Winter Views from our Bedroom

Aurora March 1, 2011

Spring begins with the arrival of lengthening days. Arctic high pressure systems have pushed out the low cloud of the Pacific and we have cold temperatures but beautiful clear skies. We live on the east side of an eskar rising out of the Takhini River valley. Our second floor bedroom provides spectacular views. Recent sunspot activity has revived the Aurora which we haven't seen much of in recent years.

Late afternoon clouds blowing off the mountains across the nearby Yukon River valley provide a dramatic canvas for the setting sun. It is easy to slip into romantic notions of the "savage wilderness" that surrounds us.

 

However, the storied egg rock at the upper reaches of Lake Laberge reminds us of the long human presence here. It is on banks of the Yukon River just below the rock where Tachokaii, the hero figure of the Northern Athapaskan people, invented the birch bark canoe and began his journey through the world.