Dawson City, YT. Goldrush of 1898

Dawson City, YT. May 21, 2011. Gold was discovered in the Klondyke Region of the Yukon in 1896. To be precise, it was discovered at the confluence of the Klondyke and Yukon Rivers. By 1898, the city of Dawson grew from a handfull of prospectors to a teaming city of sin totaling more than 30,000 inhabitants. Dance halls, casinos, bars, brothels, restaurants, diners, boarding houses, hotels and eateries were thrown up overnignt. Prospectors, entreprenueur, bankers, mercantile men, lumberjacks, carpenters. prostitutes and probably a lawyer or two - some would say there isn't much difference between the last two - made their way to this remote place. Dawson City today is a shell of its former self, numbering about 1000 residents. Still, Diamond Tooth Gertie's Casino continues to fair well. It is owned and operated by the city with all profits plowed back into the community.

There is an old country song with these lyrics, "Eight days on the road and I'm gonna make it home tonight . . ." We've been eight days on the road and we're gonna make it to Alaska tomorrow. From here, we will ferry across the Yukon River, travel down the Top of The World Highway, stop for a while in Chicken, AK, then go on into Tok, the Dog Capital of the World. Annie observed this morning that Alaska seems to be moving away from us as we approach it. Could be. There are some tectonic plates here which have caused some severe earthquakes in Alaska. The Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964 was the second largest recorded up until that time. It measured 9.2 on the Richter Scale. But, I digress, because I don't think Annie was being serious. She is a funny girl. She also thinks there is only one bear here; that he waits for us to pass, then takes a short cut only to appear again 100 miles down the road. As I said, she is a funny girl

We diverted from the Alaskan Highway today to drive the Klondyke Highway to Dawson. There isn't much difference. The Alaskan Highway is better maintained with a better surface and wider shoulders. We saw another bear, this time a brown, and several foxes. There was enough pretty scenery to last a lifetime. And, to call this country vast doesn't capture it vastness. It is enormously vaster than that.

We are lost in time. I have to ask Annie what day it is. Sometimes, I have to search my memory just to recall the month. I wanted some time away from work after forty years of labor. I found it here. I found it in the timelessness of nature and sweeping blue skies, stretching from one horizon to another. If you'd like to be lost in time and space, the Alaskan Highway, Upper British Columbia, the Yukon and Alaska are the places for you. Most of you will have to take my word for it. We are among the lucky few who will actually get to experience it. Thank you, Lord.