Fun in the Midnight Sun

We stopped briefly in Whitehorse to stock up a bit before heading up Highway 2 for Dawson City. The landscape is changing. The trees are definitely shorter with the dominant tree being the lodge pole pine or as Jack likes to call them “pipe cleaner trees”. The going is slow on this route as well. So be prepared for taking your time. We stopped in Carmach for the night.

Dawson City is home of the Klondite Gold Rush, the largest gold strike in the North American continent. They are still mining in the area and finding gold. It is on the Yukon River and gave birth to almost all of the stereo types about the gold era. The famed authors Jack London and Robert W. Service wrote a number of books about this area around the turn of the previous century. It is a place with names such as Sourdough Jack’s, Klondike Kate and Diamond Tooth Gertie’s based off real people as colorful as their names. It is fun place with an interesting past. A bit of tourist trap – yup, but everyone is genuinely friendly and we ate some really good food. And definitely take in the show at Diamond Tooth Gertie’s. I was thinking it would be super cheesy but it was surprising professional and very reasonable for ten bucks per person. Can Jan Can Can? All proceeds from the show go to the town. I really get a sense of community from this little town out in the middle of Klondike wilderness. Dawson also has number of unique festivals throughout the year as well. One of them celebrates the longest day of the year by having big old party at midnight on top the overlooking mountain called the “Dome”. Dawson City is only 159 miles south of the Arctic Circle and I honestly have not seen a true night in quite awhile. Oh, and don’t forget to pan for gold!

A brief word about the RV parks, they really cram you in and are not much more than parking lots. And the price for diesel and gas is ridiculously high. There is not much you can do about either since they are the only choices.

So where do you go after Dawson City? You can either turn around and go back to Whitehorse or brave the George Black ferry across the mighty Yukon River. The Yukon River is swift and the ferry boat is small! The road on the other side is the “Top of the World” highway and crosses into Alaska. All accounts of this road say it is very rough going full of long stretches of gravel and pot holes. It is true. Narrow steep gravel and dirt roads with no guard rails and plenty of pot holes and washed out shoulders can be harrowing with any vehicle. Now imagine that towing 35ft , 13 thousand pound fifth wheel! And the road definitely gets worse from the US border crossing to the town of Chicken. More about Chicken next. That being said plenty of RVs do it every year but it is very slow going and stressful.

Ahh! but quite beautiful and like nothing anywhere else. The landscape turns to tundra and when you look north it is a feeling of absolute wilderness. You can only imagine what it must be like in winter. I was quite excited about crossing back into the US and into Alaska as well. This is the most northern land border crossing into the US and it is always good to be home even when your Canadian neighbor is friendly and welcoming.