It was an early June, 1989 morning (12:30 am) when the British Aero 146 jet set down in Whitehorse . 
I'd left New York City about 10 hours ago.  I was very surprised  how light out it was this early in the morning.  I have a lot to learn about the North! 

After a restful sleep and hearty lumberjack breakfast I was off to tour the town.  I wandered into radio station CKRW and received a warm welcome and full tour of the facility.  This was a nice surprise for me since I'd been an avid SWL for many years.  At 10:00 am I got my first glimpse of the mighty Yukon River.  I had never seen an emerald-green fast flowing river as this before.  I was mesmerized.  Little did I know this spell would last a lifetime.

I worked Bill, VY1AU on the local 2 meter  (146 MHz ) repeater.  We met for an eyeball and discussed old times.  Bill and I first said hello some 15 years ago in Oregon .  I commented how strange it was to sign N9GPK portable VY1.  We agreed to meet later in the day for a barbecue.  I decided to drive to Skagway , Alaska , since it was only 115 miles south of Whitehorse .  The scenery enroute to Skagway was equally as awesome as in the Whitehorse area.  This area houses some of the most rugged terrain on this planet.  I just couldn't imagine being exposed to this great wonder every day!  Even the Yukon highway signs reflected the northern spirit.  I spent three hours wandering around the tourist town of Skagway before heading back to the Yukon .  I think I burned up ten rolls of film just on this one day adventure alone. 

Later back in Whitehorse I attended a barbecue as Bill's guest at club station VY1DX, a single wide mobile home located on top a high bluff over looking the city.  All sorts of antennas protruded from the trailer roof and a tower tied off to a tall pine tree had a shiny new tribander glistening in the sun!  I was told the tower tied to the tree was a temporary installation.  The club was waiting on the City of Whitehorse to donate the concrete for the tower base.
 

After Bill's deliciously cooked T-bone steak dinner, complete with all the trimmings (Yukoners sure know how to eat!), we all retired to one of the two operating positions (one for SSB and one for CW) to start the Alaska Highway Net.  I had a nice chat with VY1BQ, DN, AD and FF  before VY1BQ called the net to order on 3855 KHz as VY1DX.  I jumped at the opportunity to assist at the mic and worked VY1DW (near Fortymile) and VY1DU (near Mayo) as check ins.  These were my first HF arctic to arctic contacts!  I worked them as N9GPK/VY1 also. 

The next morning Ron, VY1AD (now VY1RM) gave me a very interesting tour of his work QTH,  radio station CBC Yukon .  In the afternoon I met with Bill, VY1CW over coffee.  Bill gave me the keys to VY1DX and said "have a good time"!   Bill has an interesting job as a radio technician for the Yukon Government.  He maintains most of the government's  HF and VHF radio equipment and antennas throughout the Yukon .  He's the only Yukon ham running high power.

Propagation was very poor but I did manage a dozen contacts with California and Oregon (W6's and W7's) on 20 meter SSB as VY1DX.  My operating was in competition with the local gun club next door.  Bullets were zinging everywhere it seemed like.  One Ham asked me if I was in a war zone.  He chuckled for a long time after I explained the situation.  Bill had mentioned propagation was poor for the last 2 months up here.

This was truly an exciting and enjoyable experience on my first "north of the 60th parallel" adventure.  The first of many, many more to come.

The next few months drug on for me- all I could think about was Alaska and the Yukon .  I was hooked! 

Just before Thanksgiving I phoned my oldest daughter Tracy and told her we're going to Anchorage ! We met in Seattle and flew to Anchorage together.  My luggage was packed with radio gear.  I even hand carried a 10 meter (28 MHz) Hamstick vertical antenna all the way from New York City !  I've been in the "Big Apple" for a year- this North Dakota boy was definitely a "fish out of water".  Tracy soon learned her new title was "chauffeur" while I played on 10 meter phone from our rental car.  Where's the guy who told me magnetic mounts won't scratch the car's roof ! 

I couldn't  believe how clear and strong the signals were from Japan , Korea and Siberia compared to what I was used to from the lower 48.  Dxing seemed very easy and QRM was non-existent.  Later I'd be in for a surprise called "aurora" and just what kind of impact that has on radio signals!  I tuned around on ten meters and noticed a very strong signal from Siberia .

Operator Mike was 20 over S9 when I broke his pileup.  He welcomed me to the north and gave me the same signal report.  Not bad for a mobile I thought. The next evening we met with Rich, AL7FI and Shari, AL7FJ at their QTH in Eagle River just a few miles north of Anchorage .  They were friends of  a friend (AL7GQ).  Shari was net control for the Motley Net on 3933 KHz and checked me into the net.  We counted over 60 hams who checked into the net.  Later I'd come to learn the importance of nets in the North.  For some hams living in the bush (ie- remote Alaska ), Amateur Radio was their only link to the outside world.  I distinctly remember a Ham checking in from McCarthy with health and welfare (medical) traffic for Anchorage.  He reported the medical condition of his elderly neighbor.  McCarthy,  in southeast Alaska , is only accessible via plane or by foot.

By noon the next day we were back along Cook Inlet in downtown Anchorage working 10 meter SSB.  I actually had a few mini-pileups going.  Most stations couldn't believe I was operating mobile using a Radio Shack 4 ft CB vertical on a mag mount!  What a fantastic ground plane the sea made.  Contacts poured in from all directions.  What an exhilarating feeling being on the other end of the pileup!  I even worked my friends John, NL7HW in Delta Junction and Ken, AL7GA in North Pole on short skip (200-300 miles) with fair signals.  They both welcomed me to their state.  I'd worked John and Ken several times over the last two years while I was in New Jersey .  They both assured me that Alaska is where I needed to relocate to. 

N9GPK/mobile KL7 was having a great radio time, especially when KC4AAC, Palmer Station Antarctica, came back to my call.  I gave him a 5x5  sig report and op Mark at Palmer Station said he was sorry he could only give me a 4x4 back.  I told him "the 4x4 looks pretty FB in my log". 

The weather was very mild with temperatures in the low 20's during the day.  We both noticed how friendly the people were too.  We were both having such a good time playing tourist that we forgot to order turkey for our dinner on Thanksgiving Day.  We took in the championship game of the "Great Alaska Shootout" (basketball), a yearly event in Anchorage .

Although the trip was not all play, I did manage to find time for a couple of job interviews with local engineering firms.  I was so confident (and hopeful!) I'd receive a job offer that I rented a mailbox from the Mail Cache.  When I arrived back in New Jersey, I put in a FCC form 610 request for an Alaskan callsign.  On January 4th, 1990 I received NL7TB.  One month later I landed a job and hit the road for Anchorage !