We leave after our usual breakfast of granola, BC blueberries, strawberries, banana, coconut yogurt, hazelnuts, walnuts and a little warm milk- yum breakfast of champions to last the day!
It is a short ride to Dawson City, established during the Klondike Gold rush days starting 1898. It drove the stampeders to this extreme wilderness in the hope of striking a payload and eventually resulted in a town called the “second Paris” . A high society grew from the demand of services, the wealth that came and went.
Fortunes and businesses come and go here, but we are very happy to see that the Red Mammoth cafe and the Bonanza supermarket are thriving, even though they have changed hands.
We are staying at the Gold Rush campground as we need to refill our water tank, take our first shower and dispense with the grey water. The token gives us 6 min of hot water so it is good to have our Australian water conservation skills down pat to serve us there.
It is the last day of the Labour Day long weekend and we are thrilled that the Red Mammoth is open for a nice toasted Turkish bread sandwich. Our food supplies are lasting really well but it’s nice to get something fresh and toasted as without a plug -in neither the toaster nor the oven work. All other restaurants are closed even the “Drunken Goat “ where we were hoping for a pizza tonight.
We go around town exploring using the raised sidewalks that are meant to keep your feet dry when it’s snowy and sloshy.
Dawson City is built on permafrost and when buildings are heated inside it causes the permafrost to melt, this results in foundations tipping.There are lots of examples of houses that have collapsed like a concertina.
We see that there has been a big change in the presence of First Nations influence and governance since our last stay in 2014. The Yukon receives a lot of a central government funding but since an agreement initially struck in 2017 there is a visible cultural, educational and social heritage presence in town. A pride in the original language and culture is bringing a lot more opportunities for young people within their own heritage.
A long time ago, this area had the great wooly mammoth roaming the steppes during the ice age. The ice itself did not come down as far as here as it was too dry which allowed the mammoths to roam. Only recently a large mammoth bone was discovered during the ongoing mining explorations for gold. Placer mining is the company that bought out a lot of small, private stakes and we can see the community is divided here about its presence in the area with signs like “ this business supports Placer mining” displayed in windows.
A local artist was commissioned to commemorate the mammoth heritage with a sculpture.
We check out the night sky for auroras but tonight it’s too cloudy. Off to Big Bertha for a nice snooze we go.