Whitehorse to Dawson City, Yukon Territory

Today was a long day of driving. We passed through Whitehorse and turned onto the Klondike Highway a few miles west of town. The Alaskan highway continues on to the west and eventually goes to Tok, same as the Klondike, but they take different routes to get there.

The drive was 346 miles and the road was not bad as roads go up here. Frost heaves are an ever present danger and due diligence is required. Also we made a couple fuel stops because we only have a 35 gallon tank on our motorhome. Tab can go longer with his 57 gallon tank, but he generally fuels when we do. You do run the risk of a station either being closed or out of fuel when you get there, so it is always smart to keep your tank above half full.

We saw only squirrels today. . . not many birds, one elk along side the road and that was it. There were very few towns or villages. The land through this area is all "First Nation" land, which is the name Canada gives its Native Americans.

We did pass some lovely scenery once again. . . towering peaks, low mountains, lakes and areas of forest fires which have regenerated.

We got into Dawson City about 4:30. We parked our rig and went back the few blocks to town with Tab and Deanna. We had dinner at Sourdough Joe's and then walked around town a bit taking in some of the shops and walking the waterfront. We stopped to take pictures of the Keno, which is another sternwheeler like the Klondike that we saw in Whitehorse. It is a smaller boat that the Klondike, but equally impressive.

We are in our campsite now and up above us the mountain has a large portion missing. Terry says that is from the mining, but my friend Sue says it's from a slide decades ago. It looks like a volcano that blew off the side of the mountain. The area here is famous for gold mining and is the primary area known as the Klondike Gold Rush.

Tomorrow we will stroll around town again and then take the ferry across the river. It is the only way to cross the river and head up the road to Chicken. But after crossing the river, it's about 60 miles to the border. Then on to Chicken. The road for the most part is dirt and they say to allow four hours for the 100 miles total. We plan to cross the river tomorrow afternoon, then stop off at the Yukon Provincial Campground and spend the night. That way when we get up in the morning, we don't have to wait in line for the ferry. . . we can get around at our leisure, then head up the road to Chicken and beat everyone else who is still stuck waiting for the ferry! Sounds like a plan.

Till next time. . .

Dale