(August 2)
Dear Folks,
We doubt that this will go through. But we wanted to write while the memories were fresh.
Those who know us well know that we LOVE mountains. Those within the park, which is quite large and varied, are among the prettiest that we have seen. That’s why there are so many photos of them.
Today was a beautiful day. We went up to the interpretive center to charge Karma, as we had planned. We got a warm greeting from the two women at the information counter. They said, “You made it!” This surprised us, since we had not met them before, yet they seemed to know about us. We said, yes, we made it to Tuk and showed them a photo of us at the Arctic Ocean. They thought that was amazing. Someone else on staff must have passed the word about us.
They made a space for us by a window so that we could charge Karma. We also got a cup of Labrador tea. The Girls were quite excited about that. They pick the leaves fresh every morning. The upper side is green and the bottom is red. The plant grows wild in northern zones.
We were there charging Karma for about five hours. So we got to hear a lot of people’s concerns about hiking and driving the Dempster. Tombstone is at mile 45. Several of the questioners decided that they had had enough of the Dempster.
The photo of the ladies is of Olivia and Miriam. Olivia is the supervisor of the campground staff. We gave her some feedback on accessibility: not just that the containers for trash and recycling are up on platforms, but to be able to lock the accessible outhouse door from a wheelchair, you have to back down the ramp. Olivia said that that was great feedback. She meets with her maintenance team once a week and will see what they can do.
Olivia worked for Yukon Parks for two years in Whitehorse. When she saw the posting for the job in Tombstone, she applied and got it. She has been here 15 years. She works February-November. Some of that is in the office in Whitehorse when the campground is closed.
Miriam works seasonally: this her fourth summer. So she works May-October. She lives in Dawson City and has an art business.
We send you hugs and wags.
The Lowman Family
