Whitehorse to Dawson

June 27th.  We departed Whitehorse at 0730.  It was hard to leave our friends as they had been so fantastic to us.  Very generous with their time.  Plus, they literally opened their home to us.

Dawson is a 530km drive.  Most Yukoners make the trip in under 5 hours.  This day we would be on the road for around 10 hours.  We stopped at many of the lakes and information kiosks along the way.  Lake Laberge.  While standing on the shore it was easy to think of the history of the area.  Dana quoted a line for the poem "The Cremation of Sam MaGee".  I could have sworn she said "...I cremated Barry McKee...." but perhaps I was day dreaming at the time.  Here is the opening stanza from the poem by Robert Service:
There are strange things done in the midnight sun,
by the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold;
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,
But the queerest they ever did see
Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge
I cremated Sam McGee.


One other stop of note was at Five Finger Rapids.  This section of the Yukon River was treacherous.  River passage through these narrows resulted in the death of many until blasting opened one of the narrow channels.  Today the narrows seem quite benign.  Standing on the banks at the narrows it is easy to imagine what it might have looked like in the 1890's.

We had a fun day.  The travel was easy.  Lots of rolling hills, lakes, streams and rivers.  Big sky all the way.

Enjoy the photos......  Oh, don't forget to click on the photos.  Your browser will enlarge the photos to give you a better photo.

Dana at Five Finger Rapids, 100 foot drop off.  Yes, Dana is smiling as I ask her to step back a few paces...

Five Finger Rapids, Yukon River

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