On the road to Alaska - Klondike and the Arctic Circle - June 16-23

After leaving Whitehorse, we turned off the Alaska Highway and headed towards Dawson City and the Klondike gold fields.  Along the way, we took a slight detour up the Dempster Highway to the Arctic Circle. 

Views across Fox Lake.  This is the campground we stopped at the first night after leaving Whitehorse.  Our site was just above the water which allowed Brett to spend a bunch of time fishing.  

Another view across Fox Lake

Five Finger Rapids on the Yukon River.  This was a major obstacle for the sternwheelers traveling between Whitehorse and Dawson City.  They used a cable to pull the boat upstream against the current.

We hadn't planned to take a side trip on the Dempster Highway, but we ran in to several people who recommended it to us, so we figured "Why not?".  As you can see from the pictures, it was a good decision.  The scenery was awesome.  The road actually continues north to Inuvik in the Northwest Territories, but we turned around at the Arctic Circle and headed south once again.

Views of Tombstone Mountains along the Dempster Highway

Views along the Dempster Highway

Views from Tombstone Territorial Park along the Dempster Highway

Moose in Two Moose Pond along the Dempster Highway.  The pond was 
aptly named because there were two moose when we stopped.

Moose at Two Moose Pond.

Panorama taken at Ogilvie Mountain Outlook along the Dempster Highway

The Arctic Circle!  

Proof that we were there!

The camper was there too!

Along the Dempster Highway

Driving along the Dempster

The next stop after our Arctic Circle adventure was Dawson City.  The heart of the Klondike Gold Rush.  It still has the feel of a frontier town and many of the buildings are originals from the gold rush era.  We stayed at an RV park right in town, so we were able to walk to many of the places.

Yukon Hotel in Dawson City 

Cabin on Front St in Dawson City

Palace Grand Theatre in Dawson City

S.S. Keno - a much smaller sternwheeler than the S.S. Klondike we saw in Whitehorse.

St. Andrews Church.
It is hard to see in the picture, but the building is very crooked.
This is caused by the permafrost under the building sliding around.  

Another view of St Andrews

Robert Service's Cabin

Jack London's cabin.  This is not his original cabin although it is made with some of the logs it.
The rest of the logs were used to build a cabin back in his hometown in the lower 48.

On top of the Midnight Dome in Dawson City.
 It is the site of a very large party on the night of the Solstice.
We were in town for the Solstice, but chose not to visit during the party - this is the next afternoon.  

View of Yukon River Valley from Midnight Dome.
You can see smoke rising just right of center.  It was a sign of things to come.

Gold Dredge No. 4 on Bonanza Creek 

Gold Dredge No. 4

Gold Dredge No. 4

Leaving Dawson, we headed west across the Top of the World Highway into Alaska.  This is supposed to be a very scenic drive across the ridge tops where you can see vistas in all directions.  Unfortunately for us, the wildfires burning in Alaska impacted those views.  This picture was taken shortly after we left Dawson.  It was hazy, but still beautiful.  It was the last vista we saw.  The further west we went, the thicker the smoke became.  Most of the trip, we could see the sides of the road and that was about it.

View from Top of the World Highway outside Dawson City, Yukon Territories

Next stop - Alaska!