Dawson City

Dawson City was one of the coolest towns we had visited so far on our trip. I loved the old-fashioned style of buildings and the vibrant colours of paint. It was interesting to learn about the history, the gold mining and how wealthy this town used to be. Today, you can see remnants of the wealth, but it mainly exists as a tourist destination now. However, we did see active claims being mined as we made our way to claim number six, to do some panning for gold ourselves. Mark was very perseverant and was sure he would find gold. I, on the other hand, was chilly and decided to wait in the truck for him to strike it rich.

Mark had read about the sour toe experience, so we ventured to the hotel so he could drink whiskey that had a toe in it served by a captain. It was interesting to meet this fellow. He spent his summers in the Yukon serving the sour toe, and at other times of the year, he was an emergency on-call captain in the Philippines. 

Another must-see spot in Dawson City is the casino where the Diamond Tooth Gertie’s show was performed. We watched two different shows and were pleasantly surprised by how entertaining they were. The dancers would pose for photos after the show and come out and chat with the guests. We learned the show was only on for another week and that all of the dancers would be returning to their hometowns. The music was live, and the musicians were quite talented. The cast of the show was from all over Canada: Toronto, Quebec, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and the western provinces. Some were returning dancers, and others, this was their first time in Dawson City. 

The town had lots of interesting shops, cafés, and restaurants. We picked up some absolutely delicious muffins at Riverwest Bistro and did a little shopping for fridge magnets, which I collect on our travels. For dinner, we went to the Billy Goat restaurant, a delicious Greek and Mediterranean spot. The servings were huge, and Mark thought the calamari was fantastic. 

We camped at the Bonanza Gold RV campground. It was a great spot to leave our trailer during our Dempster Highway adventure, and it provided a car wash, laundry and showers. The car wash is the big money maker for sure, almost everyone coming off the Dempster drops $20-40 to get the grime off. Mark was no different, and even after loading the machine with loonies, the truck was still dirty! 

We will make our way back to Whitehorse and then head for Alaska next.