City Tours

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The Dawson City Thrift Store

Today, my manager suggested I check out the Dawson City thrift store at St. Paul’s church. The first Saturday of the month (2pm to 5pm), they have an ‘all you can stuff in a grocery bag for 5$’ sale.

St Paul's church, Dawson City
St Paul’s church, Dawson City

I scooped up quite a few skirts and some blouses, several not being wearable right now but which I will be glad to have if I end up with an office job in Campbell River this winter. I also found a fleece jacket for the Chilkoot trip. I had not bought one at MEC back in Vancouver because I have a fairly good one, albeit with a temperamental zipper. I decided that if I found a cheap replacement, I would get one, but otherwise I would endure with the jacket I have even if it clashes with the rest of the clothing I’m taking on the trek. The jacket I found this afternoon is in perfect condition, is my size and is of a colour (olive-ish) that matches or complements the rest of my Chilkoot gear! Sweet!!! I also picked up several books. My bag was bursting at the seams, but I didn’t get a sarcastic comment from the cashier, so I don’t think I was excessive. 😀

Then, I checked out the Saturday market on Front Street and bought a mountain (okay, a pound) of basil from my manager’s husband before going to the general store where I found mozzarella on mega sale. Looks like I’m having pizza again for dinner. 😀 I am so excited to have so much sweet-smelling basil in the house! Whatever I can’t eat in the next few days will get frozen and enjoyed in the next few weeks. Yum!

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The Ridge Road Heritage Trail

Last night’s hike took us to just a few km from Dawson to the Ridge Road Heritage Trail. This trail used to be the first government-built wagon road in the Yukon. It was built in 1899 as a major supply route to the mines on Dominion and Sulphur creeks, not far from Bonanza Creek.

Quoting from the brochure:

Roadhouses, stores and freighting companies operated successfully along the route despite spring glaciers and a steep descent to the placer mines. Gold miners along Bonanza Creek ridiculed Commissioner William Ogilvie for supporting the project and lobbied for a more convenient route. After good roads were completed up Bonanza and Hunker creeks, the Ridge Road was abandoned in 1902.

This trail takes approximately two days to hike end to end and there are campgrounds within a day’s hike of each trailhead. We only got to about 3km UP the Jackson Gulch trailhead before the mosquitoes had us running back to the van for cover!

Jackson Gulch trailhead

Jackson Gulch trailhead

I never tire of the sky up here. About 7:30PM.

I never tire of the sky up here. About 7:30PM.

grouse

grouse

grouse

grouse

abandoned equipment

abandoned equipment

Some would find this land 'monotonous' but it never fails to take my breath away.

Some would find this land ‘monotonous’ but it never fails to take my breath away.

About 8PM

About 8PM

grouse

grouse

spot mama and baby grouse!

spot mama and baby grouse!

about 9PM

about 9PM

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Crossing the Yukon

Last week, I crossed the Yukon on the Dawson ferry for the first time. The ferry runs 24/7 during the summer except for a 2 hour shut down for maintenance in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. During freeze-up in the fall and break-up in the spring, residents are trapped on their side of the river for about a full month. During winter, the ice is thick enough to drive on and there is an ice bridge. Crossing on the ferry is free and the boat can accommodate very big vehicles, including RVs. The ferry is small and wait times for RVs can be long since locals have priority.

waiting to get on (I crossed over on foot)

waiting to get on (I crossed over on foot)

heading across the Yukon

heading across the Yukon

Dawson is getting to be pretty small :)

Dawson is getting to be pretty small 🙂

the ferry

the ferry

The beginning (and the end) of the Top of the World highway

The beginning (and the end) of the Top of the World highway

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The Ninth Ave and Lookout Trails

Dawson has a fabulous mostly level cross-town trail called the ‘Ninth Ave Trail’, thusly named because it runs parallel to Eighth Avenue, the last road before the Dome. The Ninth Ave Trail ends at Mary McLeod Road. Kitty corner to the left from the end of the trail is the beginning of the Lookout Trail (just before the yellow sign). This gently sloping trail takes you up to the Lookout (hence the name), which offers a more intimate view of Dawson and the Yukon River than does the view from the very top of the Dome. I’ve been up this trail a few times and never grow weary of it as it offers an almost jungle-like experience before emerging into the open Lookout. From the top, you can continue up to the Slide, and from the Slide, you can reach the Dome’s summit.

Yukon River

Yukon River

Yukon River

Yukon River

Poplars at the Lookout

Poplars at the Lookout

Dawson City and the Yukon River

Dawson City and the Yukon River

Yukon River (looking up river towards Eagle, Alaska)

Yukon River (looking up river towards Eagle, Alaska)

the Slide (seen from the opposite side of the Yukon River on another day)

the Slide (seen from the opposite side of the Yukon River on another day)

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The Dawson City Free Store

A colleague and I took a mini road trip this afternoon and went shopping at the Dawson City Free Store, a euphemism for the Dawson City… dump. 😀

Dump diving seems to be a northern sport, with the dump in Yellowknife, NWT, being the most famous. I wasn’t surprised that Dawson City has one. In a town with few stores, it makes sense that there is a reuse/recycle mentality.

People drop off usable things in a reasonably weather-proof location and can pick through what’s there. What impressed me the most was the mountain of clothes. I found five perfectly good and very pretty tops. My colleague left with a huge pile of items, including a very stylish and perfectly good winter parka. She also found a much needed table and chair and some kitchen items. With the table strapped to my roof rack, it was obvious where we’d been tonight. 😀

There are people who would turn up their noses at ‘shopping at the dump’, but I’m not one of them. I love going through flea markets, used clothing stores, and garage sales to find unique items not available in the big box stores. There is also absolutely no ‘gross factor’ in shopping at the Dawson City Free Store; the reusable items are far away from the household waste.

The free store is open noon to 7pm, Tuesday to Saturday.