Top of the World Highway to Dawson City
Yesterday we made the fairly short but spectacular drive from Tok, Alaska to Dawson City, Yukon. We were away from Tok at 08:30, and an hour later made our first rest stop below Mount Fairplay on the Taylor Highway.
At 10:20 we reached Chicken, and the post office was a popular photo subject.
The Pedro gold dredge is the centerpiece of The Original Chicken Gold Camp where we stopped for coffee and snacks. The people by the gravel pile are panning for gold.
At 12:50 we made a very quick crossing back into the Yukon at Little Gold Creek, and then made a stop at the high point of the day at about 4,450 feet.
A look down the Top of the World Highway towards Dawson City from the summit.
I went to bed right after dinner yesterday evening, but was up with a couple of my guests at 1:30 am for some aurora borealis viewing.
When the aurora faded, I wandered around town for a while – I enjoy Dawson as much at night as during the day.
This is the Discovery Day long weekend, officially celebrating the dicovery of gold in the Klondike but also unofficially the celebration of the end of summer in Dawson – the tourist season winds down in a hurry starting today. There were hundreds of young people milling around, many in various stages of intoxication, and a couple of RCMP cruisers were keeping a close eye on them and some house parties.
Today, we explore Dawson City and the Klondike goldfields.
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