Trip to Inuvik - Days 8 and 9 - Monday 07/15 and Tuesday, 07/16/02

[I will combine the last few days into two postings (this being the first), since they were not as eventful as the earlier days. Final posting tomorrow!]

Monday - Eagle Plains, Yukon, to Dawson City, Yukon

Sporting a new rear tire, we left Eagle Plains after breakfast. It was raining slightly in the beginning, but the road was not muddy or slick as it had been on that same stretch, going north. The road was in good condition the entire way to the end of the Dempster, where we stopped to take a picture. A young couple from Spain was there with their bicycles. They had ridden from Whitehorse and were trying to decide whether they wanted to try the Dempster. They asked lots of questions and we gave them as much information as possible. When we left them, they had not yet made up their mind about tackling the highway.

We went to bed right after dinner, because we were really tired, and wanted to enjoy our day in Dawson tomorrow. But at 8:00 p.m. the hotel fire alarm began blaring. I pulled my jeans and a windbreaker over my PJs, slipped into some shoes, and then we went outside, where the sun was shining, it was hot and I found myself very overdressed . . . but I couldn't take the windbreaker off, and stand there in my PJs! Only a handful of others came outside. We wondered if everyone else was ignoring the alarm, or if the hotel was nearly empty? We stood outside about 15 minutes before the alarm stopped and someone told us it was all clear.

Tuesday - Dawson City, Yukon

The morning was sunny and warm. While Dan got showered and dressed, I went for a walk along the bank of the Yukon - there is a nice path - and watched a bus-load of tourists board a beautiful, large catamaran, The Yukon Queen II, for some sort of excursion. I also went to a kiosk, at the waterside, and read all about the stern wheeler, Keno, which is permanently docked here. It originally carried zinc, silver and lead up river, as well as bringing goods and passengers to Dawson City, during the Gold Rush.

I went back to the hotel to meet up with Dan, and we went to breakfast at a little bistro across from the river. They had delicious pastries. Dan had his first espresso since we left Juneau, and he said it was great. While there, our Spanish amigos, whom we met yesterday, came in. We talked briefly. They have decided to stay in Dawson until Friday -- they're at the Bunkhouse -- and then they will be attempting the Dempster on their bikes.

After breakfast we went to the Dawson City Museum. It is very interesting and well worth the $7/person tickets. It was an all-day pass, so we were able to go back later in the day for a courtroom melodrama, as well. While there Dan got to participate in a gold "rocker box" demonstration.

The Dawson City Museum

Courtroom Melodrama

After lunch, at the Triple J Hotel, we went to the Robert Service cabin on 8th street. Between 1:00 and 3:00 there is a free viewing, which we took advantage of. At other times there is a $5 charge. It was really exciting to me to see the little two-room cabin where so much of Service's poetry of the Yukon was written. Dan had a hard time getting me to leave. I wanted to move in!

Inside the Service Cabin

After a rest break, we had dinner at Sourdough Joe's, an indoor/outdoor restaurant across from the river. Good food. Then, at 7:45 we went to the Robert Service Show. Tom Byrne is the star of the show - and yes, he was the man we had seen eating at Klondike Kate's Cafe on our first stop in Dawson. He does an outstanding job. Not only did he recite poetry (The Shooting of Dangerous Dan McGrew, The Cremation of Sam McGee, The Spell of the Yukon, Goodbye Little Cabin and Betsy's Boil) but he also used his marvelous story-telling talents to detail the life-story of Robert Service. The tickets were $8/person and worth more than that.

Dan and I with Tom Byrne, after the program

Tomorrow we leave Dawson City - reluctantly, on my part - and head back to Whitehorse.

CLICK HERE FOR NEXT (TRIP TO INUVIK DAYS 10-12)