Diamond Tooth Gertie

Day 44- Friday, July 26

Dawson City has quite a history of colorful characters.  One of them is Diamond Tooth Gertie who ran the gambling bar and saloon in Dawson City. It continues to operate. We went to a show there tonight. The show was entertaining, and the piano player was great!  We were sitting at a table in the front, and a few from the group were taken on stage.  Jim was careful not to make eye contact during the show, but joined a group of them after the show!  We tried the slots and Blackjack after the show, but Diamond Tooth Gertie wasn’t very nice to us!   

Earlier today we were treated to a tour by Marie who told us some great stories about the characters and the area. It is a very interesting place, and fun to imagine what life was like in a gold rush town.             

  After the tour we had lunch at Jack London’s Grill, and were entertained by a piano player that walked in off the street!  Jack London, the American author, spent quite a bit of time in the Klondike area.

Remember Murd the barber?  Well, he told us to look for the Keno, the sternwheeler that his dad worked on, and sure enough, we found it! 

We also found an interesting house with grass on the roof!

All of the buildings in the city are very old, and most were built in the 1900’s to support the community life during the gold rush years.  An interesting fact is that the buildings are built on “cribs”, or raised platforms, to protect the permafrost underneath.  The permafrost is permanently frozen earth.  If the permafrost melts, it causes huge shifts in the ground, which causes problems for the buildings resting on top.

Tonight we also visited the Midnight Dome.  It is a metamorphic rock, 2000 ft tall that sits at the edge of the city.  It is a great lookout point, and from the top you can see the Yukon river, the Top of the World Highway, and a great view of Dawson City.  The dome is a popular gathering point for people to watch the midnight sun.  We didn’t stay up til midnight, but did enjoy a visit to the top of the done.

On the way down, we came upon a sly fox sitting in the road. He had a mean looking face.  We will add him to our wildlife tally!