quest Dog Sled Race of 2023 is currently underway and heading north from Whitehorse to Dawson City, Yukon. Under the watchful eyes of a bevy of volunteers, race officials, and dog handlers, this 450 mile race traverses some of the most picturesque and harsh environments in Northern Canada.
Hearty groups of eager dogs, mushers, handlers, and volunteer support groups along the way, make this one of the premier wilderness contests in the Yukon, and has long standing tradition of bringing communities and people together. This year, the weather has been delightful for all participants, and the teams are quickly advancing towards the finish line in Dawson City.
In this podcast, I spoke with Gaby Sgaga, who is based out of West Dawson, and has been one of the many Quest volunteers operating the Dawson City checkpoint/Finish Line. Between her involvement with the Yukon Quest, the Dawson City Humane Society, her own dog team, and a plethora of other Yukonesque activities, I was lucky enough to have her sit down for a few brief moments and bring us up to speed on the current race details.
To listen to the full podcast show, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.comwhere you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our personal stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
June 21st remains a significant day for a great many people in Canada as the long daylight of the Summer Solstice transits into its next seasonal phase. A sense of time, mortality, humility and gratitude, often accompanies this pivotal day, especially for the people living in Canada's North. June 21st also marks National Indigenous Peoples Day since 1996. It's a special occasion and opportunity to learn more about the rich and diverse cultures, voices, experiences and histories of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples as they celebrating their heritage.
On this celebrated day of June 21st, 2022, the Tr'ondek Hwech's First Nation received a gift from their ancestral lands with the unearthing of a baby woolly mammoth at a remote Klondike Placer mine site under the astute eye of an excavator operator. The operator, Travis" couldn't believe what he had unearthed, and to this day is overwhelmed with emotion when speaking about it.
During the next several hours, Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin First Nations Elders, a plethora of scientists, and the entire mine site crew and owners stood by in awe and wonderment. The sky's literally opened up with rain, wind, lighting and thunder as Nun cho ga came back into the world with all the energy of the natural world by her side.
Nun ch ga, "big animal baby", in the traditional Han language, made her entry back into the world after being mummified in an icy layer of Steppe sediment estimated to be 35000 years old. She's been nearly perfectly mummified in the frozen Klondike Gold Fields and has retained her soft tissue, hair, toenails and internal organs, offering evidence of the ancient flora that sustained her during her brief life.
For now, Nun cho ga will remain where she is, on the traditional territory of the Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin, as scientists and the First Nations people continue to work cooperatively, balancing the cultural significance of her place in the Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin community, and the scientific community.
To listen to the full podcast show, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.comwhere you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our personal stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Like so many other who came up to the Yukon for just two weeks, Hank Karr quickly realized that Whitehorse Yukon would be the place he would lay down his roots and "stay a while". That decision came quickly, when he first travelled from Ketichcan Alaska to Whitehorse Yukon in the mid 1960's to play his guitar and sing on the stage at the local Whitehorse Inn. Sixty plus years later, he's still doing what he loves to do. Singing, writing music, and performing on one of his many guitars more than a half century later. Hank Karr has long become a staple of the Yukon music scene and is adorned be countless people locally and internationally.
Karr pays tribute to his predecessor Al Oster, who was also enamoured with the magic of the Northern landscape, the lives of the common people he surrounded himself with, and the rich history and character of the Yukon. This quickly became a palate of themes and stories ripe for the picking. Both Oster and Karr were prolific melody writers and accomplished wordsmiths who could weave characters into a song within minutes.
Oster went on to recorded Karr's first album in the 1960s, and the two of them would perform together in the Canadian Pavilion during Expo 67 in Montreal. CBC recorded the Expo 67 performances and later put them on an LP called The Yukon Stars.
Karr remained a fan of Oster's writing long after he moved "outside" of the Yukon, and Karr continued to perform several of Oster's songs during his concerts, and eventually, recorded much of his material over the years, presenting it as only Hank Karr could. With a Baritone/Base voice, and a performance stature that rivals any professional musician around the world, Karr was a natural from the moment he picked up his chosen instrument.
To purchase one of Karr's CDs, DVDs, or Books, please visit the local Maximilians Goldfish Emporium on Main Street Whitehorse or Dawson City. https://www.maximilians.ca/ Orders can also be placed online of through most digital music download sites. Simply search Hank Karr on Google and you'll find many options available.
To listen to the full podcast show, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.comwhere you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our personal stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
The world was abuzz with the discovery of gold in the Klondike on August 16th 1896.
Hoards of prospectors, entrepreneurs, adventure seekers and a wide variety of "entertainers" rallied for their stake in what was to be one of the last great gold rushes of the century.
For those entertainers who were unable to make this great adventure to Dawson City, a new medium of entertainment would relay their talents through what was then termed "moving pictures technology". With the discovery of a treasure trove of ancient films literally frozen in time on a construction site within Dawson City itself, came the last remaining artifacts of an era captured in time.
Michael Gates was curator of the Dawson City Museum beginning in the mid 1980's and was immediately on the scene like a forensic detective searching for historic clues to an era. Along with his assistant at the time, Kathy ( now Gates ), the two of them worked for years piecing together the evidence of the incredibly vibrant social life Dawsonites enjoyed.
Michaels new book, Hollywood in the Klondike, reflects not only on the entertainment in Dawson City during the Gold Rush era, but the variety and magnitude of entertainers featured throughout the world. Actors, actresses, live footage of the gold mining activities in the Klondike and the affect that film was having throughout the far reaches of the planet is summarized in Gate's newest works.
Hollywood did indeed come north to the Klondike, and this historical reflection is a must read for those with an interest to learn more about what has become one of the most influential technologies of our time.
JANUARY, 1950: SKYMASTER FLIGHT #2469 DISAPPEARS OVER THE YUKON. IT’S NEVER BEEN FOUND. VIEWERS JOIN THE SEARCH WHEN SKYMASTER DOWN PREMIERES ON documentary CHANNEL SUNDAY JANUARY 16, 9 p. m. ET/PT
Documentary filmmaker Andrew Gregg has made many films in Canada’s North often examining some of its great secrets. But there is one very puzzling story that has eluded him for years-- what happened to the US military Skymaster plane that disappeared over the Yukon more than seventy years ago? No trace of the plane or its 44 passengers has ever been found. Their families are still waiting for an answer. Gregg examines this fascinating aviation mystery in his latest film SKYMASTER DOWN which premieres on documentary Channel on Sunday, January 16 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Over 500 planes are known to have crashed in the Yukon but the Skymaster is one of only a few that’s never been recovered. It was on a routine flight from Anchorage, Alaska to Great Falls, Montana. Nothing should have gone wrong. For a few weeks after the disappearance US Air Force planes searched but soon gave up. The US military has since shown little interest in finding the plane. That has certainly hasn’t pleased the passengers’ relatives.
In SKYMASTER DOWN viewers will meet those relatives still awaiting news all these decades later. Among them is Judy Jackson whose mother was pregnant with her when her father Clarence Gibson took that flight. Jackson even went to the Yukon to see the vast landscape where her father vanished. “I walked out there one morning by myself,” Jackson told Gregg, “looked around all those mountains and I thought, ‘Oh Daddy, what happened to you?’ To just have something to bury beside my mother—that’s what I would like to have for her.”
Especially poignant is the case of Robert Espe---his pregnant wife Joyce was the only woman on board, travelling south with their toddler son. Espie spent the remainder of his life trying to find his wife and child.
NOTE: Subsequent broadcasts on documentary Channel are at (at ET) midnight and 3 a.m. on the night of January 16. On Tuesday, January 18 at 9 a.m., 2 p.m., 7 p.m.; Sunday, January 23 at 8 a.m., 1 p.m. 6 p.m.; Friday, January 28 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
To listen to the full podcast show, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode here on Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our personal stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
#023 – “A Yukon Game Warden’s Stories” by George Balmer
Retired Yukon Game Warden, George Balmer, humorously recounts more than 40 years of incredible outdoor adventures during his patrols to some of the territories most stunningly beautiful places. Reflecting upon his chance meetings with wonderfully unique people along the way and the occasional “day gone sideways” mishap, George’s newly published book, A Yukon Game Warden’s Stories is soon to be a Yukon “must read classic”.
As a consummate “bushman”, George has flown, skied, snowshoed, hiked, boated, cycled, quadded, and literally crawled his way through some of the most remote parts of the Yukon Territory while patrolling thousands of kilometers of land as a Yukon Game Warden. Realizing very early in his career that the stories being shared with him from the incredible Yukon people he met day to day were so unique, that George began taking pictures of both the people, and the places he was visiting.
It was during the COVID 19 pandemic that George began chronicling his memoirs based on the slides and notes he had taken over his career. Born of a world wide pandemic outbreak, "A Yukon Game Warden’s Stories" provides readers with a historical, humorous, and wonderfully reflective 228 page journey through the 1970’s & 80’s halcyon days of the Faro, Ross River, Haines Junction, Dawson City, Teslin and Whitehorse area. The overwhelming theme of the book pays tribute to the people living traditional and non-traditional lives amongst the hustle and bustle of the Yukon’s second mining boom.
To purchase your copy directly from George, you can email him at ayukongamewardensstories@gmail.com and he’ll send a copy your way. You’ll also find a list of additional sources to purchase your copy at MyAmazingYukonLife.com
Episode 23 – A Yukon Game Warden’s Stories with George Balmer.
To listen to the full podcast show, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our personal stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
022 – How do you cross country ski your way from the wilds of the Yukon to the PyeongChang Olympics?
Olympic Competitor Dahria Beatty, reflects upon her passion for cross country skiing, and the winding journey her professional career has taken her on.
To listen to the full podcast show, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our personal stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
021 Balto & Togo - a musical history lesson from the 1925 Diphtheria anti-toxin to the Covid 19 vaccine
In late 1925, Diphtheria broke out in the remote town of Nome Alaska, and so began "The Great Race of Mercy". 20 dog mushers and 200 dogs swiftly mobilized their teams to bring the much needed anti-toxin to the ailing group of 1430 townspeople separated from any means of contact and resources as they fought to stave of eminent death.
Winter had its icy grip on Nome Alaska and the only means of transportation was by dog team since the steam ship ports were iced in and the airplanes that serviced Nome were unable to fly in the severe cold of 1925. The 928 miles of the Iditarod Trail was the only accessible route to deliver the Diphtheria anti-toxin to the people of Nome, and it was throughout the commitment and determination of the dog mushing community with their rugged four legged crew, that the fate of the entire community of Nome was forever changed.
Fast forward nearly 100 years. In February through April 2021, I was fortunate to work along side a group of equally dedicated individuals who's mandate was to to deliver the Covid 19 Moderna vaccine to every Yukon community in much the same manner as the 1925 "Great Race of Mercy", although the dog sleds were not necessary this time. The two mobile Covid 19 vaccine teams, affectionately named Balto and Togo, were deployed from Whitehorse by road and by air to service all of the outlying Yukon communities and also the Northern town of Atlin BC.
..............More details at My Amazing Yukon Life.com ...........................................
During a long bus ride back from Watson Lake, I started to think about the history of the Yukon once again and also about our Alaskan neighbours to the west since we did indeed adopt their Balto name for our team. By the time we arrived back in Whitehorse I had a good idea of what the chorus of my song would sound like and how I could establish a time, place and "feeling" within the first verse of the song and how the tempo, rhythm, and overall vibe would reflect the determination and cadence of a group of people/dogs working towards delivering a serum during these trying times.
The Balto & Togo song is available as a free downloadable mp3 on the My Amazing Yukon Life website and I'd be thrilled if you'd send it to your friends and favourite radio station in your area, so we can share our Yukon experience and with the rest of the world .
To listen to the full podcast show, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our personal stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen
020 - Memoirs of a 10 year old Donna Clayson. Moving from Dawson Creek to Haines Junction in the mid 60s
Travel in the Yukon in the 21st century is literally a breeze compared to the earlier modes of transportation. Waterways, wagon roads, horse trails, and traditional foot roots all paved the way towards the comforts we enjoy today, and eventually train routes, roads and air travel developed over the years making our lives much easier in the North .
Anyone who's left the familiarity of their home town and travelled a thousand miles of dusty Alaska Highway in the 1960's would certainly have some distinct memories from this experience. Back in these days, keeping a personal diary was encouraged and keeping daily notes of the scenery, flora and fauna, along with the interactions with others along the way was common place at the end of the day. It's through reflecting upon this notes after the fact that writers have years worth of interesting facts and and characters from which to draw upon for their own literary works.
Today's guest has done exactly that. As a young girl at the impressionable age of 10, her mother whisked her away from the familiarity of her home in Dawson Creek and drove north on the newly constructed Alaska highway to the tiny community of Haines Junction, Yukon. It was durning this arduous 1500 km journey that Donna Clayson began to realize that the place she was fighting so hard to not accept as her new home, completely enamoured her with its majestic mountains and authentic beauty.
In today's podcast, Donna reflects on her journey to the Yukon through her 10 year old eyes and the litany of emotions and thoughts journaled in one of her earliest writings.
As 19th century historian John Wade would say..."the rest is history".
To listen to the full podcast show, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our personal stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
#019 - Garbage Truck Santa - Come ride along with Yukon's one and only Wayne HendersonWayne Henderson spends the weeks leading up to Christmas making his list, checking it twice, planning his route, and scraping the ice, as he prepares his electric light garbage truck and Santa suit for what has become a Yukon winter tradition for nearly three decades now.
Yukoners delight at the opportunity of seeing "Garbage Truck Santa" cruising the streets of Whitehorse in what is undoubtedly the most flamboyant vehicle in the territory with more that 3000 light bulbs and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer on the front of his full-sized garbage truck. You can't help but smile and wave as Santa blasts his airhorn, flashes Rudolph's shiny red nose, and shout's through the P.A. system a hearty HO HO HO from the driver's seat.
Garbage Truck Santa has been featured in magazines, news articles and a full length video documentary, chronicling the humble beginnings of our well-dressed local winter celebrity who is held dear in the hearts of people far and wide.
During my call from Santa today, I asked him to recount his early years in the 1990’s when he first dawned the jovial red Santa suit while out doing his traditional garbage route pickup in Whitehorse. From what was a “one off” fun idea in its origin, to the international notoriety he enjoys today, Garbage Truck Santa reflects on his successes and struggles, and what he personally gets out of bringing smiles to the thousands of happy people he meets each year.
Our modern-day Santa clearly has a big heart. His personal conviction of simply spreading some Yule Tide joy during the darkest days of December, has now become a community supported highlight of the winter season. Garbage Truck Santa ( Wayne Henderson ) now has a network of local individual and businesses who wholeheartedly support his efforts in all regards to help him dawn his Santa suit each Christmas season, so he can continue to bring joy into our community.
To listen to the full podcast show, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our personal stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen
018 – Exploring the North with ExploreNorth.com founder, Murray Lundberg
In today’s interview with Murray Lundberg, we discuss the adventures, challenges, and changes in researching and presenting the fascinating history of the Yukon. We discuss how social media, WYSIWYG website development, PDF books and the ever changing Internet has been both a challenge and a blessing to this entrepreneurial historian, writer, photographer and presenter.
Murray was one of the first on the scene in the mid 90's recording the Yukon's rich history when websites were written in HTML code and cameras still used film and online courses were not even an option. His progressive mindset and commitment to staying abreast of technological advances continues to serve him well as he wears multiple hats when it comes to being the "jack of all trades" in the history preservation/presentation arena. From his humble and curious beginnings as both a tourist and tour bus driver, he continues to expand his wide breadth of Yukon history in real time by connecting with thousands of people each day through his Yukon History & Abandoned Places facebook group and ExploreNorth.com websites.
The growth of his social media sites has been the inspiration needed for him to re-commit to completing several books that have been " on the list " for some time. He's zealously working towards getting them out the door and into the hands of local tourists visiting Carcross as well as through Internet sales. His first book, Fractured Veins and Broken Dreams, features the Montana Mountain mining activity in the early 1900's and he's currently working on another titled "The Alaska Highway".
To listen to the full podcast show, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our personal stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen
017 – Piecing Together Yukon’s Rocky History – An Interview with Head Yukon Surficial Geologist, Jeff Bond.
In today’s interview with Jeff Bond, we discuss the adventures, challenges, and changes in the field of Surficial Geology and how recent scientific analysis techniques have aided Yukon’s mineral exploration industry.
Jeff’s lifelong learning mindset and commitment to the field of geomorphology has served him well. From his curious beginnings as a youth interested in basic rock exploration in the Okotoks area of Alberta, to the wildlands of Canada’s northernmost territory, he’s been able to take his interest in geomorphology and cleave it into a fulfilling career of adventure and exploration.
As the head Surficial Geologist for the Yukon Geological Survey, Jeff has had the opportunity to explore regions of the territory that most people will rarely be able to access. No stranger to the outdoors and the risk/rewards that go with it, Jeff has taken it upon himself to formulate many a plan that would get him into the most remote areas of the Yukon. By accessing areas by water, hiking and air travel, he’s collected years of data in vast portions of the territory that are sometimes accompanied with the occasional ice water capsize, helicopter rescue, and random wildlife encounter.
To listen to the full podcast show, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our personal stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen
016 – The passing of guitar legend Eddie Van Halen.
In today’s podcast, we jump back to the year 1984 with the rock band Van Halen. This was the time in musical history when guitar wielding, string bending, finger tapping virtuoso axeman Eddie Van Halen commanded the stage and rocked arenas around the world, not only with his incredible technique but with his stage presence and confident demeanour.
A true innovator in both technique and sound, his command of the instrument was nothing short of sheer genius. His signature guitar sound was sought after by dozens of guitar production companies in an attempt to replicate his tone by combining Fender and Gibson parts and pieces wrapped in a red, white and black stripped package. Try as they may, the sound emanating from Eddie’s guitar was 90% Van Halen and 10% instrument.
I was fortunate enough to have seen the band while living in Winnipeg during the 1984 tour and this certainly had a lasting impression on me. Primarily, Eddie’s ingenuity and creativeness not only with his style of playing but in his creativity and an instrument builder and sound crafter. The lasting impression from such an innovator certainly steered my desire to be creative with my hands. Not only as a musician but as a builder and creator of all things in life, both musical and physical when it comes to craftsmanship and experimentation. I own a debt of gratitude to Eddie and to all of my mentors during my early years who were/are creative with their hands and minds.
To listen to the full podcast show, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our personal stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen
015 – Restoring the Fokker Super Universal CF-AAM aircraft to her halcyon days.
In today’s podcast with Donna Clayson, we learn about a research project she complied discussing the dedicated team of pilots, engineers, historians and many others behind the scenes who worked diligently for 18 years restoring one of the first aircraft to serve in the Yukon. The rebirth of the Fokker Super Universal CF-AAM became a labour of love to the dedicated restoration crew who then had the pleasure of flying her to numerous airshows throughout Canada and the United States.
CF-AAM is now on display at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada in Winnipeg Manitoba where she receives the admiration of all who come to visit her. She’s a true Yukon “gold nugget” from the early years of aviation in the territory, as well as a testament to the grit, determination, passion and skill needed by the men and women who took it upon themselves to preserve and honour one of Canada’s most iconic Yukon bush planes.
To listen to the full podcast show, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our personal stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen
014 – Bhangra Dancing in the Yukon with Gurdeep Pandher
Gurdeep Pandher arrived in Whitehorse with a burning desire to share the joyous and unique style of Bhangra dance to Yukoners in every town and remote community throughout the territory. When his first 2016 Canada Day Bhangra dance video went viral overnight on the Internet, he quickly realized that through his social media presence, he could bring the joy of Bhangra dance to not only Yukoners, but to millions of people around the world.
While conducting his dance classes, Gurdeep films the uniqueness and character of each participant and incorporates their smiles, positive energy, and incredible natural settings in each of his production. His future plans to have a cross Canada “Happiness Tour” in 2021 will certainly be a welcomed celebration of Bhangra dance, as he takes his show on the road from the left to the right coast. Stay tuned for future interviews with Gurdeep, as we follow him on his next great journey spreading the joy and celebration of this unique style of dance.
To listen to the full podcast show, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our personal stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen
013 – Keeping Yukon's History Alive and Well. An interview with historian Donna Clayson.
In today’s podcast interview, we only began to scratch the surface of Donna Clayson’s lifelong passion and enthusiasm towards preserving the Yukon’s rich history. As an accomplished writer of short stories, news articles, research papers, and often times history presenter at the Yukon Transportation Museum, she undoubtedly has a natural way of drawing the listener into her adventures. She speaks of her own life experiences and recounts the lives and adventures of the old timers who influenced her. The fact that she’s lived off the grid for many years in the quintessential “log cabin in the woods”, speaks volumes about her character and embracing nature of embrace nature.
She recounts her chance meetings with some of the most colourful 5% the Yukon has ever known and how these people have influenced her commitment to preserve the history and adventuresome stories of these men and women from our community. We also discuss her role as an administrator for the Yukon History and Abandoned Places FaceBook group started by Murray Lundberg and how she continues to be involved as a researcher with an upcoming Yukon documentary film. This is only the beginning of what’s yet to come so please stay tuned for more interviews with Donna in the very near future.
To listen to the full podcast show, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our personal stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen
012 - Paragliding and Paramotoring Adventures in the Yukon – An interview with extreme outdoor adventurist Boštjan Škrlj
In today’s interview with Boštjan Škrlj, we get a bird’s eye view into the adventure sport of paragliding and paramotoring in the Yukon. Although the sport has been extremely popular throughout the world for many years, it’s relatively new to the territory and has drawn adventurists from all corners of the earth seeking to experience Yukon’s beauty from the air.
As a native of Slovenia, Boštjan was exposed to the paragliding craze in his youth with hundreds of people gliding overhead on any given day. Yet he didn’t pursue his passion for flying until arriving in Whitehorse a few years ago. Originally, he set out on a motorcycle trip around the world but was drawn to the Yukon on his way through to Alaska and through a chance meeting with paraglider instructor Trevor Mead Robins, Boštjan was quickly switching his riding boots to more comfortable landing gear for his feet.
The adventures continue as Boštjan continues to ride his BMW motorcycle to some of the most remote parts of Yukon in both the summer and winter. He’s often seen at – 40 C driving up the mountains to the ski slopes where he launches his paraglider to fly around Whitehorse in the dimly lit days around the Winter Solstice. He can also be seen out kite skiing on Yukon’s many frozen lakes pulling behind him ski polks to test both himself and his gear. He continues to test and refine his outdoor equipment since his next adventure will have him transiting the most remote parts of this northern continent by kite and ski this winter.
To listen to the full podcast show, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our personal stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen
In today’s interview with Uli Klausing, we discuss his formative years as an aspiring glider pilot in Northern Germany where he discovered his love of flying as a teenager around the Baltic Sea. The flying culture, comradery and support network of the clubs in this region have had a long-lasting effect on his flying career and has inspired him to begin his own Yukon Glider Association in the Yukon. As he nears retirement, Uli has made the time commitment and connections necessary to fulfill his desire to start the Yukon Glider Association as he shares his passion for flying without an engine.
The 100th anniversary celebration of Yukon aviation is scheduled for Sunday August 16th2020 at the Yukon transportation Museum where Uli will have his glider on display along with information regarding his proposed Yukon Glider Association. Please drop by the static show and learn more about how you can become involved in this new to Yukon initiative.
To listen to the full podcast show, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our personal stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
010 – Canada’s Northernmost Life Master Bridge Player. An interview with Chic Callas
With years of passion and commitment towards mastering the game of Duplicate Bridge, Chic Callas has recently achieved “Life Master” status through the American Contract Bridge League. Not an easy task by any measure regardless of where you happen to reside. Factor in the remoteness of living in the Yukon Territory, and the logistics related to attaining Life Master status is compounded to say the least.
Duplicate Bridge is of course a partner’s game, requiring players to participate in sanctioned events that are monitored throughout the ACBL network far afield from Canada’s north. Throw in a worldwide pandemic, travel restrictions, and the Yukon’s remote location and you have a plethora of hurdles to get over just to make it to a tournament. Plus, we haven’t even begun to talk about the difficulty of mastering the game itself yet!
It’s little wonder why many Yukon Bridge players have reached out to My Amazing Yukon Life requesting to hear the story behind the man who has clearly beaten the odds on so many levels. Not only does Chic clearly love the game of Bridge, he regularly teaches it to members of the Yukon community who equally enjoy his same passion for the game.
Perseverance + passion + pandemic = Canada’s Northernmost Life Master Bridge Player, Chic Callas.
To listen to the full podcast show, please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our personal stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier”, as we proudly deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen
009 – In today’s interview with Roger Gillies, we discuss his life-long learning philosophy of educating one’s self far beyond the confines of the four walls of the traditional classroom environment. His curiosity with technology, and the chance opportunities that arrived at his doorstep via his teaching assignment in the Yukon, created the perfect combination for both his curious and creative personalities to flourish in the Website Design space.
After many years of teaching high school band throughout N.W.T. and Yukon, Gillies found his creative niche in what was to be the very beginnings of the electronic keyboard and computer technology era. As an early adopter of technology, willing to spend countless hours researching and perfecting code, he quickly allied himself with Skills Canada Yukon as a web-design coach. This relationship lasted many years and afforded him the opportunity to travel with his students to compete throughout Canada and internationally in the World-Skills Competition.
As a retirement “side hustle," Gillies remains as active as ever with his website design business called First Contact Design, where he creates websites, streamlines businesses existing webpages, and assists in branding and search engine optimization throughout the globe for a wide variety of clients.
First on the scene long before podcasting became “a thing," Gillies hosted The Deranged Moose” podcast which quickly gained its gangly legs (pun intended) and took off on the local and international scene. I’m delighted to pick up the reigns of his Deranged Moose and to bring some memorable Yukon moments to life on the M.A.Y.L. podcast, by featuring guests and their amazing Yukon life adventures.
For the full podcast show please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier," as we deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen
008 – In today’s interview with Dr. Keith Todd, we discuss the adventures, challenges, and changes in the field of music education over the course of his 33 year career in Yukon and B.C.
His lifelong commitment to music education, along with his willingness to share his passion for music with members of the communities he’s lived in, permeates throughout our discussion. He’s clearly woven himself into the musical fabric of The Yukon and has nurtured all musicians under his tutelage to become the best performers they can be. He’s motivated and inspiring both youth ( at the highschool level ) and adults ( in the community bands ) to push the envelope on their chosen instrument and create memorable musical moments to reflect upon in their later years.
No stranger to the “side hustle” of landing jazz, funk, big band and recording sessions for other musicians, Todd will certainly be one of the first call musicians in both Nelson and Yukon in years to come. His current trajectory is to reconnect with musicians in Nelson upon his retirement, but I’m sure to see him up in the Yukon as well.
For the full podcast show please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier, as we deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
007 - In today’s interview with Gerd Mannsperger ( Owner/Operator of Alpine Aviation ), we discuss the adventures, challenges, and changes in the float plane flying business over his past 23 years working in this essential service industry in the Yukon. His keen sense of balancing his work/life relationship permeates through our discussion, as he talks about the importance of growing a business without losing connection with the people, places, and relationships that allowed Alpine Aviation to grow to where it is today. His passion for flying and maintaining his air fleet still keeps him in the left seat of his aircraft, where he enjoys the adventure and scenery of the Yukon each and every day.
Alpine Aviation float plane base is located on Beautiful Schwatka lake within walking distance from the city center of Whitehorse. It’s easily identifiable by a two-story shipping container building garnished by the beautiful yellow and red Cessna 206 float planes and the red Beaver floating at the dock. For more details and pictures from today’s podcast and information on how to book a sightseeing tour or a remote adventure drop off and pick up, please visit MyAmazingYukonLife.com.
For the full podcast show please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier, as we deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen
#006 - The Ibex Ridge hike is a somewhat easy trailhead to access "if" you have some clear directions to the starting point. YTG Placer Gold Geologist Jeff Bond gives you not only the accurate directions to the starting point of this amazing hike, but some in depth background into the geological history that shaped the Ibex and Takhini River basin.
Classified as an "intermediate/advanced" hike, the Ibex Ridge provides some incredible vistas as you ascend 6909 ft to its summit. Essentials for this hike requires a camera for those photo ops, good hiking boots, warm clothing, food and water are essentials for your day out.
For the full podcast show please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier, as we deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen
#005 - Professional highway trucker and heavy equipment owner/operator Dan Throssell, has us sitting passenger as we drive up the Yukon’s Dempster Highway at -60 in a blinding snowstorm. His stories of cautious travel fraught with mechanical ordeals and nearly zero human contact on this 700 plus miles of lonely highway will keep you on the edge of your seat. In a land intersected by only a few gravel roads and infrequent encounters with wildlife along this barren highway, Dan recounts his years of travel, delivering everything from oversized heavy equipment, to pallets of eggs to some of the most remote places in Northern Canada, far beyond the paved highways.
He refers to his adventures as “it’s just another Wednesday” with a chuckle in his voice, yet his cavalier demeanour is solidified by his stoic work ethic and years of comradery and patient mentorship from his skilled peers. No stranger to being on his own and relying on his bag of tricks to get the job done, Dan leaves us with a sense of pride for a job well done and a heartfelt appreciation for the people he’s leaned on to help him on his journey.
For the full podcast show please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier, as we deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen
004 - In this episode, we learn how to search for that rare metal element that men have toiled over for millennia, and quickly realize all that glitters is often times more than just gold. Lawrence Dublenko and his wife Connie eventually discover a placer gold bearing creek in the back country of the Mayo area, and more importantly, the treasure of camaraderie in the hearts and souls of the people who choose to live in this central Northern Yukon community.
Prospector, teacher, and industrious entrepreneur, Lawrence gives us an in depth look into his life in the Mayo area as he takes us through the process of staking, testing, gold mining, and the reclamation process as the final step in decommissioning a claim. His greatest discovery of riches comes from his crystalline appreciation of the people who have made his life rich while he proceeded to search for the elusive yellow metal buried deep in the bedrock.
For the full podcast show please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier, as we deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen
003 - World renown white water paddling expert, Yukon Sport Hall of Fame Inductee, and founder of Tatshenshini Expediting, Bob Daffe, highlights some of the wild river adventures he’s had while living ( and playing ) for more than four decades in the Yukon. His passion for white water adventure has taken him to some of the most remote parts of Canada’s north as well as epic forays into Central and South America on a quest for that perfect chute over countless waterfalls.
No stranger to hard work and adverse conditions, Bob’s grit, determination and passion for river adventure lead him to build one of Yukon’s most successful rafting/canoe and kayak businesses. From the early years of building his own fibreglass kayaks, to the new state of the art “pack rafts” of today, his vision of Yukon paddling reaches far into the future as this living legend inspires thousands of like-minded paddlers to follow in his…. “footsteps?” Paddle strokes!
For the full podcast show please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier, as we deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen
002 - The Fly Fishing Musician Don Bishop, reflects upon his career as a full time world touring musician in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Band, and in later years, a pilot in the membership's Air Division stationed out of Whitehorse, Yukon.
As a gifted musician and avid outdoorsman, Don's journey led him to the Yukon in the late 1960's only to return back up to the Land of the Midnight Sun years later to finish out his RCMP career as captain of the Twin Otter aircraft, flying to some of the most remote locations in Northern Canada.
With thousands of nautical miles under his belt and a keen eye from the sky, he's always on the lookout for that secret sneaky fishing hole to cast a line and a chance to take in the astounding Yukon scenery.
For the full podcast show please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier, as we deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen
001 - Yukon history fans unite for the premier of M.A.Y.L
In this episode, I welcome you to join me on an audio journey through the My Amazing Yukon Life Podcast. I share fragments from my own personal stories of adventure and my fascination with the local history and uniqueness of the Yukon people. Followed up with a brief preview of what's yet to come in future shows.
For the full podcast show please click on MyAmazingYukonLife.com where you’ll find each weekly podcast link along with show notes and pictures related to each of the episodes. You can also download each episode from Buzzsprout or wherever you get your podcasts from. While you’re there, hit the subscribe button and leave me a comment on what you’d like to hear next on the show.
You’re also invited you to help me build the knowledge base for future shows by becoming a member of My Amazing Yukon Life Facebook Group. This is where our stories come together as we build upon the collective memories of one another to record and preserve personal stories of the Yukon's rich history and colourful life adventures.
I hope you enjoy this podcast and I thank you for joining me as a "M.A.Y.L. carrier, as we deliver our amazing Yukon life stories to the outside world.
Cheers
“Trapper Dan your Renaissance Man”
Daniel Halen