Dawson City, up close

Had a fun day exploring Dawson! We joined a 2 hour walking tour first thing in the morning and got to see some of the interiors of the older buildings. Our Canada Parks guide was fun, and has lived in Dawson for over 15 years. She like a number of people we met, come to work the summer and then end up staying. They have a hospital here, but mostly for minor injuries, etc.. If you are due to have a baby they have you leave about 3 weeks before your due date and head to Whitehorse.

Had an early lunch at Klondike Kate's and then hit a couple museums. Dawson City museum was interesting and had some great photos of Dawson before its "almost" demise. And then spent some time at the Jack London museum. Watched an interesting video about finding his cabin on Henderson Creek which feeds into the Yukon. Half of his cabin went to Oakland (where he spent most of his life when not traveling) and the other half to Dawson because of his time there during the gold rush, which was the inspiration for some of his most famous novels, "Call of the Wild" and "White Fang".

Finished our day doing a couple of "drive bys", (no real time to stop), got some gas and an ice cream cone to eat while we waited in line for the George Black ferry. There is no bridge across the Yukon this far north, but thefreere is a free ferry that runs 24/7 when the river is not iced over. Only a short 5-10 minute trip, and it appears any size vehicle can be accommodated. We watched a fairly good size truck ferried over. He was big enough that it was the only vehicle on the ferry. When we went over they had 2 RVs and maybe 5 cars and some pedestrians. Very efficient, you just get in line and wait your turn...

Found a campsite right on the other side of the river, on the Yukon, and with shade! No power, but this is a great site, and the trees helped! Tomorrow we will actually cross the border into Alaska!Read more