Day 20
Monday, June 27
Dawson City

It was a cloudy, foggy morning when we got up today. It was 13 degrees but it didn't really feel that cold. That's 13 degrees Celcius; it was 56 in our temperature. To change C. to F you double the temp and add 30. It is really pretty easy.

About 9:00, Ken, Our wagonmaster, took a group of us up to the Midnight Dome, a mountain on the edge of Dawson City. What make this unique is that at the elevation of the Midnight Dome, you are as high as you would be at the Arctic Circle. If you are there at the right time you can watch the sun set and rise at the same time. On the summer solstice you could watch the sun make a complete circle in the sky without ever setting. The problem with our trip to the Midnight Dome was that it was so foggy we couldn't see anything. We were actually above one layer of clouds and below another. We could see a break in the clouds many miles to the northwest but that is about all. I think our main reason for going was so that we would know how to get there if the fog lifted and the weather cleared. It did just that this afternoon and we went back to the Midnight Dome. From there we could see way up and down the Yukon River, the town of Dawson City from above, and the Top of the World Highway which we will be taking to Chicken on Wednesday.


 
 


Following out trip to the Midnight Dome we and the Delcuzes went to the grocery story. What a shock! Potatoes were $5.99 for 5 lbs., Pam was $4.99, cookies were $4.99. etc. We spent $60 and came home with three small sacks. The checker handed Jenna the receipt and said "You can take this home and show your friends how expensive food is in Canada."

We got back to the RV Park just in time for a meeting with Ken and the RV Park owner. The manager of the park came and talked to us about the history of Dawson City and what it is like to live here year-round. He told us that the population of Dawson City between 1894 and 1902 swelled to 65,000. People came here seeking their fortune only to find out that the rush for gold was mostly over before they got here. Additionally too many of them had no idea how to mine or what the climate was like here. He explained how the merchants were the ones who actually made money. They "mined the miners" by charging exorbitant prices for everyday goods. The population today is around 1600 year round residents. It swells to about double that in the summer when people come here to work in the tourist trade. He also explained how they keep the water running during the winter. They have a drip loop in place. The government tells them when to turn it on and they leave in running 24 hrs. a day for around 9 months. Also, the water is warmed 6 degrees before pumped into city lines. This helps keep it running. All of Daawson Creek is sitting on top of perma-frost. Down 3-4 feet the ground is frozen solid throughout the year. This causes the ground to shift up and settle back down. Consequently houses cannot have a permanent foundation to sit on. They build their houses on timbers that hold them off the ground and from time to time they have to jack the house up or down to meet the shifing perma-frost.

Following his presentation, Ken gave us a travel briefing for our trip to Chicken, Alaska on Wednesday. It seems the road is all gravel and runs on top of the mountain ridge instead of going up and down the mountains. There are no frost heaves since it is a gravel road that gets graded frequently. The shoulders are very soft and we were cautioned to never get off on a shoulder. Last week a motorhome did get on the sholder and it rolled off the side of the road. It is about 108 miles to Chicken, and we should drive between 25 and 35 MPH. We cross into Alaska about 1/2 way and the road is drastically worse on the American side. It is a dirt road with hairpin turns, and steep climbs and desents. He told us that our rigs would be filthy when we get to Chicken and not to clean them. It is equally dirty going on the Tok the next day. When we get to Tok we will have a rig washing party where everyone will wash each rig as it is allowed into the park. Should be fun!! After the travel meeting the staff served us Klondike Bars (ice-cream) and gave us a certificate declaring that we are honorary sourdoughs.

After lunch we all walked to town - about 4 blocks - and met with a representative of Parks Canada who took us on a walking tour of the historic district in Dawson City. She told stories about people and events in Dawson City history. We visited the Yukon Riverbank, a fraternal lodge, the post office, a bank, a brothel, and finally a bar. Stories she told us related to each of these buildings. It was an entertaining and interesting walk.


Tonight we all went to Diamond Tooth Gertie's casino to play a little blackjack and attend a show. We played blackjack for about and hour before the show began. I came out even and Jenna lost $8.00 - pretty cheap entertainment.

 
 
 
 
  The show was great. Diamond Tooth Gertie sang and fooled with the men in the audience. She had a group of girls who danced - CanCan dancers, and a guy who sang and flirted with the women in the audience.
 
 
 
 

It was a real lively show with lots of audience participation. She had the 4 dancers get 4 men from the audience and they taught them a dance. Carl Findley, one of our guys, was chosen and he was hysterical. We had a great time and most of us felt that his show was better than the Follies we saw in Whitehorse.
 

It has been a very busy day and we are pooped!! I can hardly hold my eyes open while I type this. Tomorrow is a free day - nothing definite is planned for us. I think we are going to visit a dredge used to dig for gold. Jenna wants to shop and see more of Dawson City. It is an old, old town with dirt streets and board sidewalks. It looks to be a fun place to walk around. I'll let you know tomorrow what we find. Till then, Happy trails.