The Klondike loop

We get up bright and early for our adventure into Canadia. The border crossing was simple enough, we got through after a couple questions and a compliment on the Donkey. The roads are a mixture of a little worse than the US side and a lot better, even with several miles of pavement and a couple guardrails. It's another beautiful day, and a nice drive on the 'Top of the World' Highway. We get to the Yukon river and the George Black Ferry about 10:30am, a short ride later we're in Dawson. We find an RV park and set off walking about town.

We enjoyed the Cultural Heritage Exhibit, The Dawson Museum, and ended the day at Diamond Tooth Gertties Gambling Hall. We watched the dancing girls and Cara won about $35 gambling, enough to cover drinks and tips for the night.

We make a late start the next day, taking advantage of the $1 showers at the RV park. Then we venture out to 'Dredge #4', supposedly the largest wooden hull dredge ever built. It's darn big, thats for sure. On the way back to the highway Cara and I discuss the fact that we probably now know more about gold mining than any sane person should know. Which ties into my theory that all miners are crazy, so we decide it's time to leave Dawson.

How a gold dredge works, in case you didn't know.

 Gold Dredge #4. This was the largest of 27 that the Klondike gold company ran for over 30 years.









The Donkey is FILTHY after the past 3-400 miles of dirt roads, so we figure out theres a coin op pressure washer on the way out of town. Unfortunately, a group of older people see us coming and quickly position their truck and travel trailer in the wash stall, only to very slowly wash it 4 times. Later that day, after their 4th wash, I finally get my turn. Blast off mud, dirt and guck, lather and scub clean, then rinse. Except halfway through the rinse the water stops. This is gonna look terrible. Cara goes inside and someone quickly comes out and get us running again, but I soon realize I'm stuck in the perpetual rinse cycle because the more I spray the more dirty water is collecting on the Donkey. Cara figures they're pumping dirty river water (it's at high flood stage and everything is muddy) through the washer. I give up and towel off the remaining dirty water.

The road out of Dawson is pretty good, mostly paved, wide, and surrounded by piles of tailings. It's amazing to think about how much work they did out here for a bit of gold. We spot another Porcupine, some Loons, a Black Bear and a couple Elk. I decide to push on into Whitehorse, we're still a little behind schedule due to the border being closed. Cara found a hotspring she wanted to check out just north of Whitehorse and we end our day nearby hidden in the forest on an old trail we found.





Theres still a little snow in the Yukon Territory...