On the Long Road to Dawson City

Day 05 - July 18th, 2024

Weather - Sunny, 22 degrees C

We woke up wonderfully refreshed this morning, ready to make our way to Dawson City. The sun was shining, and it was, finally, blessedly warm; all good omens. Dawson City is not a small distance away, a respectable 6-hour drive, so we made sure to refuel, top off the propane and refresh the snack stash before heading on our way.

The drive to Dawson City was beautiful, though the road was sometimes like a rollercoaster. We were hitting our wildlife bingo card, marking off a fox, black bear, bald eagle, coyote and a whole lot of marmots, the cheeky buggers. I keep being promised moose by the road signs but have yet to see one - though maybe this is for the best, on some level, moose are scarier than grizzly bears. We left Whitehorse around noon and arrived in Dawson around 6 pm, just as planned.

My first impression of Dawson City is that it feels like a more real version of Skagway. Skagway was a perfectly pristine main street lined with beautifully restored or recreated buildings from the Gold Rush era. In Dawson City, the Gold Rush era buildings are dispersed throughout the entire town. Some have been restored, and some are still original - or as original as they can be, given all the fires that happened in Dawson in the early days. Though Dawson can still very much be considered a tourist town, it requires much more of a commitment to get here; tourists can't just arrive here on a cruise ship like in Skagway. Overall, Dawson is a little rougher in ways that feel more authentic and has a slower, more community-centred heart.

This is a short post, but there's not much more that can be said about today. We found a nice campground maintained by Park's Canada just outside of town, much more affordable than the ones inside of these tourist towns, we have quickly discovered. We picked a lovely spot and set up for the night, and I am now just resting and relaxing while things about the not two, not three, but eleven (!) cemeteries in and around Dawson City - six which I know have burials from my time of interest.

I look forward to what tomorrow brings; see you all then!

-Nikki