Up the Klondike Highway to Dawson City

Day 19    Sunday July 3, 2016                                       Dawson City, YT,  Gold Bonanza RV Park, #74B

334 miles (538 km)        11.4 mpg

Left Pioneer RV Park in Whitehorse at 05:30 for a nice early start.  It took us 8.5 hours to get up to Dawson City.  We do not like this campground.  It’s dumpy, everybody is on top of each other and we’re paying for hookups we don’t need.  But we will be taking the Dempster Highway tomorrow to Eagle Plains without the Oliver, and needed to have it in a private campground so we could feel comfortable leaving it.  At first they wanted us here:

We called it the ghetto.  They wanted us between the two motorhomes on the right.  The white motorhome is from Lake City, MI.

We went back to the office and “upgraded” to this:

It had some trees along the side, at least.

I probably don’t have to say this, but the ride up was very scenic.  The mountains are lower and the trees are more deciduous and less conifer.  The highway followed three large rivers, the McKenzie, the Stewart, and the Yukon Rivers.  All flow north.  Here of some photos taken from the road.

Bridge over the Stewart River

The Klondike Highway turnoff from the Alaskan Highway, just west of Whitehorse

A sign warning us of elk.  I didn't know Alaska had elk.  We didn't see any.

Carmacks is the only town between Whitehorse and Dawson Creek.

Five Finger Rapids on the Yukon from an overlook.

Dawson City was a nice little town.  It was the center of the Yukon Gold Rush in 1896 to the early 1900’s.  Many historical buildings still around and many still being used.  There is some touristy stuff, but not tacky at all like Skagway.  There are saloons, restaurants, and hotels.  All look authentic, not fake.  The main drag is paved but all other streets in town are dirt.

This is the main grocery store in town.  It has wooden floors and a lot of character.

First went to the Northwest Territories visitor center to get info on the Dempster highway to Inuvik.  I did a lot of research on this before we left because there are horror stories and bad advice all over the internet on this.  The highway was completed in 1971 and starts just south of Dawson City and ends about 400 miles north at Inuvik, NT.  It was originally paved with shale and the sharp stones would cut the tires and create lots of flat tires.  There are no services along the first 250 miles except at Eagle Plains, 21 miles south of the Arctic Circle.  The person at the information center told me that the road was regraded years ago with gravel all the way and is excellent condition. 

Next stop was the Dawson City visitor center. 

We did no sightseeing today but will when we return from Eagle Plains.  We went to Sourdough Joe’s, known for their fish and chips, and had lunch of fish and chips made with “real” Alaskan cod, homemade tartar sauce, and home-made fries.  It was really, really, good.  Also had some beer from the Whitehorse Brew Co.

The McKenzie highway ends at Dawson City at the Yukon River.  To continue, there is a free ferry provided by the Yukon government that takes you across the Yukon River, where the Top of the World Highway will take you to the Alaskan border.  That will be our next adventure when we get back from the Arctic Circle.  We sat on a bench on the river and watch the ferry go back and forth.

Topped of gas tank and returned to campground.  The guy next to us in huge 42 ft. 5^th-wheel was from just north of Battle Creek, MI.  His first Alaskan trip, too.  A very large pick-up camper was behind us with a couple from Arkansas.  Kind of hippy.  Grey hair pulled back in a pony tail.

Overall, another excellent day in northern Canada.

For desert, here's some of Marsha's pictures of the local flora.  We have no fauna pictures to show you.

This grass with the iridescent tops is common along the road in some areas and is very pretty.