Sunday,
August 20th.
Up
early and off to the airport at 7:30 on a rainy day. The locals are happy for
the rain as there are lots of wildfires in Alaska, hopefully it will head
towards Yellowknife which has been evacuated due to an approaching wildfire. As
we were leaving, we could see that the birch trees are turning yellow as autumn
is approaching quickly. Going through security at the airport the man behind me
had his backpack rescanned because he had left a magazine full of cartridges in
it… oops. The flight was a charter and there were only 43 of us on it and we
were all spaced out to spread the weight. I was by myself in the middle of
three seats. We arrived at the tiny airport in Dawson an hour later. Customs
entering Canada was very easy and friendly. We had a short drive to our
Westmark Hotel in Dawson. We drove past miles of ‘tailings’, which are the rock
waste left by the huge dredging machines that mined the local streams and
creeks during the goldrush. They are not allowed to mine that way anymore as it
is an environmental disaster. Our hotel was nice enough with two in-house restaurants.
After checking in I spent the afternoon wandering around the town, viewing all
the refurbished historic buildings, and learning about history of the goldrush
and the town. Parks Canada has spent a lot of money upgrading the buildings as
this is a very touristy town. That and mining are the only two businesses this
town ever had. Some of the buildings have been left as is including two that
are leaning in on each other as they are sinking because the permafrost beneath
them is melting. Permafrost is the permanently frozen ground beneath the
‘active’ layer of soil. Sometimes it is just below the surface and other times
feet below. Building on it is risky as it sometimes melts and shifts ruining
roads and sinking buildings. As a result, all the roads in town are dirt,
sidewalks are wooden boardwalks and buildings have to be built on a pad so that
heat generated in the building does not radiate down and disturb the
permafrost. Climate change is helping to melt permafrost all over the Arctic
regions and causing lots of problems. Dawson like many other touristy places
really suffered during the pandemic. The government closed the only road in,
and they were basically isolated for two years. At 3 o’clock I walked up to the
back of town to see Robert Service’s cabin, he of The Cremation of Sam McGee
fame. He was a banker who got transferred to Dawson City during the gold rush
and lived here for a few years. He began his poetry writing here and became
very successful and then moved on. At the cabin a guide in period costume told
us about his life, history and read several of his very entertaining story telling
poetry. There were 7 of us there and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. Two doors away is the cabin of Jack London,
who wrote several stories, White Fang and Call of the Wild of the arctic and the
goldrush. Both men helped to romanticize the area to a wide audience.
Across the street from the two is the birthplace of Pierre Burton. He great up
to be a major celebrity on radio and TV and a very successful author of over 50
books of mostly Canadian history, including one about the goldrush called
Klondike. Not bad for a small town in the Canadian outback! He lived here just
before Service. and I had dinner by myself in a little local diner called
Sourdough Joe’s and then met up with Julie and a group of others and we went to
the DownTown Hotel for a very strange drink. Established in 1973, the Sourtoe
Cocktail has become a time-honoured tradition in Dawson City. To date,
the club has over 100,000 members, hailing from every corner of the world. Here’s
what it says on their website:
How Do I Become a Member?
Step 1 – Come down to the Sourdough Saloon
Step 2 – Purchase a shot (most club members prefer Yukon Jack)
Step 3 – Pledge the ‘Sourtoe Oath’
Step 4 – Watch as a (genuine) dehydrated toe is dropped in your drink
Step 5 – Drink your Sourtoe Cocktail
Be sure to remember the most important rule: “You can
drink it fast, you can drink it slow, but your lips have gotta touch the toe”
Sourtoe Cocktail Recipe:
- 1
ounce (minimum) of alcohol
- 1
dehydrated toe
- garnish
with courage
Origins:
The legend of the first “sourtoe” dates back to the
1920’s and features a feisty rum-runner named Louie Linken and his brother
Otto. During one of their cross-border deliveries, they ran into an awful
blizzard. In an effort to help direct his dog team, Louie stepped off the
sled and into some icy overflow—soaking his foot thoroughly. Fearing that the
police were on their trail, they continued on their journey. Unfortunately, the
prolonged exposure to the cold caused Louie’s big toe to be frozen solid.
To prevent gangrene, the faithful Otto performed the amputation using a
woodcutting axe (and some overproof rum for anesthesia). To commemorate
this moment, the brothers preserved the toe in a jar of alcohol. Years later,
while cleaning out an abandoned cabin, the toe was discovered by Captain Dick
Stevenson. After conferring with friends, the Sourtoe Cocktail Club was
established, and the rules developed. Since its inception, the club has
acquired (by donation) over 25 toes.
What they don’t say is that there is a $2500 fine if you swallow the toe! I am member 110934. Why? Hell knows, the two Australians were going to do it, so I figured what the hell. It didn’t look like a toe, more like a piece of dark sausage, so I just kept that thought and tipped back my Crown Royal quickly allowing the toe to touch my lips and swallowed (not the toe!) After that thrill we all had a drink and then went to Diamond Tooth Gertie’s Saloon and Dance Hall. It’s an old wooden building with a casino in it and has three performances of dancers and singers every night. Unlike Fairbanks which was skits and music telling the history of the city, this was simply cancan dancing and singing, but lively and entertaining. Tired after a long day and nice to get into a comfortable bed.
Another spectacular day and wonderful post! Loved it! So was it the Sourtoe or the Sourdough museum.....too funny....
ReplyDeleteoops...my error..it IS the Sourdough Saloon.....
ReplyDelete