The wonderful orange and blue illustration on the cover of Don Barz's book YUKON WANDERLUST was created by Sharon Phillips. It depicts "the Sun and the Caribou," which in the artist's words are "always moving."
Above her illustration is a photograph of Don's father, Ernie, and Don's uncle, Art. They are the two intrepid young men whose adventures Don presents in this well researched and interesting historical work. The book concentrates on the period 1937 to 1942. Those were the years the young Barz brothers spent in Yukon working as "trappers, fur traders, dredge crew labourers and wood cutters."
Browsing the chapter titles gives readers the flavour of the brothers' travels and adventures. Titles include Victoria to Skagway, Stuck in Whitehorse, Wintering in Dawson, Floating to Aklavik, Living off the Land, Mushing to Mayo, The Legend of Bonnetplume's Gold, and Mysterious Margaret Lake.
YUKON WANDERLUST includes several maps and a comprehensive index. It is illustrated with numerous photographs, most of them taken by the Barz brothers themselves. The text is interspersed with stories, descriptions, and diary entries in the brothers' own words. This kind of original source material is priceless for historians and others, but it can easily be lost. Thankfully Don Barz has put countless hours into preserving, organizing, contextualizing and presenting it.
How did the brothers feel about their Yukon adventures when they looked back on them years later? Here's what Don's father, Ernie, had to say at age 91. "One time I asked Art if he would do it over again. Art said no and I felt the same way. When we were up there, it was fine. It was a good experience. But what we know of the dangers now, it was a miracle that both of us survived."
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