(May 23-29, 2018 – Carmacks and Dawson City, Yukon Territory)

Leaving Whitehorse, we headed up the ALCAN Highway just a short distance before turning on the Klondike Highway towards Dawson City. Weather was mostly sunny, warm and the scenery was spectacular – a perfect day for travel. Road conditions along the Klondike Highway were good, although there were more rough patches and sections of road damage than we experienced along the ALCAN. Since the distance to Dawson City was around 300 hundred miles, we planned to go as far as Carmacks, stop for a night or two, and then continue to Dawson City.

Klondike Highway, Carmacks and Stewart Crossing

Along the way to Carmacks we stopped at an interesting roadside ruin, the Montague Roadhouse, with several remaining log structures. We enjoyed investigating the ruins and reading about the history of the site.

Travel Itinerary 2018 – Part IV

Arriving in Carmacks, we checked into the Hotel Carmacks RV Park for one night. We were the only rig in the park, so no problem getting a site. The campground had only been open for a week and was still getting some kinks out. We had to change sites due to an electrical problem on the first assigned site. The park was pretty basic, but had a nice scenic view just off the Yukon River.

A boardwalk along the riverfront made for a nice evening walk. A large number of trees were beaver-cut along the riverside. We also enjoyed a nice meal at the restaurant next to the hotel.

Moving on from Carmacks the next morning we ran into overcast skies and occasional rain – heavy at times. We enjoyed stops at the Five Fingers Rapids historical site, as well as at a visitors information center at Stewart Crossing. 

The visitor center had a bunch of animal silhouettes posted along the roadside. Jasmine and Pepper took one look and wanted to go chase the critters! They were so disappointed to sniff and find out they were not real.

The road past Stewart Crossing was considerably rougher than further back towards Carmacks and Whitehorse. Still not bad, but many more sections of frost heaves, patched potholes or other road damage.

Historic Dawson City

Arriving in Dawson City, we checked into the Bonanza Gold Motel and RV Park for a five-night stay. Again, no problems getting a site without reservations – this early in the season the campground had many available spaces. The campground was pretty basic, but had a scenic view and was conveniently located just outside of town.

Highlights of our stay in Dawson include a visit to the Farmers Market (small – still early in the season), walks along the historic waterfront and downtown district, and dinner at Klondike Kate’s Cafe. We really enjoyed watching the ferry crossing the Yukon River and seeing the grand old historic buildings around town.

One day in town we ran into the friends we had met in Whitehorse, Joyce & Dale. They were also touring Dawson and were moving on the next day. We arranged to meet them later at the historic Downtown Hotel for drinks and for the piano performance. We had a great time visiting with them and we all enjoyed the piano music – quite a varied repertoire. (Joyce & Dale – Good to see you again – keep in touch & safe travels!)

The piano man, Dwayne Kelly, was amazing and has an interesting story – plays by ear, quite talented and was recently left homeless by a fire on his houseboat.

Another evening we attended a show at Diamond Tooth Gertie’s Gambling Hall. Gertie’s is a casino best known for its rollicking Cancan dance shows, held nightly during peak season. The show hearkens back to the dance halls of the Klondike Gold Rush. We had a blast & really enjoyed the show!

Historic Dredge No. 4

Another day we toured the historic Dredge No. 4, a gold mining dredge a few miles out of Dawson. This dredge operated for many years excavating the placer deposits, loose gold-bearing gravels, in the area. Powered by electricity, only four men operated this huge dredge  which worked on a continually moving artificial lake. Fascinating!

Gangs of hundreds of men labored ahead of the dredge to prepare the land for mining. Workers razed trees, buildings and even towns, blasted off the overburden with hydro-cannons, and pounded steel pipes into the gravel deposits to circulate water and thaw the permafrost down to bedrock. Quite the production!

Mail Woes Resolved

Finally, our mail shipment caught up with us at Dawson City – arriving the same day we did. The package had arrived in Whitehorse the day after we left and forwarded on to Dawson City, per our instructions. What a relief and kudos to the Whitehorse Canada Post clerks!

That’s all for now – we really enjoyed our stay in Dawson City and look forward to another visit in the near future. Safe travels and enjoy the journey!