June 7, More on Dawson City

The dreary weather is finally letting up slightly.  It is still cloudy, but not raining as much.   I walked Sadie into town early this morning.  There is a very nice path along the river that leads into town. It is so quiet here in the morning.  The path works for bikes and pedestrians and is only about 1 1/2 miles long.  It would be a great jogging path..if I stilled jogged.

I rode my bike back into town and visited the  Danoja Zho Cultural Center.  Its a cultural center devoted to the Han First Nation people who were here prior to the gold rush.  Chief Isaac was concerned that the "white" people would bring "bad stuff" to his people and he convinced the government to move them down stream in to a new settlement.  He transferred all the nations songs and important rituals to relatives in Tanana, Alaska for safe keeping.  Later he retrieved all his songs and rituals to pass on to further generations. Now the Han people have a gathering every other year inviting all the Han people and other guests.  They teach the culture, songs, dances, crafts, and language to the youth so that it will stay abreast with their culture.

                                          Cultural Center

                                          During the summer this is used for exhibits. In the winter classes are schedule.

One of the places I wanted to visit was the Jack London cabin.  I missed the Jack London  presentation but was able to see the museum and cabin.  Part of the cabin  is in Jack London Square near Oakland, CA, and I had been there years ago.

                                          The cabin

                                          Those cots don't look very comfortable.
We are very far north, so far north it seems the sun doesn't really set, and even when it does it is still light out.  During the summer solstice the locals gather at the top of the Dome and celebrate.  We won't be here for the summer solstice but decided to up to the dome anyway and see the view.  It is spectacular! Although it was cloudy, it is still pretty light out.

                                           Dawson City and the Yukon River

                                           The round mounds at the bottom of the picture are the tailings from #4 Dredge.  Kind of gives you an idea how much the dredges dug up and the damage they did.

There was a really nice bench at the top of the Dome. It was called the Bench of Life.  We sad and enjoyed the view while Bill took pictures.

If you haven't heard of t he legend of the Sourtoe cocktail, it goes something like this:

...."I know a prospector who lost his toe;
Froze it in the deadly cold and snow.
"Deadly Gangrene soon set in.
He cut it off, his life to win.
To remember the gruesome task he'd done
He pickled it in a jar of o.p. rum."
"Now I can get the gruesome toe
and fix a drink call the 'Sourtoe'
We convince that bragging 'River Rat'
All Yukon captains have a drink like that.

So as the legend goes they fixed the drink for the Captain  with the pickled toe and dared him to drink it to prove he was a true river rat. He did and won the respect of the town.  If you are a true river rat, one can meet the challenge and drink a Sourtoe Cocktail.  You have to order something with 40 proof alcohol, (Yukon Gold) and kiss the toe with your lips to be a member of the Sourtoe Cocktail club. So guess who stepped up to the challenge?

Liz was the first. She didn't hesitate one minute. The Captain didn't have to help at all.

Nancy poked and prodded at the toe trying to figure out if it was real or not, and

finally downed her Yukon Gold.  Nancy usually takes all night  to drink one soda, so it was especially challenging for her  to have to drink fast and kiss the toe.

The Yukon Gold was good, but the darn toe wouldn't release itself from the bottom of the glass and the Captain was getting a little impatient.  There were other waiting to join the club. Who is missing from this picture??

We all decided while we were still out  and in a festive mood we would take in the 10:30 show at Diamond Tooth Gerties.  I know, it was late but our tickets were good for another night.  I've been told some in our group took an afternoon nap in preparation for a big night. We got there much earlier this time and had front row seats.

Some of the act were different in the second show. 

                                          The stars: Gertie and Spencer (not their real names)

Gertie was really intrigued with Bill's hair.  I think she was trying to get it to stand up in a Mohawk.  He seemed to enjoy it and didn't get to embarrassed. A fun end to a very busy day.