no words can convey my disbelief at making my way here

8,500 of the roughly 10,000km (including toad trips) that separated me from Ottawa

I did two trips into Dawson City on Wednesday. The first was simply a scouting mission: get the lay of the land, find a place to live, get a job, top off the groceries, not necessarily in that order. If that all worked out, I would go drop off the groceries, have lunch, and then return to do touristy stuff in the afternoon.

I pulled into Dawson City at about 10AM and by noon I was back at home at the campground my mission fully accomplished. I love the Yukon!

My first stop in Dawson City was the post office where I confirmed that they accept general delivery. I haven’t received my mail in, oh, about six weeks. I did check in with my UPS store guy when I was in Nugget City and there didn’t seem to be anything important. Hopefully. 🙂

I’ll pause here to say that Dawson City is the first city I’ve ever visited that’s exactly the way I envisioned it would be. It is a page taken out of an old western; a compact town with false store fronts, dusty roads, and wooden sidewalks. Interpreters in costume roam the street, adding to the ‘old time’ feel. The town is vibrant for all it seems to be stuck in history and the locals, born here or not, all seem to share a common joy at living in this jewel of a town. It wasn’t love at first sight as I already loved Dawson before I set eyes on her, but rather love confirmed. 🙂

Next, I went to the Visitors Centre. The helpful gal there told me to check out the Klondike Outreach employment centre for work and an RV park just outside of town (2km) for long-term rates.

The employment centre didn’t have anything inspiring, so I just got groceries (prices slightly higher than Watson Lake, but still not shocking except for some produce) and headed back out to visit the RV park.

I won’t give the name of the park, but it’s the third one in a row on the west side of the highway and closest to Dawson. 🙂 The manager told me the monthly rate, said he didn’t have weekly rates, and pretty much told me to get lost when I asked him about work. To be fair, he told me to come back later, but from his tone I knew I would be out of mind the minute I was out of sight.

So, I went to the next park down the road and was hired on the spot for at least enough hours to cover rent, with a decision as to full-time hours to be made the next day (today). Have I mentioned yet how much I love the Yukon? 🙂

I returned to town in the afternoon but didn’t stay long because I wasn’t dressed for the weather. Since Whitehorse, I have felt like I was in Nevada in parts; it is so dryly hot and dusty with an unrelenting sun. I hope I get used to it!

I took a lot of pictures on my walkabout town, but I’m not going to share most of them simply because I plan to take in the town slowly. Here are some teasers:

Dawson City, as seen from the top of Dome Road

victims of permafrost

the grocery store