Called in at Fischers roadhouse for refuelling on the way to Dawson City. The lady in the roadhouse had spent many hours the day before baking cinnamon buns and other cakes for a complimentary morning tea. It was very much appreciated and they were very tasty. The workshop was a hive of activity with some from the convoy members repairing tyres and whatever else was damaged by the unsealed roads. Jim gave George a pressure clean to get the majority of the mud off.
The discovery of gold in the Klondike valley in 1896 led to the establishment of a tiny community where the Klondike River flows into the Yukon. By the summer of 1898, Dawson City was the largest city in Canada west of Winnipeg, with a population of 40,000 in the immediate area. Within months, Dawson boasted telephones, running water, steam heat, steamboat services and a wide range of elaborate hotels, theatres and dance halls.
A year later the gold rush was over and 8,000 people left town in a single summer. By 1902 Dawson City’s population had dropped to 5,000 declining further in the early part of the 20th century. In the early 1960s Dawson City was declared a National Historic Site. Preservation of buildings and historic areas, an assortment of activities related to the Klondike Gold Rush and other tourism initiatives draw some 60,000 visitors each year.
The city looks like something out of a cowboy movie and now has a population of 1,800. It is home to a casino, restored cabins and boardwalks and the roads are unsealed.
This was a 2 night stop at Dawson City and a chance to catch up on some vehicle maintenance, van cleaning and washing. We still have more gravel roads ahead of us so it is pointless spending too much time on the dust issue.
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