Whitehorse to Dawson City can be driven in one long day but we decided to break it up into two and stop at a couple of places along the way. Also, the Klondike Highway North isn't as good as what we had driven on the Alaska Highway up to Whitehorse. We heard from Ron and Ginny that the AK Hwy from Whitehorse through Kluane to Tok is awful, though, so this may have been a better choice. The Alaska Highway south of Whitehorse has wide mowed areas on each
side of the highway. It is much narrower on the Klondike Highway. You have to keep your eye out for frost heaves and potholes plus a number of stretches of gravel rather than pavement. There were some pretty stops and spots though.
Not too long out of Whitehorse, we stopped at Five Finger Rapids. These rapids were a challenge for the stampeders and, even more so, for the paddle wheelers that soon moved people and freight up and down the river. Navigating through the huge rocks could be treacherous if you did not hit it just right. Eventually a cable was strung which the huge boats could use to guide and help pull themselves up through the rapids. We hiked down to an overlook above the rapids. Be warned - there are 230+ stairs and lots of mosquitoes!
We spent the night about 20 miles north of Carmacks at the Tatchun Creek Provincial Campground. We snagged one of the two sites you could drive through. Provincial parks are a great deal at only $12/night in the Yukon. We then drove back to explore Carmacks. George Carmack was one of the discoverers of gold on Bonanza Creek that sparked the Klondike Gold Rush. Carmacks was originally a trading post established by him at the confluence of the Yukon and Nordenskiold Rivers. Pictured is looking across the Yukon at Carmacks.
As we approached Dawson City, we saw mounds and mounds of gravel on both sides of the road. After the stampeders left for home or other gold strikes, dredges came in and worked the claims. The gravel tailings, looking like a mole has tunneled underneath, are the result.
We picked another provincial park to stay in right across the Yukon River from Dawson City. The park has a number of pull-through sites that easily accommodated our RV. Politicians opted
not to put a bridge across the Yukon here. We were told that #1 it would have been very difficult and #2 it would have meant that the Americans would have had to keep their side of the Top of the World Highway open all year and they did not want to do that. So, there is a rather small on-demand ferry that continually runs back and forth (as long as someone is waiting). It can hold 2 or 3 RVs - usually - plus some other vehicles and passengers. The photo shows our rig driving off the ferry on the provincial park side.
Dawson City is a well-preserved gold rush town with lots to see. More on that tomorrow. Jaimie Hall Bruzenak
Photos by George and Jaimie Bruzenak
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