Day 14 - Dawson City

We left Moose Creek campground at our usual 9:00.  We have been pretty consistent about our departure times.  We manage to get all of our chores done, (guys outside, and girls inside) and be ready to go on or about 9:00.  The interesting part is that we have been changing back and forth between mountain and pacific time and it hasn't affected our schedule much.
It was Bill and Cathy's turn to lead so we were able to see the worst of the potholes and frost heaves by the rocking of their trailer.
We got into town early and were able to get campsites right next to each other in the middle of town.  The guy at the desk said they were the last two sites, and the no vacancy sign went up not long after we checked in for two nights.

Dawson City is an interesting town.  The gold rush pushed the population up to 30,000 at the turn of the century and since the boom ended nothing much else has happened.  The tourist trade is still brought to town based mainly on the gold rush story.  The population surges with around 1,400 seasonal workers in the summer and drops to under 2,000 year round residents.
The buildings are mixes of well restored old buildings and just plain falling apart old buildings.  There is only one paved street, and board walks keep the pedestrians out of the dirt and at times muddy thoroughfares.

We spent the first afternoon eating lunch at the Jack London Grill and making plans for our excursions that evening and the next day.
Bill went to the firefighters museum and everybody else (and I mean everybody including a busload of Wisconsin cheese heads) went to the tour of the Commissioner's house.  The tour of the restored house was well done and some actors portrayed some of the problems of the times around the turn of the century that the Commissioner would have to deal with.  The actors and the tour guide then served us tea (or lemonade) and snacks on the front porch and answered questions.

Bill met up with us and we made plans for a light supper and then go to the can can show at Diamond Tooth Gertie's Gambling Hall.
Bill and I walked up a road that headed up the mountain behind the town.  We found the 9th avenue trail that we would investigate further in the next couple of days and a road that we needed to see where it went.
Our campground and the town were invaded by lots of motorcycle enthusiasts.  There was some kind of rally.  It was not a Sturgis type of rally, rather a laid back quiet group.