Day 19 - Whitehorse, YT to Dawson City, YT

Ken and Carole Adams #1 Wagonmasters June 27, 2010

We would like to welcome #19, Karen, and her beautiful bird, Bobby, to our group! She joined us in Whitehorse after a layover from a previous caravan.

Today we travelled from Whitehorse to Dawson City, goal of the Klondike gold rush of ‘98. It was a beautiful morning, with just a few clouds in the otherwise blue sky.

No journey on the Klondike Highway would be complete without a stop at Braeburn Lodge. This is a great little spot in about the middle of nowhere. Their specialty is huge cinnamon buns. We hear the breakfasts are excellent too. Check this out:

                                     Note the bite mark and missing corner – Mr. Kenny did it 

For some reason, the wildlife all took a vacation for us today; our most exotic encounter was a ground squirrel who tried to play “chicken” with our motor home while we were rolling up the highway. We think he lost.

We travelled mile after mile through the boreal spruce and birch forests and plains, interspersed with lots of lakes and ponds and rivers. As we headed north, the trees got shorter, in some areas stunted due to the cold winters. The roads started to really show the effects of cold too. There were countless asphalt patches, uneven surfaces, and even a few respectable frost heaves. This encouraged us to slow down, which gave us an opportunity to see the fireweed just starting to flower out. There were also lots of lupines and other wildflowers just coming into bloom, as well as lots of lush green grasses for the local wildlife to munch on.

Approaching Dawson there are miles of dredge tailings. Dawson is a quaint town. Almost all the buildings look like the 1890s. There is much to see and do in Dawson: the museums, the First People’s Cultural Centre, the S.S. Keno sternwheeler and a drive up to the Midnight Dome for a wonderful view of the town, the Yukon river and the Top of the World highway. We hope to see a lot of these tomorrow.