Day 7

June 7, 2017

Return road trip to Whitehorse

Dawson City Temps: 27/8 C

Gas price in Dawson City: $1.30/litre

Having experienced the road up to Dawson a few days earlier, we now knew what to expect. This time, we packed a lunch of some snacks and a couple of freshly made sandwiches created at a tiny little sandwich bar inside the back of the Bonanza Market. This allowed us to stop whenever we felt hungry.

Heading south to Whitehorse, at the intersection of the Klondike and Dempster Highways. © Dan Silas 2017

The return trip was uneventful, punctuated only by the stunning vistas. With the iPod delivering some favourites, including Sam Baker, Danny Schmidt, Greg Brown, Harry Manx, and Paul Bergman, we cruised the miles away under mostly blue skies. I’m a prairie man at heart, and love watching the ever changing skyscapes in my home province of Manitoba. I’ve visited the Rocky mountains and the Alps' several locations throughout Canada and Europe. After a while, I find these high peaks and narrow valleys make me claustrophobic. But the Yukon is very open country. I got to enjoy its beautiful skies, mountains, wide valleys without ever once feeling hemmed in.

Yukon River © Dan Silas 2017

An early evening check-in at Hidden Valley B&B followed by a tapas sampler at the Burnt Toast Cafe sated our needs for the moment. The tapas platter (potato skins, truffle fries, pulled pork and goat cheese nachos) was delicious. A meal unto itself, and affordable dining for two.

Upon return to the B&B we lounged for a bit in the spacious grounds and beautiful gardens until the mosquitoes drove us indoors. Until now, we hadn’t really had any serious bug experiences; but Hidden Valley is located some 20 minutes just outside Whitehorse, which, we learned, does have a mosquito abatement program within its city limits.

We are both the types who need darkness to achieve quality sleep, so out came our sleep masks, as our room had no black out curtains.

Day 5

Day 5 (June 5, 2017)

Dawson City Temps: 22/5 C

Thanks to blackout curtains in our cosy little B&B room, the midnight sun and 4 am dawn didn’t keep us awake all night.

This is important. The long daylight hours this time of year will mess with your internal clock. More than once we glanced at the time, only to find out it was much later than we thought. And our plans for today meant it would be the longest day.

With appetites sated by a breakfast of ham, eggs, beans, hash browns and toast, we made our way to the Visitor’s Centre for a Walking Tour of Historic Dawson, guided by Ode, a knowledgeable Parks Canada staff, and Justin, a costumed interloper who pops up in character as Arizona Charlie Meadows, the gun toting entrepreneur of gold rush era Dawson City. We enjoyed several of these guided experiences during our stay, including the Life and Poetry of Robert Service (guided and acted by France, a fellow Winnipegger with an obvious passion for the words of Robert Service). Dawson City is also the native home of famed Canadian Pierre Berton, and White Fang author Jack London lived here for a time.

Arizona Charlie in character revelling in his exploits as the merchant/ and entertainment mogul of  Dawson City at the turn of the 1900s. © Dan Silas 2017

The cabin of Robert Service, chock full of artifacts of his time.© Dan Silas 2017

Parks Canada staffer France entertains with passionate readings from her personal marked up copy of Robert Service poetry. © Dan Silas 2017

I was glad to hear most of the tour guides acknowledge that Dawson City rests on tribal lands of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation. On at least two tours, the guides spoke briefly of the legacy of Indian Residential Schools, a tragic black mark in Canada’s history. I later learned in an informal discussion with one of the guides that including this information was new for this year, and I am glad for it. While Canada is a great country and citizens have much to be grateful for, it’s also important to be critical where the historical and ongoing story of relationships with original peoples leaves much to be desired.

We met up for supper with an old acquaintance of mine at the Drunken Goat Taverna for an exquisite sampler tray of Greek cuisine on the recommendation of our host, where we were also introduced to the director of KIAC - the Klondike Institute of Art and Culture.

This particular day proved to be our longest as we planned a short drive up to the dome just outside of Dawson to view the midnight sun. To kill some time before that main event, we boarded the free George Black Ferry to cross the Yukon River to check out West Dawson and the Top of the World Highway.

The colourful streets of Dawson City reminded me of Canada's Maritime cities. The entirety of Dawson is designated a national historic site, so new construction must meet a code of standards. This buildings are actually all part of the relatively new Westmark Inn. © Dan Silas 2017

West Dawson is where local character Caveman Bill has literally lived in a hole in the river bank for some 20 years. One might imagine a hermit. We didn’t meet him, but learned he’s quite sociable. A few years ago a friend from Victoria won a fundraiser raffle for tea with Caveman Bill.

We drove about 20 km up the Top of the World Highway which only made me wish we had more time. This route follows the top contours of the mountains and offers spectacular views.

View from Top of the World Highway at 11:00 pm on June 5 - yet another road trip to add to the bucket list. © Dan Silas 2017

Before crossing the river back to Dawson City and viewing the midnight sun from the dome, we crossed the Yukon River on the free George Black Ferry to check out the in the paddlewheel graveyard, the resting place of seven steamers that plied Yukon rivers in the early 1900s.

Yukon River as seen from the West Dawson side at 11:30 pm. © Dan Silas 2017

Midnight sun from the top of the Dome, just outside Dawson City. © Dan Silas 2017

Day 2

June 2, 2017

Whitehorse temps: 17/7 C

Breakfast: Excellent sourdough pancakes at the Red Door Inn B&B

Our day got off to a leisurely start with a visit to the drydocked S.S. Klondike, a massive sternwheeler being preserved and restored by Parks Canada. There are loads of fascinating stories you can to take in for yourself, along with a short documentary film that was looping in a tent outside.The largest of a fleet operated by the British Yukon Navigation Company, this boat carried provisions, adventurers, and merchants along the upper Yukon River between Whitehorse and Dawson City. These sternwheelers, designed with a shallow draft for shallow rivers, were often steamed at maximum speed to clear sand bars. When they did run aground, cable winches on board were secured to anchor points on shore to drag boats back into deeper water.

SS Klondike © Dan Silas 2017

At lunchtime we wandered down to a tiny little green space downtown for Art in the Park. Here we met local sculptor Harreson Tanner, working on busts of seven writers from across Canada. Harreson struck up a conversation with us and we quickly got four great tips on places to visit: Dawson City, Yukon Artists at Work Gallery (in Whitehorse), Kathleen Lake (in Kluane National Park and Reserve) and Tombstone Territorial Park. All were excellent recommendations and only a lack of time prevented us from seeing Tombstone.

Harreson Tanner © Dan Silas 2017

Here we were also entertained by the five piece folk band, Crooked Folk. As a guitar and mandolin player myself, I couldn’t leave until I had talked with at least one band member, who happened to be Calla, the mandolin player and the only band member to perform some original work. I loved the inter-generational flavour of the group.

Crooked Folk © Dan Silas 2017

Anne at our B&B tipped us off to Miles Canyon, just a ten minute-ish drive out of Whitehorse. Stunning views of aquamarine river waters and a surrounding canyon are flanked by hiking trails. We spent a good chunk of the afternoon contemplating the beauty.

Miles Canyon © Dan Silas 2017

We also visited the Yukon Artists at Work gallery whose modest exterior belies the calibre of work found inside. Here we met the shop-minder for the day, Deanna Bailey, who sculpts amazing three-dimensional scenes in clay. Check out her work - it’s truly incredible. There also happened to be a bookmaking exhibit which tickled the fancies of my partner and travel companion, Prairie Peasant.

We followed Anne’s supper dining tip and thoroughly enjoyed the northern Mexican cuisine cooked up by this family run operation billed as the Yukon’s only Mexican restaurant at a completely unpretentious place called Sanchez Cantina. Pro tip: Get a reservation, which we did the day before.