Tuk Road Fever in Dawson City
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Midnight sun, Klondike fun in Dawson City …
In this town of almost constant daylight and historical architecture I feel I’ve stepped back into gold rush days. This place had 30,000 residents in its day, now it gets thousands of travellers and this year many of them seem to have Tuktoyaktuk road fever. Before visiting Diamond Tooth Gerties Gabling Hall I stopped at the visitor centre where one of the staff told me it’s been a very busy year as people drive the road. Dawson City is a logical (and fun) resting spot before making the push north.
Every tourism destination has their traditions. In Dawson City the ‘must-do’ for travellers is to down the sour toe cocktail. You kiss a toe preserved in formaldehyde (sounds appealing eh?) and then toss back a shot with the human toe in it. Seems a warning is needed for those tempted to swallow the toe!
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Having good time in Dawson City as I prep for tomorrow on the Dempster Highway. Town is full of motorcycles headed for Tuktoyaktuk, the clean ones heading north, the dirty ones have reached their goal & are on their way home. A motorcyclist from Williams Lake had some of the best advice so far for tackling the muddy, bumpy Dempster …
“Throw time and mileage out the window.”
“59km took me over an hour and a half, but aside from one cold, wet morning, there were so many amazing sights.”
A short drive out of town, Carol Patterson in Dawson City atop the Midnight Dome overlooking the Yukon River and Klondike Valleys.
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This is what almost-midnight looks like from my window in Dawson City. My body doesn’t think it’s time to sleep but sleep it must. Tomorrow we start the trek up the Dempster with a lot of motorcyclists also seeking the end of the road. From what I can tell tomorrow night’s accommodation will be a cross between ATCO trailer park and Everest base camp. Fortunately it has a bar.
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