The Men

BEARDS!
I exclaim that sincerely. There's a general stereotype of northern menfolk that generally involves a BEARD. Not just a beard, but a BEARD. The reason for the stereotype is this: Men in the North are perceived to be scraggly outdoorsmen who have gold fever, intent on spending their waking hours mining, mining, mining. The stereotype comes from the romanticism of the Gold Rush.

The stereotype is true.

Not only is the stereotype true, but the non-mining men tend to conform to the stereotype as well - especially the young ones. Half the time I feel like I'm at a Death Cab for Cutie concert, without the bum strangling emo pants (they wear normal jeans - don't confuse this statement with a town full of pants-less gentlemen).

Most of the men that I have met are quickly rushing past middle age. The rest have, for the most part, reached the home stretch. I am Waitressing here, which gives me a very interesting perspective on typical characteristics of Northern Men. Many of them are single and so tend to eat out for their meals. I am ashamed to admit that I expected a rougher crowd than I got. The best part of my day is when the groups of single men come in for coffee. My presence in this town has been quite well received by most people, particularly the single aging men. One man in particular tries to buy me lunch - very unnecessary considering that I eat at the restaurant for free plus I would have to take a break from serving him to eat. These men are easy to please! I'm confident that I could slap one or two of them and they would still smile at me tip me too much for a single cup of coffee.

All of the men know each other - 50% of them are named Gary, 25% go by the name of Bill, 10% general common names and the remaining 15% go by nicknames. Likely these 15% actually fall into the Gary or Bill categories.

I cannot attach any pictures of the local men, since i would need their permission. Instead I have posted a picture of a couple of my grizzly friends.
They mostly fit the description of the men anyways

Atlin

I am currently living in Atlin B.C. If you choose to google Atlin, you will undoubtedly find small blurbs on the beauty of the lake and the untamed wilderness along a few images involving mountains (likely with an RV in the background, complete with a retiree or two). Atlin is an unincorporated community located north of the 59th parallel (We are at 59.34). Its a secluded community since the road to Atlin...well, it only goes to Atlin. We are the destination. To get to us from the rest of BC, a traveler must first enter the Yukon, pass through Watson Lake and Teslin, then hang a left at Jake's corner. A small problem might arise if said traveler is expecting clear and obvious signage. It sneaks up on you, so keep your eye out. Also, you must take another left about 2 km down the road. This is a little clearer, since a helpful person spelled the directions out in Rocks (<-- A T L I N).

I moved here about a month ago. I had never been here and until just over a year ago I had no idea that the place existed. My reasons for moving here are for another day, but for now I will say this, I was driven North by a sense of adventure. The day I drove down the "highway" I was in awe. I've never seen a more beautiful place. I'm in love with the mountains and the lakes. However, when I say this out loud the locals look at me with nervous faces and say "yeah....you haven't been through the winter yet....get a hobby."

Blogging here I come.....