"Art of Camping" columnist Mark Beese is a Certified Campologist who likes to escape the the Big City and get out & Away. Mark Beese also happens to have been a partner in What's Up Yukon magazine for 7 years.
Mark Beese's Columns: Art Of Camping, Beer Buzz (First Year), Intrepid Traveller and several freelance stories.
Issue: 2017-05-31, PHOTO: Mark Beese
Winter has released his icy grip on the Yukon, and that brings my favorite season: camping season. In early May I along with several friends pitched our campers and tents at Lake LaBerge. We lucked out and got choice sites along the lakeshore. As... Read more
Have you been kept awake at night by the threat of a zombie apocalypse? The interesting question isn't what will happen to the world, but how will the Yukon fare? Read more
Photo from: www.americanas.com.br
Sure, it's a smart phone. I don't think the name is wrong, so much as how the name is understood. If you are smart, you can get this gadget to do a lot of really cool stuff. Read more
The couches in my house have permanent dents from the backsides of my kids. Read more
Guatemala has so many great elements to it, but the highlight of our trip (if you've read my other stories you may notice a common thread) was the people. Read more
If you thought the end of the 13th Baktun (on December 21, 2012) meant the end of the world, well, the Mayans were laughing at you, at least any of the Mayans I met. Read more
Think about your life and the stories you might tell of it. Think of the grand adventures, great accomplishments, and life lessons. I know how most of you would like to tell the story of your life; I've had a look at more than a few résumés in my ti Read more
Mitraillette: it's the world's most perfect food. Without a description of its component parts you may mistake this culinary art form for a simple hot-dog covered in French fries. Trust me when I say this is well beyond your common hot-dog! Read more
This is the first time in my life my upper lip has been covered by anything that could be defined as a moustache. You see, I have what might be described as a follicular disability. What some would call a 5 o'clock shadow would take about five weeks Read more
When I told Gilian, the receptionist, she laughed at me. "You're kidding, right?" I made it! I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro! Read more
Mambo! Poa! Last week I explained Mambo. Poa is the proper response. Described to me as: Mambo = What's Up? Poa = It's cool. Read more
Mambo! That's not true Swahili. "Jambo" is the informal Swahili greeting equivalent to "hello". Mambo... well, that's the colloquial greeting that most closely translates to "What's Up?" So I guess it's appropriate to call this series "Mambo Tanzani Read more
That is your favourite time at the fire? What makes the campfire the best place in world for you? Perhaps I am being a bit presumptuous in assuming that the fire holds the same allure for you as it does for me ... but it does, doesn't it? Read more
Everything in nature has a purpose. The purpose of the Noble Mosquito [Culiseta longiareolata] is to keep our campsites from becoming overcrowded. Read more
Nature Deficit Disorder. Really? I heard about this on CBC Radio the other day. So now there is an official term for spending too much time not camping (or experiencing nature somehow). It seems there is a label for just about everything these days. Read more
As it is with anything else in life, camping is all about attitude. Yes, life is easier in a hermetically sealed, temperature-controlled living room, but you would miss out on the fresh air and the scent of pine that doesn't come out of a spray can. Read more
A camping trip can only be a great camping trip if the food is great. The best camping food can often be described as that which cooks between the stick and the flame. Read more
The first camping trip of the year is unique in many ways. For one thing, there's the anticipation of finding out which critical thing you forgot to put in the camp box (you know the one, it's the one thing you promised yourself you wouldn't forget Read more
During World War II, the brewing-trade industry known as the United Brewers Industrial Foundation worked with the U.S. government to create a series of ads designed to boost morale and highlight the positive aspects of beer. Read more
Issue: 2015-09-17 PHOTO: kozzi.com
The Code is clear: what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Ditto for jury rooms and papal conclaves. Double ditto for hunting trips. But sometimes a story demands to override the Code. There were four guys that September weekend on the Mayo River. Read more
Issue: 2015-07-09 PHOTO: courtesy of What’s Up Yukon
I joined the What’s Up Yukon editorial team in late September 2012 and the first edition with my name on the masthead was issue #300, dated October 4, 2012. What followed were 33 months of continual employment, bringing me up to this issue, #436. Read more
Photo by Teddy F.
But alas, there comes a time when even the most tenacious journalist must succumb to the realities of pregnancy; that time has come for Tamara. This issue — the one in your hot little hands — is her last as editor.... Read more
Some offers a person simply can't refuse. When the email inviting me to be part of the What's Up Yukon team landed, the cadence of Marlon Brando coming down the wire was unmistakable. The pressure was intense. How could I rush ... Read more
As we race toward Christmas and the new year of promise that follows, I can't help but reflect on the wonderful and poignant experiences that have transpired over these last 12 months. Post-Christmas, last year, began with a wonderful evening... Read more
The decision was made to go weekly in our usual What's Up Yukon manner: we were chatting. Then Tammy Beese, the publisher, spent half the night running the numbers while Mark Beese and I wondered if this was a case of "Be careful of what you wish for Read more
OK, not specifically about beer. Rather about the significant contribution a brewery like the Yukon Brewing Company can make to promote the destination it was born in. Read more