We arrived in Dawson City on the 24th Stayed 3 nites. and still had things we didn’t see. There were things to see for a fee & things to see that were free. We did both. Took a 90 min. tour through town with a tour guide with some bizarre stories of Dawson City History. Prior to this bank being built it was housed in a tent as the need for a financial institution could not wait for progress. It still stands today as it was when it was used.Minor’s needed a place to exchange their gold for cash.
Klondike Kates is now a restaurant. And Diamond Tooth Gerties is a Historic gambling hall, food concession and bar. They do 3 different half hour shows nightly. We were told the later the show the more risqué they get. We didn’t hang around town late enough to go so can’t comment...
Palace Grand Theatre . Built by one man with a vision of “mining the minor’s” of their money he offered them a relief from their hard way of life with live entertainment and girls much to the pleasure of the minor. Once it opened it was filled to capacity of 500 every night. At the end of the evening show the girls would continue to “mine the minor’s” with booze and dances. It made over $7,000 a night for a year. The original one was burned in a fire but has been rebuilt exactly & is used today as a fully operational theatre for the people of the town and high school graduation is held there plus other civic functions.
This old cabin sites in town on main street. You can book rides on this nostalgic paddle wheeler & cruise the Yukon River for only $57.75 cruise or dinner cruise for $82.95. Not sure how that compares to the cost of days gone by. It’s a beautiful boat.
Commissioner’s Residence . The commissioner was the only law in the area. He governed with total authority and was the main political link with the outside world in this isolated area. Appointed by the Canadian government he brought law to the area and looked to the future for investors to support the city in its transition from boom-town to a city and not a ghost town.
They have left these building’s to show what the frost heaves do when built without the proper foundation
Jack London was only 21 when he arrived in Dawson City to mine for gold with his partners. He spent the winter in this cabin. It is seen today as it was 110 years ago. From his experiences here that only lasted a year, he went on to be a world class author. He wrote The Call of the Wild, White Fang and many more. Because of ill health and a case of “scurvy” he was forced to leave after just one year.
Robert Service worked as a teller,and accountant in the bank. And lived in this cabin. While he worked in this bank he became a very famous poet. One of his most famous is “The Cremation of Sam Mac Gee” He rented this cabin for 5 yrs & planned to return but never did. The owner never rented to anyone else.
Midnight Dome-- We went up there @ 11:30 & it was just like it was noon. There are great views of the town & surrounding areas. There was a beautiful Rainbow when we got there.
These were taken @ midnight up on Midnight Dome overlooking the city and the Yukon River. We had beautiful clear sunny warm weather the first 2 days there. It never got dark. The sun went down just so far & then parallel to the right. We finally left & headed back down to camp across the Yukon Ferry @ 1am.
The pink was a reflection on the clouds to the south behind us & the last pix was taken as we were boarding the ferry.
It Still amazes me how light it stays and never really gets dark. In the next post we will have left the Yukon Territory & crossed back into the US again into the 49th state of Alaska. Traveling over the “Top Of The World Hwy” to the town of Chicken.
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