Farewell to Dawson City

As we drove south from Dawson City, we were of mixed feelings. We had seen and done so much in five days, but knew there was so much more to do here. We were leaving two days early as I have had a problem eye for about a month and I am going back to see the Optomotrist in Whitehorse again.
The Klondike highway is 530kn back to Whitehorse, so we will split it and just go to Carmacks the first day.


                    Cassie's bath day

 It was an uneventful drive with too many bends along the narrow road and on and off showers all the way to Carmacks. We walked the mile long boardwalk along the river.

The drive from Carmacks to Whitehorse is really great as I described on the way to Dawson City. We stopped at the Historic site, "Montague Roadhouse". It was one of many such "roadhouses". When the winter road was put through from Whitehorse to Dawson City in the late 1800s, these were built every 30 to 40 miles. People travelling the road could spend a night, have their meals and change horses. The cost was $1. each for a meal and a room. If you needed to go by horse drawn sled, because it was only used in winter, then the cost was $4 to go between Whitehorse and Dawson. While we were in Dawson we had gone to the beautiful museum, which was the legislative assembly building until the government moved to Whitehorse, and asked the historian for information on the builder of "Montague Roadouse". After some time we found several Montagues, but no one in relation to the Roadhouse.   

We had been told of a place on the way back to Whitehorse where we could buy the "best ever" cinnamon buns. It was about an hour out of Carmacks so we had some fruit for breakfast and planned to try one of these famous buns. When we arrived, it was not hard to spot, as there were several motorhomes and trailers in the big gravel yard. A Holland America tour bus pulled in right after us. We hurried in to avoid the lineup and there on the counter were the "buns". Enormous! they were about 8" across and four inches high, with lots of cinnamon and sugar wrapped into them. We chose a smallish one, if there was such a thing and decided to eat in the truck...mistake! What a sticky mess, but there would not be room in the shop for everyone now, so we made the most of it, and the cinnamon bun lived up to its billing. All these vehicles at the Cinnamon Bun store is maybe why we saw almost no one as we drove along.

We saw Holland America tour buses every day. We spoke with a woman who was on one of these tours. She said they came by ship from Seattle Washington to Skagway Alaska for three days, before joining the bus tour. On the bus they toured Yukon and Alaska for ten days, then flew out of Anchorage Alaska.

We are back in Whitehorse now until Saturday, when we will drive South to the intersection  of the Alaska Highway and Stewart Cassiar highway. We felt just a little unsafe driving the Klondike for 500+ km without a cel phone and now we will be driving over 700km down the Stewart Cassiar without a cel phone. Therefore, I have ordered a Satalite phone to take from Whitehorse to Prince Rupert, a total of about 1250 km.