Dawson City To Fairbanks

Ian pans

July 29th - Aug 1  Dawson City, Yukon
We arrive at the Bonanza Gold RV Park to discover that my glasses have yet to arrive. Further investigation reveals that they are in Edmonton. They will not arrive before we leave because they were not sent promptly from Burlington. I shall have to have them forwarded on to somewhere else.

Dar plays

Dawson proves to be a lot of fun. We take in the show at Diamond Gertie’s, a historical walking tour, a drive up the Midnight Dome and we try our hand panning for gold on Bonanza Creek where it all started. (Ian finds gold but Darlene washes his storage container for sandwiches. Yes, it was a few VERY SMALL flakes.)
On Saturday we tour Dredge #4 - a fascinating introduction to the power of the Dark Side of gold mining. A mining monster that creeps forward 10 feet a day, ripping the river bed apart down to the bedrock in its hunt for gold. The tailings from the dredges surround Dawson - piles and piles of washed gravel in long squirming lines.

We also visit the Moosehide Gathering, a biannual get-together for all of the Han people who live in this area of the north. First Nations people ferry visitors to the gathering down the Yukon by boat as it is inaccessible by road. Native crafts are on display and this afternoon there are lessons on moose hair tufting. We see a number of dance groups but it is very hot and we decide to head back before the feast. (We head back to a beer at the Snakepit complete with honky tonk piano and two types of beer - Canadian or Budweiser)

Tlingit Dancer

Monday, Aug 2nd Tok, Alaska

In the morning we roll the truck & trailer onto the Yukon ferry, cross the river and head up the Top of The World Highway. This, and the Taylor Highway on the Alaska side are the roughest, dustiest roads so far. The road has been closed for a week because of wash-outs and has only recently opened. There are sections that look like a mine field - after the explosions. At one point we are doing 10 km/hr and it’s still a little too fast.We arrive in Tok covered in dust and a thin film has settled on everything in the trailer. We lost the cap to the waste pipe somewhere along the line and the night table drawer has fallen out and come apart. Fortunately the dishes and the latte maker have all survived.

Ferry to the Top of the World

In Tok we get some wonderful advice from a German couple next to us and the next day we are able to reserve a campsite well inside Denali for Aug 6,7 &8. That will give us time to see Fairbanks.

Tuesday, Aug 3 - 4 - Fairbanks, Alaska

The Chena River State Park in Fairbanks is well laid out amidst trees but very noisy due to the traffic. On the road into town we pass the USAF base and are treated to a series of fighter jets taking off, one after the other. ( This may be my highlight for this part of the trip.) Fairbanks is trying hard but we cut our walking tour short. I do like the headquarters of the Yukon Quest dog sled race - 1000 miles from Fairbanks to Dawson. They switch directions every other year. This is a part of the world where they say “I mush dogs” with a straight face.
We also visit the LARS - Large Animal Research Station to see some musk ox and caribou. I hoping for lots of photos but this really is a research lab - it’s double fenced and I come away with just one bull musk ox. Another highlight is restocking at Fred Meyers - haven’t seen too many big stores lately. We are sorry to miss the museum but somehow time has moved on and so must we - to Denali.

NOTE: If the photos seem oddly placed that's because the blog has issues - or an attitude -  I'll take what I can get.