Had a bit of a lie in as overcast and rainy. Once we got going, we wandered the short
distance into town to the Information Centre, where we found that a walking
tour was about to leave – So we joined it.
We were given umbrellas so the intermittent rain wasn’t too much of a
problem, and had a very enjoyable and informative tour of some of the key
building in Dawson, all of which dated from the Gold Rush Days of 1898 to 1905.
Basically Dawson was a wild and lawless tent town by the end of 1899, full of
prospectors, prostitutes, and many others trying to make a buck out of the Gold
Rush. But then the Government stepped in, (wanted to cash in on the boom, maybe
??!!), and consequently by 1905 Dawson was a cultural centre with churches,
government buildings, theatres, social balls, and all the other trappings of
wealth. From tent city to busy cultural
centre of the region in 5 years !
But it didn’t all go smoothly. To enable good mail delivery, the government
in Eastern Canada shipped a complete and very fancy and large post office
building to Dawson, and it was an amazing building. Trouble was it was so big, they couldn’t keep
it warm in winter because it would have taken more wood in the furnaces that
was available ! So after the first
winter, they moved the post office to a more suitable small building, and the
old big post office was abandoned as useless.
Clever government not doing its homework ?? Ha ha.
It was the same with the bank – An amazing edifice, that
wouldn’t be out of place in New York city – Trouble was, it just didn’t work in
Dawson at minus 50 deg in winter !! We
also visited an old newspaper building that is currently being restored – This
one was built by a local and did work well until the 1950’s. At the end of our tour we ended up at the old
Feather Bar in town, another example of how the city developed with some
stunning buildings over a very short time at the turn of the century. A great tour – Dawson really is a fascinating
and busy city – with period wooden sidewalks, dirt roads throughout the town,
and working hotels, dance halls, casinos and bars, all period at the turn of
the century. You almost feel like you
are IN the Gold Rush of 1898 when you wander round town and enjoy the local
entertainment.
I then went for a nap in the van while Janet went off
wandering round town some more, exploring others sights. At 8 pm (evening creeps up on you very
quickly here because of the lack of darkness !) we headed off to a show at
Diamond Tooth Gertie’s. Mostly cruise
people in town for the show, and we sat at a table of people just in town for
the night before heading off by plane at 6.30 the next morning ! Show was OK – Lots of Can Can dancing and
gold rush era singing, but not really my cup of tea. Janet enjoyed it though !!
After Gertie’s we went down the road to the Downtown
Hotel where they celebrate with the “Sour Toe Cocktail”. Basically this is a well known and old
procedure in Dawson that celebrates one of the old gold miners losing his toes
to frostbite – And the cocktail you drink contains a REAL human toe, blackened,
toe nail and all, and lost to frostbite sometime in the distant past !! After a lot of paperwork and form signing,
the toe is dropped into your (pre-purchased) cocktail of choice (mine was a
shot of Bombay Sapphire !!), and you drink it in one, and the “toe” must touch
your lips as you throw back your drink, or you are disqualified !! It was a rowdy crowd, and it was a good job I
had had a few beers before I got there !!
But all
accomplished, the toe touched my lips, and I got my certificate
as well as photos to prove it. Janet
then did it too, just so I wouldn’t have all the bragging rights – But she did
it with a Tequila lip-sip‘n suck !!
After that, it was well past midnight, so we wandered
back to the camp site and fell into bed !!!
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