Dawson City, Yukon

Today, we did the history tour of Dawson City. We found good Wi-Fi at the Tourist Center. After checking email and uploading blog pages, I did the ninety-minute self-guided walking tour. With all of the miners here in 1898 this was the largest town north of Seattle and west of Winnipeg. Over 1.7 billion dollars in gold has been mined from this area and there are still active mines today finding more. We have found good restaurants and the shops are interesting. They are not your typical tourist type shops. This is a working community with 1800 full time residents. We enjoy watching the new arrivals at the campground and the mud caked condition of their RV. One look tells you which direction they came from. 

Thursday was spent trading baby-sitting chores for Charlie. One of us would go wondering for a couple hours, then return to work the sitting shift. That meant being with Charlie and relaxing in the sun in the lawn chairs. I did the tour of the S.S. Keno, the last working paddle wheel steamer on the Yukon River. River transportation was the only means of travel until 1955, when a modern road was finally built to Dawson City. I also became totally immersed in the history of this town with both the self-guided tour with MP3 player and a guided tour lead by a park guide. We were taken into many of the old buildings that have been preserved or restored to their original glory. With the dry and cold weather here, the wood stays in amazing condition. The main concern is foundation damage from the permafrost. Most buildings are built on stacks of timbers so the ground underneath will stay frozen. 

I have made a friend of a raven here. He seems to follow me all over town. They have distinctive calls and this one makes sounds like water dripping. I talk back to him. Karen thinks I’m nuts. On her wonderings today she bought a sculpture of a Raven at the native museum, as a reminder of my friend in Dawson City.

We took Charlie for a long walk in the evening to wear him out. We left him alone and went to Diamond Gerties Gambling Hall to watch the early Girlie, Girlie Show. It was a fine performance of music and Can Can dancers depicting the style of entertainment from the Gold Rush Days. The show was being filmed for a BBC documentary so maybe we will become famous on the small screen. Karen had the microphone for part of one song. The whole show was a lot of fun. Our stay in Dawson City was been wonderful. The three-day rest was needed. Tomorrow we will move down the road for the next adventure.

Library

 The effects of permafrost:

Riverboat on the Yukon River

Bob's new friend

Can Can Show at Diamond Gerties