Brickyard Blues

Day 45 – Saturday, July 27

This is the first year since the Brickyard 400 began that we have missed the race!   In a normal year, we would be camping in lot 4A at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Instead, we are camping in the Yukon, 4000 miles away!   We will be driving on the Top of the World Highway on Sunday, so it is doubtful that the NASCAR channel will come through on Sirius.  With the 3 hour time difference, we are hoping we can catch the start of the race.  Be assured that we will be thinking of the racers, and the fans, and sending special good wishes to Tom & the 24 team…Get ‘Er Done!

Today we took a bike ride across the Klondike River to the downtown area of Dawson City.  The streets in downtown Dawson City are all dirt roads.  Because of the harsh winters, it is difficult to keep them smooth.  We explored the shops and had lunch at the lounge in the El Dorado Hotel, where we were able to watch part of the Nationwide Race.

The “scar” in the hillside is called Moosehide Slide, and is the result of an ancient landslide. (not from mining).  It used to be used as a navigational landmark for river travellers.  It is a very visible landmark at the end of the streets in Dawson City.

 

 

 

Robert Service was a bank teller, who later became a famous writer and poet in the Yukon.  There are roads, schools and streets named after him.  He memorialized the Klondike Gold Rush in books and in poetry.  His rustic log cabin was his writing retreat, and we visited it today at the top of the hill on the edge of town.

 

Since we will be travelling on Sunday, we went to mass at St. Mary’s, a small beautiful church in downtown Dawson City.  There were 11 people at mass!, and 7 were from our group!

 

 

Tomorrow will be a big day driving over the Top of the World Highway.  For the past 3 days we have been watching and talking to people coming in to the rv park from there.  Their dirty, dusty rigs tell part of the story, but they are quick to complete the story with tales of the treacherous roads.  Apparently the rains have softened the shoulders of the road, making it difficult, especially with two vehicles coming opposite ways trying to pass each other.  One guy told us one wheel of a tow vehicle caught on the side of the road and pulled the rv off!!   What a fun(?) experience it will be!  Tomorrow’s blog will provide a full report from the other side of the Top of the World!