Dawson City, Yukon May 26, 2023

Dawson City, Yukon; 

You will not find anything quite like Dawson, Yukon again. The town has a lot of character and our guide, Taylor, made the stay more memorable by sharing some of the unique and quirky things of Dawson City. 

Still, to fully understand the beauty of Dawson, one needs to visit Skagway, take the White Pass Summit Train, or read one of the many books about the Klondike Gold Rush. 

Dawson City was built on the back of the Klondike Gold Rush. This now sleepy town of about 1670. It was a boomtown with a population of 40,000+ for about two years, while everyone was trying to make their fortune but ended up building the railway. Naturally with all these people and riches came hotels, brothels, bars, and gambling halls. You could pay for your drinks with gold dust and the bartenders made sure they had extra long nails to get themselves a tip while dipping their figures into the gold dust burse of their clients. Most definitely, life was good in Dawson City…as I said for about two whole years. The gold rush was short, but tourists already came back then as was clearly described in the book, Two Women in the Klondike.  If you ignore cars on the road, visiting Dawson City today is much like it was during its prime. The city is well preserved.  All buildings in the downtown area need to preserve the historical aspect of the place. It's a place like no other.  

We arrived by plane and took the bus into the city.  The first odd thing we saw was this.

Our bus driver explained that the firefighters hang up their firehose on these towers to make sure all the water drains out of them.

Next, he explained why there are all these piles of rooks everywhere. 

If you wander off you will encounter places around Dawson City that look like moonscape.  To see what I'm talking about, check out the article from the Yukon News. In town, at the visitor center, you will see this model of the machine that created the landscape. 

As we approached Dawson City we saw Moosehide Slide.  There are plenty of legends surrounding the cause of Moosehide Slide. One of our guides told the story of cannibals and the citizens of Dawson, then there is the story of the people of the Hän tribe but today Moosehide Slide is an early warning system.

Our bus driver gave us a piece of information I had been searching for my entire life.  The church below is holding a service come, rain, wind, hail, snow...... nothing will stop except when it is 42 below. From this information one can conclude, 42 below is the point where hell freezes over. 

The "Kissing Buildings of Dawson are alone, worth a trip north. Due to permafrost buildings aren't built on the ground but on wooden support slabs, which need to be adjusted every year, if not, something like this will happen.

Downtown Dawson is made of dirt roads and uneven boardwalks. Mainstreet 

which is part of the Alaska Highway is the only, none dirt road in Dawson City.  

Again, did is due to permafrost.  Paved roads would end up with potholes year 

after year. Downtown Dawson isn't a large place and you can explore on your 

own, however, I highly recommend taking some of the offered guided tours. 

Stop by the visitor center to check which tours are available and when. Some 

tours are only available once a week so you may want to call ahead, if possible 

to arrange your schedule. 

The core part of downtown is about a 6 x 6 block we were able to see the 

insides of some of the buildings such as the bank,

local bar and 

Post office.

If you wander down the walkway of the Yukon River you can see the 

joining of the blue Klondike and the brown Yukon River. 

There are placards telling you all about the history and the river was 

used to bring products in and out of Dawson. 

You will also encounter this beautiful historic sternwheeler paddle steamer.  You can actually take a tour of the steamer however the tour was only offered once a week when we were there so sadly we missed it.Other than all these beautiful buildings and the school of Dawson, which is an example of what will happen if the kids pick the color for the school.

Many buildings like that Arctic Brotherhood Hall, which belongs the some of the few remaining buildings from the early 1900s, actually have corrugated metal siding.  Something I had never seen and found rather interesting.Now going on to the local quirks.  Taylor, our wonderful guide had talked about it. At first, I wasn't really up for this type of adventure but she with her wonderful organizing skills got a big group together, much like the gold rush, I ended up getting a case of the Sourtoe Rush. Our guide Taylor was correct, the Sourtoe Cocktail was a fun event.  If you are ever in Dawson City may sure to enter the Sourtoe Club.  Here, you can read how it all started.

Taylor added some more spice to the evening by taking all of us to the Diamon Tooth Gertie's Gambling Hall. 

I guess it is safe to say, Dawson City is Canada's best drinking town. From the Sourdough Saloon 

where you will get your Sourtoe Cocktail, to Bombay Peggy's, then there is The Pit at the Westminster Hotel and so many more. 

If you plan a trip to Dawson City, make sure you check ahead.  The citizens of Dawson City work hard and play even harder.  Events such as Dawson City Mud Bog, The Great Internation Klondike Outhouse Race, and many more.  To plan your trip you can check out this calendar. Downtown Dawson has much to offer, however, a trip up the Klondike Highway, could be a fun adventure. 

Here are a few items I missed some due to time and others due to lack of research. Robert W. Service also known as the Brad of the Yukon. I missed his former log cabin.  Here is some information so you will not miss it as well.  Then there is Jack London, the guy who wrote The Call of the Wild. I believe they have made a movie of the book as well. You can visit a replica of his cabin, or you can rent one in Seward Alaska. Jack London didn't stay in Dawson City but the story of his cabin is interesting.  There is also the Dawson City Graveyard, which has a detailed directory and of course not forget the Dawson City Museum.  

Following Taylor's recommendations we also had the most amazing dinner.