Tuesday, February 25, 2014

On Becoming a Sourdough

- photo(s) by Margaret Liu






Cheechako: A greenhorn, or newcomer to the Yukon.

Sourdough: A Yukon old-timer; a true or veteran Yukoner.


On February 17th, 2014 at 1: 13 pm, I realized that I had unequivocally become a sourdough. I was on the last leg of my travel back home, after a tasmanian devil of a trip from HJ -> WHSE->VAN->SF. I was wedged in between two unfriendly ladies in the plane-shaped tin can, hurtling through the biosphere, feeling dehydrated, unsettled and a bit morose, to tell you the truth. It is always nostalgic and bittersweet for me to visit my old life, especially solo.

Engrossed in a book, I hadn't looked up from my own ego and woe in an hour. The captain's message stated that we were about to prepare for our descent into Whitehorse, I wearily glanced out the window, and..... Mountains.

Mountains!

Snow!

Spruce!

My heart literally plumped back from its Grinchian lump of coal, and I grinned like an idiot.

I was back in the Great White North.

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Our time here is winding down, and I ache with the fondness I have for this place. I remember my cheechako feelings of ick, snow and ick, snow for seven months?!?! and wonder when it changed, and whether it was while I was sleeping that the sourdough crawled into my spirit.

It is truly bizarre that this city girl now prefers the bright cold of a -15 landscape, to a +12 San Francisco wind.

Here are some winter pictures, of late.


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Back from December when M+J visited us. To see the Yukon from a visitor's fresh perspective, was a balm to chapped lips.

airplane to mt. mac in under 15 minutes. m. evans, Ambassador of the Yukon, stylez.








mt. lorne digs.

caramelized onion, homemade seed bread, soft goat cheese.


 individual, perfectly intact and stable snowflakes.



look, ma! my first .gif!


sundog on our way to Haines


heading out for a glimpse of mendenhall glacier, Juneau AK



nugget falls, Juneau AK

aftermath of a euchre game

thanks for roughin' it with us, friends.

On the fresh side of 2014, the light has crept back in. Days are warmer, the humans are reemerging, and beauty is abundant.

More fire parties,

More Aurora,



More skiing,


More lynx tracks,

More appreciative licks of a sunny Sunday.



3 comments:

  1. thanks! gorgeous and fun photos....good to hear from you and see you slide! Love, Karen

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  2. Did you take the northern light picture? how is the "show" going on?

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    Replies
    1. Bryan took the pictures! The show was beautiful. Green + purple, at around 10pm at night.

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