Monday, August 4, 2008 Dawson City, Yukon Territory

Would you believe it? We're 165 miles south of the Arctic Circle in Dawson City, location of the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897-98. DC is along the huge, broad Yukon River, 4th longest river in the world. During the gold rush, paddle wheelers were used to transport men and supplies. All came from the south and many via the White Pass Yukon Route narrow guage that ran from Skagway to Whitehorse. We're really learning a lot of history as well as thoroughly enjoying the trip.

While in DC we're camped in the Yukon River government campground...great site (#34) right on the river with a short path leading down to it. Wide mud flats and pebble beach on this side and brown stone cliffs inhabited by peregrine falcons on the other. During the late afternoon the river has many small power boats as well as the Keno paddle wheeler running up and down. Really fun watching the Keno...going downstream toward Eagle, Alaska and eventually the Bering Sea seemed easy; coming back going against the current it barely moved the current was so strong.

Between Juneau and DC, we camped at our Wolf Creek site just east of Whitehorse for another two nights...wanted to do some shopping and more hiking along the Creek. The forests here are so fabulous, the ground coated with lichens and moss, the trees tall and a mixture of aspen and spruce/lodgepole with glorious light filtering through. Strange though, we see very few animals and birds (although a met a raven close up yesterday here in DC along Front Street!). After Wolf Creek, we drove the Klondike Highway (a north turn just west of Whitehorse off the Alaska Highway) about 138 miles to DC with a camp at Tatchun (a native fish camp) Creek campground...and, yes, we were on the creek, of course!

We've really gotten into the swing of road triping...sleeping well, eating well and everything feels so natural. Tomorrow we'll be driving over the "Top of the World" highway then parking YOW at a rest stop and driving up to Eagle, Alaska which is also on te Yukon River. Harley read about Eagle in one of the books Linda gave him for his birthday and is fascinated to see the last stop before the bush.