Whitehorse to Dawson

It was a very  long ride by motor coach from Whitehorse to Dawson.  We stopped several times along the way to stretch our legs and see points of interest along the way.  There were very few vehicles traveling the highway which was a bit rough in spots.  The weather really takes a toll on Yukon highways.  We can't imagine trying to drive this route in the winter.  It took us over 6 hours to get to Dawson which was the capital of the Yukon until that honor passed to Whitehorse in 1953.  Dawson was a boom town with the population reaching a peak of about 30,000 in 1898.  By 1902 the population was down to 8,000 with a large exodus as the gold fields played out.  Today, the population of Dawson is less than 1,000 full-year residents.  The streets are still dirt with the exception of Front Street which is asphalt.  Sidewalks are wooden planks.  The city boasts an international airport but the runway is a short 5,000 foot long stretch of gravel.  We will fly out of here for Fairbanks.  Today, tourism keeps the town alive.

SS Keno

We arrived in Dawson early enough to tour the SS Keno  which was the last steamboat to operate on the Yukon River.  During the late 19th and first half of the 20th Century, over 250 steamboats served as the primary transportation link for settlements on the Yukon River and the territory's interior.  Eventually, the railroad and finally highways put the steamboats out of business.  The SS Keno is now a Canadian National Historic Site.  She was built in the Yukon and remained in commercial shipping for 33 years (1922 - 1955) carrying lead and zinc ore from Kino to Stewart City where its cargo was transferred to larger steamboats which carried the ore to Whitehorse where the cargo was transferred to rail cars of the White Pass and Yukon Route railroad bound for Skagway.  The Keno fully loaded had a draft of only 3 feet.  Our Foreign Affair draws over 5 feet due to its lead keel.


For evening entertainment, we went to Diamond Gertie's.  There, we were entertained by a two piece band (piano and drum) and the stars of the show, a female singer and the dancing girls.  Dwayne caught the eye of one of the dancers and she brought him up on stage to join in the fun.  He did his best to copy her moves but she was much more agile and skilled.  In the end, he was rewarded with her garter and a round of applause from the crowd.

Dwayne No Can Can

After the show, we headed to the Downtown Hotel for some more fun and entertainment.  Carla and Jim got a chance to be the stars as they opted to become members of the exclusive Sourtoe Cocktail Club.  To become a member, one has to drink a big shot of booze which contains a mummified human toe.  The toe must touch the lips of the prospective member while downing the shot.  After paying the $5 Toe Tax and getting a thorough briefing from the Master of the Toe, both Carla and Jim, in turn, were initiated into the Sourtoe Cocktail Club and awarded their certificates of membership.  The club was established in 1973 and now has over 83,000 members.

The Mummified Toe - Complete with Toenail

Master of the Toe Briefing Jim and Carla

It was as exciting an evening as one finds in Dawson.  Once again, we had a long but fun day in the Yukon and slept well looking forward to further adventures tomorrow.