The. Most. Wonderful. Yukon. Web. Page. Evar.

Update, Feb 21, 2008: Alas, cheechakos.com no longer advertises the defunct restaurant; it now promotes art. And it does so in the same wonderful early-90s joi-de-web as before. I encourage all to visit the gift shop.

Mere words cannot do it justice: www.cheechakos.com. Make sure that you enable pop-up windows for the address or you'll miss the full effect (and be unable to navigate away from the "sledding penguin" page -- the navigation links only appear on the pop-up window).

If you're unable to bring yourself to enable pop-up windows, visit this one page to get the gist of the thing.

Up until a year or so ago, Cheechako's Sourdough Steakhouse was a Whitehorse fixture. Located at 204B Main Street (the address itself served as a promotion), Cheechako's was a place that most folks visited exactly once.

"Cheechako" is a Chinook word used in the Yukon to describe someone who has yet to survive a full winter. After a year, such folk graduate to the rank of "Sourdough". The restaurant was somehow able to combine both in its title.

Cheechako's was forced to close when the proprietor fell ill. Naturally, her complete and detailed medical history was posted to the site. Thankfully, that's gone now (I think), but the site lives on, reminding us all of a unique aspect of Yukon history.

And don't even think of copying any of the site's design innovations, even though the owners "understand that you might be motivated by your enthusiasm for 'cheechakos.com'. "