The Dawson City Adventure

---

Our announced time for leaving this morning was 9 am. As I left my room, I ran into Terry (the gentleman from Ontario), who told me that we'd moved back to 10 am because there were still problems with the bus and Sherry was trying to get another coach. When we met up at 10 am, she said that she'd gotten a different bus, but it wouldn't start, so no go, regroup at 1 pm.

The town is laid out on a grid, with Front Street along the river, then 2nd Ave, 3rd Ave, etc... The cross streets are named streets. So I wandered along 3rd and 2nd Avenues, then down to Front Street and the trail on the dike along the river. Walked to the Visitor's Center and asked if the ferry took pedestrian passengers. It does, and it's free. So I walked over to the ferry (it was closer than I thought because it curves back towards town on this side) and rode it across and back. It takes longer to load and unload then it does to cross. After that, I stopped at the Firemen Museum, then walked back along Front Street and took some pictures of the buildings. The town has an ordinance that all the buildings have to have 1890's type fronts and they are gorgeous. And the colors are incredible, I haven't seen colors like this since San Francisco. Had yummy vegetable soup at Sourdough Joe's restaurant. Had a nice chat with the waitress, she studied musical theater at university and is in the show at Diamond Tooth Gerties. I was planning on skipping the show, but now I think I'm going.

Headed back to the hotel for our 1 PM meeting. Sherry said that our best bet for now was to walk to the Visitor's Center and then to the Cultural Center. Some of us had already been to the Visitors' Center, so we decided to meet them at the Cultural Center. They have something here nicknamed "The Writers' Block," it is where the Jack London Museum is, as well as a cabin used by Robert Service, the poet, and a house where writer named Pierre Berton was raised. I walked up there with a couple from Australia. It was a small museum, but the woman there clearly loves her job. Met the group back at the cultural center, and our bus was back! After the cultural center we headed out of town to an old gold dredge and then to Claim 33 for some gold panning. Call me cynical, but I'm pretty sure they "seed" each of the pans. I had to laugh while I was there, one of our group is a pretty intense photographer, and I thought we might have to drag her away from the deteriorating farm equipment.

Our final stop of the day was up at the top of the "Dome", a really nice overlook where you can see the town as well as the confluence of the Yukon and Klondike Rivers. Back at the hotel around 6:15. Had planned to walk over to Klondike Kate's for dinner, but have found out it is closed, so it looks like dinner in the hotel then Diamond Tooth time.

Tomorrow we will see the film at the cultural center that we didn't have time for today, then we head out to Whitehorse.



Oh, one more funny. I seem to be collecting different ways that hotels use key cards. The standard insert and remove (both vertical and horizontal), an insert and open, a proximity one that you just have to hold near the door, and at this hotel, a swipe. Annoyingly, it's a swipe down, and I keep hitting the knob.

---