Page 17 - DreamScapes Magazine | Fall/Winter 2022

PHOTOS: © NORTHERN TALES TRAVEL SERVICES INC. | © DESTINATION CANADA | TRAVEL YUKON/PETER MATHER | © DESTINATION CANADA
HISTORY GALORE
For one thing, more than prospectors lived in Dawson City. There were ladies of the night, burlesque dancers, Wild West showmen, bankers and whisky slingers who came to “mine” the miners.
Stroll down these dirt roads and wooden boardwalks and you’ll pass the Dawson Daily News, Canada’s first CIBC bank (where poet Robert W. Service worked as a teller), and more than one house of ill repute. In fact, I stayed at Bombay Peggy’s, a converted brothel and bootlegging haven that’s now a guesthouse, steeped in vintage furnishings. There’s also the impressive Palace Grand Theatre, built from dis- carded paddlewheel boards. I’m told the original owner Arizona Charlie Meadows dreamed of floating his theatre down the Yukon River.
Then there’s the oldest gambling hall in Canada, Dia- mond Tooth Gerties, where spirited, leg-kicking cancan dancers still perform all summer long. For more cultured sightseeing, walk by the old homes and cabins of Canada’s famed writers including Robert W. Service, Pierre Burton and Jack London.
A rich culture
Before the region was inundated with settlers, it was part of the traditional territory of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in. First peo- ples used and migrated through the area for at least 8,000 years, hunting moose and caribou, trapping, fishing, and harvesting traditional plants and berries.
Visit the Dänojà Zho Cultural Centre to learn about the history and culture of Dawson’s original inhabitants through stories, artifacts, and other cultural objects such as canoes and beaded clothing. The centre is open Wednesday through Friday in summer and by appointment in winter.
In late spring through the summer, join the Parks Canada interpretive program, Red Serge, Red Tape, and step inside the opulent Commissioner’s Residence. An inter- preter helps participants challenge their notion of a romanticized gold rush by telling the Indigenous side of the story. I learn how Chief Isaac moved his people downriver to Moosehide to shield them from the drinking, gambling and general rabble-rousing that had overcome Dawson.
Get back to nature
The Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in traditional territory includes Tomb- stone Territorial Park, a spectacular protected area about 100 kilometres northeast of Dawson City. Its name in the Hän language means “Ragged Mountain Land.”
I hike between Talus Lake and Divide Lake in Tomb- stone’s subarctic heart, and see the vertical rock walls that rise up 350 metres and are the park’s namesake (they look like grave markers). The valley floor is punctuated by thaw lakes created by melting permafrost, and a carpet of dwarf birch that turns a brilliant red in autumn, which arrives early this far north. The park is accessible in winter for snowshoeing with The Klondike Experience.
DAWSON CITY’S
WINTER WONDERLAND
To get away from it all, see the Northern Lights and truly embrace the cold. Journeying to the frozen north during the darkest days is like reaching the end of the road, literally—the Top of the World Highway that connects the Yukon to Alaska closes in mid-October. But not to worry, pack plenty of layers and let Dawson’s downy mantle of snow cocoon you in its pris- tine beauty.
Go dog sledding with local mushers, or snowmobile through the woods by day. By night, watch the dazzling aurora borealis light up the sky with streaks of green and yellow from the com- fort of a cosy yurt. The Klondike Experience organizes winter excursions.
FALL/WINTER 2022 DREAMSCAPES 17