Page 100 - Vacation Country Travel Guide

Alaska’s west coast to St. Michael at the mouth of the
Downtown Dawson City 2,000-mile long Yukon River, followed by the long
photo by: voyage up river by stern-wheeler to Dawson.
VC Travel Guide The dramatic influx of eager cheechakos (new
comers) in 1898 changed Dawson from a seasonal
fish camp and log cabin boomtown to the largest city
west of Winnipeg and north of San Francisco. By
the turn of the century, Dawson was a refined city
boasting many stately homes and grand government
buildings, complete with such amenities as running
water, telephones and electricity.
By 1903, many moved on to participate in
stampedes to Nome and other points in Alaska. A
sturdy government and mining fraternity were left to
maintain an aura of big city worldliness until WWI.
In later years, Dawson nearly became a ghost town.
Each year a few more buildings were abandoned by
owners. Floods, fires, vandals, neglect and permafrost
caused many buildings to disappear. Over 100 years
later, visitors can relive those exciting times, see
what the early stampeders saw and experience the
feeling of Gold Fever. While some buildings have
been restored to their classical splendor, there are just
enough dilapidated relics around to give Dawson the
character of the days of ‘98. The gold mining industry
still flourishes and people flock here drawn by the
excitement of seeing where it all began. Dawson’s
year round population nearly triples in the summer
See Video and the community hosts more than 70,000 visitors.
In the cafés, one can see gold miners straight off the
creeks right next to visitors from all around the world.
Dawson is home to many indelibly colorful
characters who are often more at ease here than in
a conventional cosmopolitan setting. Characterized
as “just another guy in Dawson City,” Caveman
Bill Donaldson occupies three small caves left over
Yukon River near Dawson City from the gold mining days when miners chipped into
photo by:
VC Travel Guide the cliff above the river directly across from town.
When his friends in Vancouver assured him he’d feel
right at home in the eclectic, wide-open atmosphere
a single, instantaneous eruption. It began in the winter of Dawson, he came up hoping to find a somewhat
and spring of 1897 with a thousand or two individuals, secluded residence. After being bet that he couldn’t
steaming north on the basis of a rumor that gold had live in a cave once used for cold storage, Bill made it
been struck in the Klondike. It gained momentum through the bitterly cold winter and has resided there
in July 1897 after ships docked in Seattle and San since 1996, raising chickens and using an exercise
Francisco bearing their cargo of Klondike gold. The bike to run the lights, television, radio, computer
massive press coverage recording the event, together and CD player in his approximately 250 square foot
with contemporary economic conditions, the mobility dwelling. The subject of a documentary by an award-
of the 19th century labor force and the fact that winning film maker, Bill is an accomplished furniture
Klondike gold was placer gold and therefore capable maker and has worked various odd jobs, including
of being mined by hand, made for a volatile mixture manning the door at Bombay Peggy’s.
that transformed the trickle of the previous spring into Visitor information on Dawson City events,
a veritable torrent. activities, attractions and facilities are available at the
It is estimated that while more than 100,000 people Visitor Reception Centre in the reconstructed 1897
set out for the Klondike (including the Mayor of Alaska Commercial Company store located on the
Seattle), less than 40,000 actually made it. Between corner of Front and King Street. Walking tours with
the dream and the reality of arriving was the hardship turn-of-the-century costumed guides depart from the
of transporting tons of goods through harsh wilderness VRC on a scheduled basis and video presentations are
along trails such as the Chilkoot and White Pass, ongoing. The centre is open from mid-May to mid-
building boats and rafts and ferrying to Dawson City. September.
There were other routes just as difficult; the longest The Dempster Highway and Northwest Territories
was the all-water route by ocean steamer around Information Centre is located in the B.Y.N. Building,
across Front Street from the Dawason Visitor Centre.
DAWSON CITY RV PARK The building was the former home of the British
Yukon Navigation Company. The infocenter is open
daily from 9 to 9, June to September.
The Dawson City Museum is housed in a beautiful
1901 neo-classical Old Territorial Administration
Building and has the largest historical collection
in the Yukon. The museum tells the story of the
Klondike region from pre-history through the Gold
Rush. There is a reference library with photographs
The Right Place to Stop for Best Prices! and records for genealogical research, a gift shop
Full Hookups • 15 & 30 Amp Service • FREE Hi-Speed Internet, Wi-Fi and theatre presenting award-winning films. On the
grounds, the Locomotive Shelter contains narrow
Showers • Laundromat • Car Wash • Tires • Repairs gauge locomotives from the Klondike Mines Railway
Oil Changes • Store • info@dawsoncityrvpark.com and other steam-powered machinery. The museum
867.993.5142 • www.dawsoncityrvpark.com was closed to create new exhibits for the 2021
celebration of Dawson’s 125th year, and will be
open to the public thereafter. For more information,

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