Dawson City

If you want raw and immediate history, a visit to Dawson City is the way to get it.  The gold rush here in the late 1890’s was an incredible era and Parks Canada has great programs for allowing you to understand and feel some of the excitement of the time. The stampeders were an incredibly hardy and innovative group and the evidence of their exploits is bold and present.  Just getting there was more adventure than most of us experience in a lifetime. 

We toured the gold mining Dredge #4 which was like a giant mining conveyer that ate it’s way up creeks doing the work of 200 men with great efficiency.  Then we did a guided walk around the town which was also fascinating. The visit to poet Robert Service’s cabin was well worth the admission.  We spent an extra day here to take in the sights.

 

Car ferry across the Yukon River

Dawson city and the Yukon River

View from "the Dome" above the town.

Dredge #4 - a must see in Dawson

Big cables

Big gears

Good to be in a motel!

Robert Service's cabin

 At our motel we bumped into bright and beautiful Britta Jensen, a  tephrochronologist who is a former Math 10 student at Selkirk secondary now working on her PHD. Tephrochronology is the study of the age and distribution of layers of volcanic ash from ancient and more recent times. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tephrochronology
Her research is connected to a plethora of other fields and appllications. It was a delight to meet her again and fascinating to hear about her research.

Britta

The old- sinking in melting permafrost

The restored

Camp beside the Pelly River