3 Nights in Dawson City

Yukon River, cloudy day

We planned to go to town on Saturday to check out the Dawson Info Center, then make plans from there. We found out that our Annual Parks Pass got us into the Parks, but not the Historic Sites, of which there were many in Dawson. It would be cheaper to upgrade the pass, but we didn't have it with us. We stayed and watched the 3 video movies they showed at the info center, one on the Riverboats, which I found fascinating, one on the Miners and the settlement of Dawson, and one on Gold Mining. We then went back to the motorhome, and got lazy.

Riverboat Keno, parked on the rivers edge

On Sunday, we tripped back into town, stopped at an ATM to get some cash. Consuelo then went shopping, and I went to the Internet cafe, called TastyByte to check my email. After a while, she came around and she checked her email while I strolled the riverfront, watching the ferry cross. After that, we took a drive up Dome Road and caught the spectacular view of the Yukon River Valley. The day was a bit gray, but the clouds were interesting.

Dredge #4

After Dome Hill, we drove up Bonanza Creek Road, toward where the original gold strike had been made in 1897. Most of the road was dirt, and it snaked its way along the creek, between the piles of tailings and ratty looking homes/trailers where some people were still hoping to strike it rich by finding gold. We passed Claim 33, a place where they show you how to pan for gold, with a flake guaranteed in every pan. We finally arrived at Dredge #4, a Canadian Historic Site. The dredge is an 80 foot high monster, that crawled through the terrain scooping up placer gravel, just above the bedrock, and sifted sand sluiced the gold out of it, leaving piles of ugly rock and gravel behind. It was impressive that they had built such a big machine to look for tiny flakes of gold. It also demonstrated the cosmic shift that took place after the streams were played out, claims were consolidated, and big business tore up the remaining land to find treasure. Kind of like Walmart.

After dinner visitor
For supper on Sunday night, I grilled some marinated pork chops and potatoes and onions in foil, a real camp dinner. It was delicious. Some of the local wildlife must have thought it smelled pretty good, too, since this red fox came over to check out the grill after I was done.

On Monday, Consuelo had a dizzy spell in the morning, and was not feeling well for most of the rest of the day. We stayed in, played games.

Since I had some time at home, I looked in vain for cable access to the bottom of the main slide. We had the TV lift working fine, but we still had a cable routed across the living room floor when we used it. The Alfa forums indicated that there was a way to route cable to the bottom of the slide from within the lower compartment, and I opened up one cover in the compartment ceiling, to no avail. All that was there was part of the slide mechanism. I'll need further guidance on that one.

Our campsite, from Dome Road

As an alternative, I decided to investigate how hard it would be to adjust the wipers so that they were stored in the center, where they are supposed to be. When Lesmeister RV mechanics in Rochester repaired the wipers, they showed most of their ignorance in putting things back together. They had them starting in the middle and wiping across each other, and I was able to tell them what was wrong with that setup. But then they had the wipers storing themselves about 10” from the center, not in the middle of my field of view while driving, but far enough into it to annoy me. I realized that all I had to do was remove the link from the motor and adjust the wipers to the center, then mount the link. Removing the link, and I got the wipers where I wanted them. But then I discovered that the link blocked access to putting the nut back on to secure it. A ten minute job ended up as a 1-1/2 hour job, since I had to take the whole thing apart to put it back together right. But I got it done.

For dinner, I decided to thaw one of the eye round oven roasts that we had purchased in Alberta. Black Angus not withstanding, Albertians believe they have the best beef in the world, and I find it hard to argue. It cooked up into a wonderful, juicy, tasty roast that we will enjoy for days. At least 2 days.

Yukon River, clear day

Around 9:00 PM, I drove into town to take some pictures in the late day sun. The shops were closed, the gambling hall was open, and tourists were ambling around town looking at the sights. Afterward, I drove back up Dome Road and caught a few shots of the valley with fewer clouds.
After I got home,