We stopped and had some breakfast and then also stopped at a couple of viewpoints along the way, and we even added to our wildlife count! Check out the lynx photos below!
Yukon scenery...
Gravel Lake.
So we're driving at about 70 km/h (42 mph). There are frost heaves in the road at certain points. Most of them are marked, so you have to slow down anyhow. I find it easier just to go slow in the first place. Plus of course, it makes it easier to spot wildlife!
We're tooling along, and Ruth excitedly says "Ohh Kevin, there's a lynx!"
I turned my head quickly enough to get a glance of it standing there. There was nowhere to pull over, but there weren't any vehicles coming at us from either direction, so I stopped and began to back up.
We both figured it would be long gone. But, when we got backed up enough, it had sat down and was just lounging in the grass!
Yukon lynx lounging in the grass.
Just like a big house cat!
He (she?) was looking at us, but didn't seem too bothered.
As we were sitting there with our four way flashers on, another motorhome approached from behind. They slowly drove around us, but didn't stop to see what we were looking at! We learned in Africa that if there was a vehicle stopped at the side of the road in an odd place, they were animal watching. These people didn't see anything and kept right on going.
Funny, but we bumped into them at the next rest stop and showed them our pictures.
At the Tintina Trench Rest Area.
Another view.
The Klondike River.
The Klondike River.
Kind of reminds us of northern Ontario in some spots.
Lots of little ponds and streams.
We stopped at the Dempster Highway turnoff. This is located about 40 kms (25 miles) east of Dawson City, and we will be backtracking there in order to head further north. But for now, we came into Dawson City for three nights to stock up and do some laundry and get prepared for more than two weeks in the far north.
At the Dempster Highway turnoff, there is an unmanned cardlock gas station. I had checked gasbuddy.com and seen that Dawson City gas was selling for $1.67 CAD per liter. That seemed high to me and so I checked at this card lock station where it was only $1.52 CAD per liter. When you're buying a lot of gas, that's a huge difference in price. (15 cents per liter on 200 liters is thirty bucks!) I've seen reports of Dawson City gas stations taking advantage of the tourists, so I'm glad we don't have to take part in that. I put in $60 worth just to make sure the card lock system worked, and it's fine. So we'll top off the tank there when we start to head up the Dempster.
Welcome to Dawson City!
Every northern town has a Chinese Food place!
The Klondike Spirit Riverboat.
We stopped at the Yukon Visitors Center and spoke to Eldo and Peggy behind the counter. Friendly people there! They have free wifi, and a water hose in the back if you need to top of your water tank. We did just that! But first, they said we might as well do the Parks Canada "Behind the Scenes" tour that was just leaving.
Okay!
Our guide Jon talking to us about how the original post office ran up until 1924.
Then, we were brought into the Dawson Daily News building.
After the gold rush, all of this stuff was simply left behind. Eventually, in the 1970's Parks Canada took over a lot of the artifacts and is now in charge of cataloging and preserving them.
A private donor gave them the entire collection of the Dawson Daily News, which was printed between 1901 and 1924.
Heritage building, built in 1901.
Then, it was over to a climate controlled artifacts room.
Interesting stuff!
Apparently, the average visitor stays in Dawson City for three days. But Dawson City has about seven days worth of stuff to see and do!
We're going to do three days worth this week, and another three days worth on our way back south. We'll return here around July 12th. And if we need an extra day or two because we're enjoying it, then we'll take it!
We've got some exciting stuff in line for you over the next few weeks, and the first one is taking place this morning. We're off to do a one hour flightseeing tour of the Tombstone Mountains! This will be super interesting for us, because we will also be doing some hiking in the Tombstone Mountains this weekend.
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These are the binoculars that we keep in the motorhome. Excellent quality glasses. They are at a record low price today!
And in Canada...
for such a remote area there is so much to see and do.. LOVE the old historic mail building and museum.. and the remote wilderness is just stunning..soo enjoying your travel blog ! :) Hubby and I are very seriously considering doing the Yukon next summer ! Thank you for such beautiful pictures and writings, enjoying your travels so much :)
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with that! Some people may disagree but I guess it all has to do with what kind of stuff you like. They have quite a few museums here, several different walking tours, the show at Diamond Tooth Gerties, various different tours like the dredge #4 and claim #33, a scenic boat tour and of course lots of hiking and so much more.
DeleteWe hope that through our travels this summer that we can convince you to definitely do this trip next summer. :-)
Read everyday but don't comment everyday to avoid cluttering your site. Just wanted to assure you that we're loving your reports.
ReplyDeleteThank you for following along and for taking the time to comment, we love hearing from our readers. :-)
DeleteWe enjoyed the night show at Diamond Tooth Gerties when we were there. Also the Jack London and Robert Service homes were worth a look. You are right in that there is a lot to see in Dawson City.
ReplyDeleteWe went to Diamond Tooth Gertie's yesterday evening and enjoyed the show and we have plans on visiting both the Jack London Museum and the Robert Service home hopefully tomorrow but if not then we will do it in July after our return from the Dempster Highway. Yep, we are quickly finding that we are running out of time and still have so much that we want to see and do here. :-)
DeleteBe sure to drive up above the town for the great views of the river and town!
ReplyDeleteWe are actually hoping to hike up there but it might not be until we return here in July after our drive up and down the Dempster Highway.
DeleteSome of my most unforgettable moments are sighting wild animals in the wilderness as should be … not in zoos. Lynx is awesome...could almost hear it purr haha
ReplyDeleteWe know what you mean, we much prefer to see the animal in their true environment rather than in a zoo and we love to drive along with our eyes peeled for any sight of one. :-)
DeleteYour lynx pictures are awesome, you are very fortunate to get to see one. Usually they are really shy
ReplyDeleteThanks! Yes, we feel very fortunate to have seen this one.
DeleteNice that you can spend some time there then again on the way back. Nice to spot that links along the way as well, great pictures.
ReplyDeleteYes, we are happy to be able to return in July and see a bit more of Dawson City. It's a pretty interesting place to see.
DeleteIt was pretty cool to see the Lynx!
Dawson City in the Yukon sounds so, oh, historic and remote. Cool beans that you spotted a lynx. Have fun hiking.
ReplyDeleteDawson is very historic and they are working hard on restoring many of the old buildings and have been doing a great job on it too. For someone that has never been here they would almost think they were in a town in the old west in the USA.
DeleteLoved being able to see lynx, very cool indeed!
We attempt to alert passersby when we see an animal of interest. However, most people either aren't interested or don't know what the signal means. We use our flashers as well to warn them.
ReplyDeleteYes, we do that too but some people just don't take the time to stop. Both RV's that passed us slowed down but didn't stop, maybe they were looking for something big not small.
DeleteLol! Lucky for you to be in Dawson City in lovely weather.....we spent three days there in the rain and mud...the visitor centre was closed ...so we did a drive around town and stayed in the campground....the boardwalks were so muddy, very few tourists attempted the walkabouts. That card lock station wasn't there at that time either. Good to see a lot of imorovements the past 5 years! Great pics of the lynx! Thanks again for the ride....safe travels.
ReplyDeleteIt hasn't all been lovely weather, today has been very wet and that didn't help with the tour that we did this morning! At least it hasn't rained the whole time like it did for you. :-(
DeleteThe AFD cardlock seems to have the best prices for fuel and now that we know how it works we will keep our eyes opened for more of them.
I will email you re how the cardlock system works...we have seen it in other places in the past but never bothered to check it out. Thanks!
DeleteThanks Lynette, did figure it out on our own there but we had always thought that it had to be a company credit card but it doesn't which is nice to know. :-)
DeleteLove the lynx! Great camera!
ReplyDeleteThanks Doug!
DeleteThose lynx photos are amazing! You are so lucky to have been there and captured those amazing images. It does look like a big house cat. Now I want one :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Ellen, we feel very lucky to have seen it as well and that it stayed put so we could really have a good look at it. I want one too! ;-)
DeleteLiving my dream,I always wanted to work and live in a cabin in the Yukon.....
ReplyDeleteWe could easily spend the summer living in the Yukon but we would not be able to handle the winters. I think you have to be a very special person for that!
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