00:00 Intro
00:36 About Dawson City
03:20 Historic Walking Tour
04:25 Sourtoe Cocktail
09:10 Indigenous People's Day
10:30 Summer Solstice
12:24 Canada Day
13:29 Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall
14:44 Gold Panning
15:46 Preparation For Alaska
After a whole night of fighting with millions of mosquitos, we were approaching a legendary town in the far northwest of Canada driving the beautiful Klondike Highway.
With a population of only around 1,400 people, Dawson City is a small but mighty town with a rich history and tons of activities to keep you entertained.
This quirky little town is located in the heart of the Yukon Territory in Canada.
It has a rich gold rush history and is home to some truly unique experiences that you won't find anywhere else.
We immediately have a feeling that we’ve gone back in time.
Other than the Front steet, none of the town’s site streets are paved but pedestrians are treated well with boardwalks, adding to the feeling that we’re in a remote wild west gold rush town.
Situated on the banks of the Klondike and Yukon Rivers, Dawson was founded in 1896 during the Klondike Gold Rush, when prospectors from all over the world flocked to the region in search of gold.
Dawson City became the center of the gold rush, and at its peak, it had a population of around 30,000 people. In search of their fortunes, prospectors created a bustling, wild frontier town.
Today, Dawson City is a popular destination for overlanders looking to experience a piece of the gold rush history.
It doesn’t seem like that first, but there are an incredible amount of activities to do in this fun little town.
To learn more about the fascinating gold rush history that put the town on the map, we’re taking a guided tour organised by the Visitor Information Centre.
Recently, however, what makes the city constantly appear in blogs and travel magazines is the famous sourtoe cocktail.
We stop by the Sourdough Saloon and take a shot at the famous Cocktail - a legendary drink that comes complete with a real human toe floating in it! It’s a pretty unique experience. Just don't swallow the toe and you'll earn your place in a special club that now has over 100,000 members.
The Sourtoe Cocktail was created in the 1970s by a man named Captain Dick Stevenson, who was a bartender at the Sourdough Saloon. According to legend, Stevenson found a preserved human toe while cleaning out an old cabin, and he decided to use it as a gimmick to attract customers to the bar. The Sourtoe Cocktail became an instant hit, and it has been a popular attraction at the Sourdough Saloon ever since.
The bar maintains a "Toe Captain," who is responsible for ensuring that the rules are followed and for replacing toes when they become too worn or damaged.
The Sourtoe Cocktail has become a beloved tradition in Dawson City and has attracted visitors from all over the world who come to the Sourdough Saloon to experience this unique and unusual drink.
After learning all about it, there is nothing else left but to actually drink it!
If you happen to be in Dawson City at the end of June, you'll be able to celebrate three different events all in just 10 days - National Indigenous Peoples Day, the summer solstice, and Canada Day.
To experience the old wild-west vibe even further, we head over to the Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall for an evening of gaming and live entertainment.
This historic hall is the only legal gambling establishment in the Yukon and when we step inside we are transported to a world of glittering lights, endless card games, and live entertainment that have us tapping our toes all night long.
Dawson City is usually also the starting and ending point of the Dempster Highway for overlanders. The infamous arctic highway, that’s really just a maintained dirt track takes a toll on vehicles.
That is also true for vans and cars that don’t have an accident like we did. Just opposite the Visitior Information Center we end up setting up an improsed overlander camp where everyone is cleaning, maintaining or repairing their rigs. We need several days to sort out the Iveco to make it ready for the next leg of our journey: Alaska.
More details about the van itself: • Better Than the SPRINT...
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Music:
David Benedict - The Golden Angle
Leon Laudenbach - Bury the Plow
SPEARFISHER - Banjo Dance
Tony Petersen - Running Down Blackberry Trail
8 июл 2024
