North Pole, Top of the World Highway, Dawson City and other fun places


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North America » Canada » Yukon » Dawson City
August 26th 2007
Published: August 31st 2007
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North Pole


We left Fairbanks and headed southeast to the North Pole. No not THE North Pole but the town in Alaska named North Pole. Of course there is a Christmas theme to the town. We noticed even a welding company had gigantic candy canes as part of the entrance to the company. Items that are mailed from this town are postmarked “North Pole.”

Delta Junction


This was our next stop. We took pictures by the marker for the end of the Alaska Highway, so now we have a picture at each end. We had planned to have dinner at a restaurant outside of DJ on the way to Tok, but it was closed. Being self contained we made our own dinner at a scenic pullout. On our drive we saw moose. Once there was a cow moose with her calf, crossing the road. Another time we saw a bull moose running along side the road. When they turned in to the woods they quickly become invisible. We camped in a pullout about a half hour from Tok. The Alaska Highway is a lot quieter than the last tine we drove it earlier in the summer. We walked the dogs down the road without having a car pass us. Later we timed how often cars were going by and it seemed to be about every nine minutes at 10pm.

Tok


We needed to stop in Tok to pick up mail. Also we did a little more grocery shopping and bought some more meat. Our goal is to postpone buying groceries, as long as we cane, once we’re in Canada. As we continued on our journey we saw evidence of the results from a major forest fire in 2004. Fireweed is supposed to be the first plant that springs up after a fire, and we saw a lot of it. At this time of the season it is red and we’d see the side of mountains painted in red and gold.

Chicken


The legend is that originally this town was supposed to be called Ptarmigan, after the abundant birds in the area. The early miners couldn’t spell it, so they settled on the name Chicken instead. The summer population is 21 and the winter population is 6. We stopped in Chicken and had blueberry pie and used their internet. We needed
Top of the World HighwayTop of the World HighwayTop of the World Highway

This was our view in the morning.
to fortify ourselves for the next stretch of road The Top of the World Highway.

Top of the World Highway


I keep trying to figure out how some roads are designated as highways. I have a different idea of what a highway should be and want to be certain that people are not envisioning paved multilane divided roadways. We’re traveling at the end of the season, so most of the repairs from the winter damage are done. These highways and roadways are probably in the best shape they are going to be this year, which is to our advantage. Driving this road takes patience. It is more dirt than paved. It’s narrow and winds and has soft or no shoulders. In some places it is straight down without a guard rail. Washboard, mud, dust, stones and spectacular vistas come to mind when I think about our travels on it. We drove it later in the afternoon and arrived at the Canadian customs at 7:30pm. They are open from 8am-8pm. crossing the border was uneventful. The Yukon portion of the road was supposed to be in better shape than the US portion, and it was. We were happy
After Top of the World HighwayAfter Top of the World HighwayAfter Top of the World Highway

These are a few of the stones and dirt that collected on the windshield wiper and windshield wiper well, from our journey across the Top of the World Highway.
to see pavement, but as we crested the first peak and began a short descent, we were in fog!! This is not the kind of road I would want to do in the fog, plus then we’d miss all the views. Fortunately it didn’t last long and it wasn’t real thick. We were pleased with the lack of traffic on the road. Only one vehicle passed us. We watched the sun slowly sink behind a mountain peak, but then as we reached another peak it would reappear. The light as we drove was soft, and the snowy mountains in the distance were nicely lit and contrasted with the darker shapes of the closer mountains. We decided to camp on the top of the world, so we spent the night in a pullout with a great view. Once the border closed, there was no more traffic going in either direction. We ate dinner watching the last rays of light on the horizon at about 11pm. I was surprised that the horizon had light whenever I checked it. It definitely gets dark now, but there is still faint light along the horizon, as the sun moves to its morning position. We’re trying
Ferry across the YukonFerry across the YukonFerry across the Yukon

Most of the time we stayed camped on the east side of the river. We finally needed to bring the RV across to use a campground with more amenities, so here is the RV getting off the ferry.
to see the position of the stars in the night sky, so I end up checking the sky during the course of the night. The best we’ve seen is a few very faint stars through a thin veil of clouds. Mostly there are clouds in the night sky, so seeing the stars, moon or northern lights is impossible. Next week there is supposed to be increased solar activity, so there will be a greater possibility of seeing some northern lights.

We brought a lot of the road along with us. The lower portion of the RV and the entire car are thoroughly caked with dirt. There are rocks on the car’s hood, roof, on the windshield wiper and in the windshield wiper recess. We had to scoop them out. George washed the windows, the door handles, the lights and license plate, so we’d be able to drive it. He had to scrape the dirt off the mechanics for the RV step. The wires for the step were hanging down, so we probably lost something along the road. He’s got them fixed, so they are no longer hanging. He also had to add some fluid to the hydraulic jack system, as the morning’s drive was periodically accompanied by the bell telling us (incorrectly) that our jacks were still down.


Dawson City


We camped on the west side of the Yukon River and the city is on the east side of the river. There is no bridge to get across the river. During the summer there is a free ferry. It runs 24 hours a day. There are a few times where it is down for 10 minutes for shift change and 2 hours one day (5-7am) for maintenance. It adds to the historic feel of the town. During the winter there is an ice bridge. There is about 6 weeks in the spring and fall when there is no way to cross the river, while it is either freezing or breaking up.

Most of the roads in Dawson City are dirt and the sidewalks are real wooden boardwalks. The Canada Parks system owns several of the buildings and have been restoring or rebuilding them. We toured some and enjoyed the guides in their period costumes.

Robert Service Cabin


The Parks Service has several things to see and do around Dawson City. One
Parks guideParks guideParks guide

We took a walking tour of Dawson City and this was our guide. The outfits are wool or cotton. Dry cleaning is sent out....to Whitehorse.
day we went to the one man show at the Robert Service cabin. Robert William Service was the man who wrote the poems such as “The Spell of the Yukon”, “The Killing of Dan McGrew”, and “The Cremation of Sam McGee”. The actor/historical interpreter (George just saw a red fox right in the campground near our motor home) gave an entertaining program about Service’s life and writings. He brought the audience into the show. George’s reciting of the first stanza of “….Sam McGee” was the highlight of the afternoon, along with the entertainer Johnny’s readings of “The Killing of Dan McGrew” and “Bessie’s Boil”.

Top of the World Golf Course


George golfed and I walked the course with him to enjoy the view and take photos. When we arrived there were a few dozen cranes flying overhead making a lot of noise. They were catching some air currents. At first I thought they were migrating, but then thought they might be getting in shape for their long flight. The sand-traps had some interesting footprints in them. Mostly it was waterfowl of some type, and at home that would mean Canada Geese, but here there are more possibilities. Perhaps the sand hill cranes hangout in the sand-traps when the golfers aren’t around. There was some paw prints in one of the sand-traps. The other thing I found interesting was the scat that was on the golf course. Again a variety that would go along with the footprints. But one was very different and filled with berry seeds. Bears are really into the berries this time of year, so possibly there’s one that checks out the golf course. That’s a different kind of hazard to be aware of and extra motivation to keep the golf balls out of the brush. George and I both enjoyed the golf course, in our own way.

Annual World Gold Panning Championship


We never knew that there was such an event, but it occurred in Dawson City while we were there. Next year it will be in Spain. We were surprised to see the diverse list of countries that participated. It draws contestants from around the world. There are different classifications including traditional. The buckets of dirt have a specific number of gold flakes added to them. Each contestant takes their place at their trough of water. Some stand barefoot in it and others have boots. The signal begins the competition and the clock. As each person finishes their time is recorded. They are ranked by the number of flakes they locate and the length of time it takes to find them. They have 5 minutes added to their time for each flake that they miss.

We met a couple from Sweden who have the same last name as my parents. Fortunately they spoke English and it was fun to talk to them. They were competing, so we added them to the people we were cheering for. We unknowingly sat in the bleacher section with the US and Canadians. They were friendly and fun and had some organized cheers, so that added to the fun of the day.

Misc.


I felt some sadness as we headed away from Fairbanks, as this was the beginning of heading out of Alaska. There is still a lot more to see on the way home. We’re heading to the Dempster Highway and then south to Whitehorse. Fall is breathing down our necks with a cold breath. There has been frost and the colors are changing.






Additional photos below
Photos: 15, Displayed: 15


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Digging for goldDigging for gold
Digging for gold

George is using the snow shovel from the trunk of the car.
Improvised panningImprovised panning
Improvised panning

Same shovel, new use.
Folks at the Gold panning contestFolks at the Gold panning contest
Folks at the Gold panning contest

The man on the right was a contestant. He wore boots in the water, some do it in their bare feet!One woman even had on a lovely dress and had it hiked up out of the water.


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