Cheechako - An Explanation

When I logged onto Blogger, they promised a blog in 5 minutes or less. Great, that's about how much time I had. First question? Name of blog. Ack! I had nothing. It has been one of the longest days, and most definitely the longest-fastest 6 weeks I have ever experienced trying to move. But the blog name had to be clever, it had to be something that would last......

So, like all good writers with writers block, I stole one. Ballads of a Cheechako is a book written by Robert Service with such classic ballads as: Northern Lights, Pious Pete, Blasphemous Bill, Hard-Luck Harry, Mad-Eye Mike, My Friends and, (for Amanda), Song of the Mouth-Organ. Why Cheechako? Lifted from goldrush lingo, a Cheechako [chee-chah-koh] is a newcomer to Alaska and the Yukon.

A new-comer, ignorant of the terrain, the weather, the animals,

the culture, the necessary driving skills in the winter, etc.

Cheesy? Perhaps. Fitting? Definitely.

I arrived.

I arrived! What a day. Sometime after midnight, I stopped trying to throw stuff in my suitcase and realized that there was nothing more I could do to help Mike prepare for our imminent move.

Exhausted, we moved upstairs where we were lucky to not only cuddle with Maui, but Twiggy (our friends' dog) as well. With all the excitement, it couldn't have been 5 minutes before all four of us were snoring, and about 5 more for the alarm to go off.

Despite having about 200 lbs of luggage in the car, check-in and security was wicked-fast. Good-byes were long - and I was definitely shunned by Maui - which meant no breakfast for me (and no lunch either since our flight into Vancouver was somewhat late). But a combination of caffeine, cups of noodles and Pringles held me over until Whitehorse. I really hope Mike's first day as a bachelor includes more nutrients!

Whitehorse greeted me with a most glorious day. There is almost 12 hours of sunlight these days, and the sun is radiant off of the snow. After wading through piles and piles of clothes (in retrospect, I'm not sure what I was thinking), I walked around the Preserve for a bit. The magic we discovered this past summer remains. The animals seem so content and against the snow, with their full winter coats and significant antlers, they really are majestic. In a lot of ways, even better than the summer. With no heat to hide from, the animals are much easier to see this time of year - and much more surprised to see a human walking around! The view of the muskox from my desk is still as incredible as I remember, and I was pleasantly surprised to find sheep outside of the kitchen window. So cool!

Currently, it feels a lot more like going to the cottage than actually moving. I'm sure that will change as I write in the coming days with more than "yay, I'm here with all my luggage" to report.