Two extremes

Back in Abu Dhabi, again. Talk about extremes...from the liberal attitude of Amsterdam with the red light district and marijauna cafes, to the Persian Gulf.

Had the better part of a day in Amsterdam on the way, and the weather was much better than last trip, so off we went into town. Lovely day. Great city. Excellent for walking about. Had a beer by the canel, walked some more, had lunch at another spot, walked some more, had another beer at another spot, train back to the aiport and on to Dubai, landing at 5:00 am local time. Picked up at the airport and an hour and bit drive north to Abu Dhabi, pausing to stop and have our photo taken by one of the more unique road signs. I'm guessing the 'surprises' they're referrin to are the camels that sometimes wander onto the freeway at night. Yup, it's a unique place.

More Atlin...

Went for a drive after class and found the local cemetary. Fascinating. I have to wonder what the story is behind the brief inscriptions. There was one from 1914 for a young guy who died of "accidental gun shot".

These photo's certainly made me curious.

Woke up the next morning to find it was snowing, with ice on the windshield of my truck.

Mark

Atlin, British Columbia

May 5, Atlin

Last trip, the deserts of the Gulf. This trip, the frozen north….

It’s a geographical oddity. I’m in the far north of British Columbia, but to get here I had to fly to Whitehorse (Yukon) and drive 2 and a bit hours south. There is no road access from the rest of British Columbia.

The last 100 km are gravel. I only saw three other vehicles. Did see some mountain goats on a nearby hillside, and had to slam on the brakes to avoid running over a grouse that was intent on sitting in the middle of the road. Skidding on gravel is always interesting.

The lake is frozen solid. Only 350 or so people here, and 1 café for all meals. Hotel is deserted, and nobody is on the streets. The café is full of characters right out of central casting. The same four guys in the same seats both times I’ve been in for breakfast.

There is still active mining and mineral exploration, with remote fly-in camps in the area. The close up photo of the old paddle wheeler is taken from my hotel room. Beautiful area. Quite amazing.

Mark