Anyway, the Klondike Highway extends from Skagway to Dawson City. The scenery, while pretty, isn't real exceptional, as you can see from these pics at various points along the Klondike Highway:
This is Five-Fingers Rapids on the Yukon River, one of the obstacles to navigation down the river to Dawson City:
Road conditions deteriorated the further north I rode. Close to Whitehorse, the Highway was asphalt, just like 90% of the major highways we're familiar with. After about 75 miles, the road surface changed to ship-seal, the shoulders disappeared, and road conditions varied tremendously from one mile to the next. Here is the road about 100 miles north of Whitehorse:
Another 100 miles up the road at Pelly Crossing, we had:
Dirt, gravel, a little mud, and lots of frost heaves and potholes. But considering how far north this is, I wasn't too surprised.
Dawson city kind of reminds me of Aspen or Vail back when we lived in Denver in the early 1980's. It's a little touristy, it has preserved all the existing buildings from the early days, it basically has a summer-time economy, and it's kinda trendy. Here are a few shots of the city itself:
Yes, the streets are dirt except for Front St. which is the Klondike Highway.
Until the highway was completed in the 1950's, there was steamboat service up and down the Yukon River on a daily basis. The SS Keno is a stern-wheel paddleboat that has been preserved in Dawson City:
In the morning, I'll be taking a ferry across the river to the "Top of the World Highway", which leads from here to Chicken, Alaska. Here's the ferry hard at work:
And, if you're interested in a little real estate investment, this property is on the market right in the middle of town:
Looks like an original cabin to me, so it probably has to stay in this condition for historical accuracy or something.
Anyway, not an easy ride today, but this is a pretty cool little corner of the globe. Tomorrow, it's off to Tok, Alaska, back on the Alaska Highway.
Miles today: 343
Total 5,424
