Sept. 2 & 3, Dawson City, Yukon

We entered Dawson City by ferry. The Yukon Government provides a free ferry service across the Yukon River. Once the river is crossed you are in town. At the visitor information center, they told us the Palace Grand Theater had a schedule of events and sold tickets to the ones requiring admission. This was the best-organized information of an area that we have encountered so far on our trip. Canada also celebrates Labor Day, so it was a holiday weekend. The big event for the weekend was the “Great International Outhouse Race”.
There was one entry from outside North America. The winning team was the Blue Angels, made up of dance hall girls from Diamond Tooth Gerties. They were young and probably in better physical condition due to their occupation. At the Commissioner’s Residence an actor described the problems of death and disease in early Dawson. The same actor was at the Robert Service cabin to talk about the poet's life and recite some of his poetry. A Parks Canada interpreter, in period costume, gave an interesting 90-minute walking tour of the downtown area of the city. We watched two films at the Grand Palace Theater and visited the museum. The following picture shows the panoramic view of the city from Dome Mountain.