We got up and expected to have a leisurely breakfast before getting on a bus to the airport for our return flight to Vancouver. The weather had other ideas and our flight was delayed due to low clouds preventing our plane, which was coming from Fairbanks, from landing in Dawson City.
We killed the morning by touring around town again while waiting for our plane. Here are some final shots of Dawson City.
Last day on our Alaska/Yukon adventure. We started off with a tour of a turn of the century gold mining operation. It was basically a huge dredging machine which had to be shipped up in pieces and assembled on site. The interior reminded me of the old grain elevators my dad operated back in the 50's. Lots of massive timbers, winches and pulleys. I have included a picture showing how it operated.
We spent some time walking around town taking in the unique look of Dawson City. We have been to many old west towns in the US but Dawson City is unique in that it's not just the Main Street developed to look authentic. It is pretty much the whole town. Due to the fact the town is built on permafrost, which is always moving, the sidewalks are not cement but rather wooden boardwalks. The streets are gravel and the buildings are mostly built on wooden beams which allows the buildings to be jacked up and re-levelled every few years.
The main highway going through town is the only asphalt road and the asphalt was imported from France. Apparently, and I don't know why, but the asphalt from France is made differently from what we use and doesn't absorb as much heat from the sun so it doesn't melt the permafrost.
Our very long day came to an end when we flew into Dawson City, checked into our hotel, had dinner and took a short walk around town. We had booked the Top of the Dome tour which thankfully was just a short bus ride to the top of a hill overlooking Dawson and the river valley. We were plumb tuckered out and hit the sack early.
The welcome banner was out to announce our arrival.
