It’s midnight and we’ve just returned to our RV. It is fully light out and the birds are chirping away as though it was the middle of the day. There are still a few people strolling the streets but for the most part the town has pretty much shut down. We are in short sleeves and thanks to some bug spray made it home pretty much unscathed tonight. But that is now and I need to go back to this morning first......
Even before we left the campground we were laughing this morning. Shortly after getting up and realizing it was already after 8, Lynda said....”isn’t it funny how it looks like it could be 8 pm the light is so soft”. At that we both broke up as it totally could be 8 pm and it would look exactly the same as at 8 a.m.! It would be easy to lose track of time here and sleep an entire day away!
We drove by the garbage bin and Lynda quickly hopped out (slamming the door behind her) so the mosquitos couldn’t get into the open door. She dropped our trash into the bin and then as she made her way back to the vehicle she actually had to fight off the mosquitos with the grocery bag she had in her hand. She was waving it so frantically that I couldn’t help but laugh out loud! Anyone else witnessing the event would surely wonder just what was going on. LOL. Ironically, a few minutes later I too had to resort to creative solutions as there was a giant mosquito who’d found his was into our vehicle and that we were unable to catch/kill. In the end I picked up the can of bug spray and just sprayed the windshield....you know the bottom bit that you can’t reach with anything and that even if you could reach it you’d never be able to fit your hand in there to get the little bugger! In the end, he was dead but so was my ability to see through that part of the windshield so we had to spend a little time cleaning up my frantic attempt to free our vehicle of pests. It was a crazy start to the day!
Breakfast at Moose Creek Lodge was worth waiting for! And we made a new friend too. :-). Sherri is working there for the summer and it was great getting to chat with her. The lodge is owned by her brother and so she (and her friend) are using it as a great excuse to see this part of our country (she’s originally from Nova Scotia and more recently Alberta). The restaurant is a cozy little log structure with a gift shop attached to the back. When we arrived we were the only people there but within minutes the place filled with a bus load of tourists! In fact there were eight busses booked into the place today alone. It is one of the stops along the cruise off-shore excursion packages. That first bus load of people had flown into Anchorage and travelled from there to here by bus. They were en route to Skagway where they’ll board their boat for Vancouver (or Seattle). Their pre-ship tour is 6 days long.
The topography after Moose Creek changed a little. There were fewer flowers on the roadside and the mountains started to get a little closer and the valley a little narrower. It was still beautiful though!
Coming into Dawson was interesting. There are literally millions of tons of rock piled on both sides of the highway! They must all be from the mining that has been going on here for a very long time.
We made our way to the Gold Rush Campground...the only one that is right in the downtown area. We decided to blow it out and figure out how to hook up all of the parts of our motor home so we booked into a site that has power, water, and sewer. Total fee was $48. We are proud to report that we managed to figure out all the hoses and tubes and wires and successfully connected all of our parts. :-)
Once we were “hooked up” we set out to see the sights of Dawson. The streets are all very very wide and none of them are paved. Sidewalks are all boardwalks and the river runs by one end of the town. For the most part the place shuts down in the off season and locals work long hours during summer when the tourists are here. Staying at the Gold Rush meant that we were able to walk everywhere and so today we’ve gotten our exercise for sure!
Tonight we made our way to Diamond Tooth Gertie’s for the 8:30 show. Our $15 admission doubles as a one year membership so maybe we’ll have to come back here before this time next year. LOL. The show was great and the drinks were too! Gertie’s performance was believable and her singing talent excellent. Her six girls were also amazing. From the can can to the splits they tapped and kicked their way through the hour. There was humour and talent to spare on the stage and it was well worth the price of admission.
Before we left Gertie’s we decided to try our hand at the tables. Dane (the dealer) looked like a nice young man and as it turned out he was. His table game was Red Dog and we each got our chips and began to play. In short order we’d drawn a bit of a crowd as we had some pretty exciting hands going on. In the game of Red Dog there are two cards drawn. The goal is to have that third card come in between the first two. The odds go up as the spread increases so you have a chance to raise your bet before that third card is drawn. When the first two cards are a pair there is a chance to win at a rate of 11 to 1. The first time we had a pair we didn’t win but within minutes of that pair we had another and so our crowd increased in size and volume. The second pair (twos) turned out to be lucky for us as card number 3 was also a 2 which meant that we’d won! Even at the minimum $3 bet that I’d played....I raked in a nice little pot of $33. Lynda, big spender that she is had played $6 on that hand and so she took away a whopping $66! Wahoo! The place was filled with excitement for our big win. Even the table supervisor was excited for us.....this three of a kind in a row doesn’t come up often. In the end, Lynda “donated” all of hers back to Gertie’s but I kept mine so I could buy us a special drink at another bar down the street.
From Gertie’s we wandered a couple of blocks over to the Downtown Hotel that is home to the Sourdough Saloon. This is where we’d be able to get a sour toe cocktail between 9-11 pm. As gross as that sounds it is just one of those things you gotta do when you’re in Dawson! We lined up at the bar to purchase our shot of booze. (You can choose whatever kind you’d like as long as it is a minimum of 40% alcohol by volume-I’m sure this is to kill the germs that MUST exist on this thing!). We both decided on Yukon Jack as it is a little sweeter than most of the other options and in the end....I’ve come to the conclusion that I kind of like that stuff now. :-). After lining up to purchase our booze we had to line up again to get to the sour toe captain’s table. When it is finally your turn the sour toe captain takes the toe (yes it is a real toe complete with toe nail that has been pickled and that is black in colour due to that pickling process) and dries it off and lays it on a plate of salt. The captain goes through the rules with you before anything else can happen. First you’re going to have to kiss the toe, then the captain will drop it into your drink. From there you have to drink the entire drink and tip up/shake the glass until that toe shakes away from the glass and onto your lips. If it doesn’t touch your lips in the glass....it doesn’t count. Further, if you suck, swallow, bite, or in any other way damage the toe there is a $2500 fine that you will be obligated to pay! You give the captain another $5 along with your name and where you’re from. The captains assistant fills out your certificate and wallet card as the captain picks up the toe for you to kiss. At this point the toe is dry and actually isn’t as gross as I thought it would be. The captain then drops the toe into your drink. You swirl it around in your glass to make sure all the germs are dead and then throw it back. You shake it down until that toe falls onto your lips to make it official and seal the deal. This time when the toe touches your lips it feels very different as it is wet. This time is is kind of gross and slimy! But by then it’s too late....the deed is done and you’ve officially drank the drink that more than 79,000 people have drunk before you. (We know this by the registration number on our certificates). At this point there is little else to do but to order another drink and so you do....and this time you make it a double! LOL
Seriously....what a fun night we had. We met a lot of people from all over the world doing the same thing that we were....having fun and adventure in a bustling little city at the top of the world where the sun never really sets at this time of the year.
Tonight as we were leaving the Sourdough Saloon Lynda made friends with a group of four kids who were waiting outside the saloon doors. (Yes they have swinging saloon doors just like in the old western movies!). The kids were waiting for their moms who were inside asking if there was any way the kids could participate in the sour toe cocktail using cola or something similar. In short the answer was “no” and to make matters worse the mom’s had even missed out on their opportunity as it was just after 11 pm and the toe captain only works from 9-11 pm. Anyone who misses that timeline just simply has to come back at another time! Ouch! This is not an easy place to get to so missing out on being able to do it would hurt! The kids were disappointed that they weren’t able to do it but they were so excited to be able to see the video we’d just taken of each of us doing it and to see our certificates and to know that they actually talked to someone who’d just done it and to be able to ask question etc kind of made up for their disappointment. These four kids ranged in age from 11-14 and they were the nicest group of kids! They’re visiting from a small town in Prince William Sound in Alaska and it was fun to spend a little bit of time chatting with them and their moms too.
It’s now after 1 a.m. and it is still just as light as it was when I started typing this an hour ago. People are still strolling in to the campground from wherever they’re coming from downtown. Birds are still singing and Lynda is long gone to sleep all snuggled up in her bed above the cab of the RV. I’ll spend another few minutes trying to get connected to wifi so I can post yesterday and today’s blog and then I’ll try to wrestle the table down so I can make my bed too. Morning will be here soon enough (LOL...the only way I’ll know it is morning is that there will be more people up and moving around outside). Tomorrow we’ll take advantage of the showers here at the campground before we pull out. From there we’ll have a leisurely breakfast downtown, check out the spots that we missed today, gas the RV up again, and then line up to get across the Yukon River on the little ferry that runs back and forth 24 hours a day. We’re only going to go as far as the government campground that is not too far on the other side of the river. It is said to be a beautiful spot and it will give us a good head start (as it can take some time to get across the river) for the next day when we plan to head over the top of the world highway all the way to Chicken and possibly even to Tok. Those roads are reported to be terrible and very slow going so we’re giving ourselves lots of time. In fact, the advice we’ve received is not to go over about 15 miles/hour for much of it! We need to make it to Fairbanks at some point on the 21st so that is the only target we’re holding ourselves too on this next leg. We’ve heard about a midnight baseball game in Fairbanks for the longest day of the year and thought it would be fun to attend.
Well, I’ve managed to kill another 15 minutes so it is now 1:20 and the sky is still blue and pretty bright. There is a splash of red in the sky where there is a single big cloud reflecting the very low hanging sun. The birds seem to be quieting a little and my eyes are getting a little heavier all the time so good night all.
Till next time,
L & L
P.s.
Not sure when we will have wi-fi again so it may be a few days till we’re able to post anything else.
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