On The Road Again....: A DAY IN DAWSON CITY

June 10, 2014

We decided last night that we would do the 9:30 am guided walk of Dawson City with a park ranger so we were up at 6:00 to get ready and then ate at the breakfast buffet in the hotel. Then, we were off - 5 blocks to downtown! The park ranger started the walk along the trail beside the river. We walked to several of the important buildings in the town's history. The first was the National Bank of Commerce. Banks did not arrive in Dawson City until 2 years after the gold rush. Saloons were plentiful and drinks were paid for with gold dust. When your drink was brought to you, you poured out a little gold dust from your pouch. The more you drank, the more you'd pour. Sometimes the workers might have extra long fingernails or a little grease on their hands when picking up the dust to get a little extra.

Gold was struck on August 16,1896. Within 2 years, the gold rush was over. From 1896 - 1898, $29 million in gold was pulled from the ground around Dawson City.

National Bank of Commerce

The "newer" bank - still looks like it did in the early days

Inside the Red Feather Saloon

Inside the old post office

After the tour, we headed over to Klondike Kate's for lunch. We had a great Grilled Cheese Sandwich with a salad!

Lunch at Klondike Kate's

After a little nourishment, we were off on foot again. We headed up to the Robert Service cabin. Robert Service was a Canadian poet and writer who is best known for his poems "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" and "The Cremation of Sam McGee". His vivid descriptions of the Yukon and its people made it seem that he was a veteran of the Klondike gold rush, instead of the late-arriving bank clerk he actually was.

The Robert Service cabin. He lived here from 1909-1912.

Just past this cabin was the Jack London cabin. Jack London came to Dawson City in September 1898 as a 21-year old prospector looking for gold. He didn't find gold but he did turn his Klondike adventures into fame and fortune with his short stories and books. He is the author of White Fang and The Call of the Wild. Half of the original logs were used to build a replica of his cabin. The other half of the logs were used for another replica in Oakland, California.

Jack London cabin on the left. There was also a

little museum on the right. Don't know about the treehouse!

Our next stop was the Dawson City Museum. It wasn't real big but was interesting. There were lots of exhibits about the gold rush and prostitution which was a big business during those days. By then it was time to head back to the hotel to meet our group for the a trip on the river on the Klondike Spirit Paddlewheel boat. We went down the river a little ways as far as Moosehide Slide (more on that later) and then turned up river to where the Klondike River and Yukon River meet. Then it was back to town. Lots of nice scenery along the way.

Klondike Spirit Paddlewheel boat

Moosehide Slide

There is a housing shortage in Dawson City so this guy

built a cabin on a raft and lives on the river with his dog!

Moosehide Slide was created before the gold rush. The story has to do with two Indian tribes fighting and the landslide was the result of a battle. Later, it became the sign that those who were traveling to Dawson City that they had arrived.

As we were coming down the river, we saw where Caveman Bill lived. His place is the size of a studio apartment and has all the comforts of home, including a TV, a laptop and wood stove. He runs everything on old car batteries, a small solar panel and a bicycle-run generator. He has lived here since 1994.

Caveman Bill lives behind these trees. You can see

his canoe to the right.

We loaded the bus once again, and went back to the hotel for dinner. Tonight we chose the Baked Char (fish), steamed mixed vegetables and roasted baby red potatoes. For dessert we had cheesecake with a mixed berry sauce and a hard sugar decoration on top. So good!

Pretty fancy for us!

After dinner, it was about time for our next excursion - Toast of the Dome. As we were loading up, one of the guys announced that the forecast for tonight was mostly sunny!! A van took a group of us to the top of Midnight Dome just outside of town. It is 2,911 feet with views of the Yukon River, lower Bonanza Creek and Dawson City. It was a gorgeous view and storm clouds were moving in. It never did rain but looked like it would any minute.