Shake, Rock, Rattle and Roll!

There are miles and miles of this dusty road. By horse and wagon it would take 6 nights to master tasking the 180 mile trip to Dawson. With the horses working 12 hours a day, these historic roadside rests were places to stop to rest or stay the night, eat, and warm some weary bones. I sure hope there was a door on that building back in it's day! Brrr!   

As we continue North, the roads are becoming increasing difficult to navigate. The lines have all but disappeared in many places for many miles. The surface is to be desired! Chip sealing is common, and I assure you that the Government road crew is busy enough that they don't take the time to smooth it out! The famous "frost heaves" we have heard about have slowed our travel to nearly nothing! Wow...smooth road for a bit, Oh wait, SLOW DOWN there is a heave...OK speed it up again...no whoops....swerve around that chip seal.....oh crap there is another and another! Shake, rock, rattle and roll baby!

We nestled into a Government campground, obviously in bear country. It is common to see these food caches. All provisions are to be hung, no outdoor coolers left outside in your site...hmmmm, I think I'll go get some marshmallow and Chocolate now....

Day trip to Keno. Casper is still fairly clean. White with a fine layer of dust.....just wait.

Keno, just a quaint little Town at the end of the road. Population 20. Youngest age 34. We were afraid to ask how old was the oldest citizen!  Let's just say that  personal mining is a rough way to make a living.

Of course, Nancy had to try her luck in Lightning Creek!

If the road is there, we will travel. It was a daunting task to climb to this height, but the view of the surrounding mountains and valleys were astounding! The sign post read mileage to several major International cities...it was incredible!

There were only 2 buildings in town that were operable, the museum and the bar. Yes, we toured the museum! This bar was restored from the original condition, wood plank floors, dim electric lighting, and rustic smell attracted us to sit and stay. Check out the babe in the painting....LOL! 

OK, so I mentioned that the car WAS white. We don't feel like tourists anymore because this is the common look of all the vehicles. The only thing giving us away is those darn kayaks!

There is no running water at our pitch, so cleaning the car is out of the question. But cleaning the kayaks....now that was fun!

As if the roads aren't bad enough, they have to go tearing them up! Traffic creep ed through this construction zone because there was only approximately 1 inch to spare on either side of the motor home!  (nancy driving, yikes)

Finally, downtown Dawson City. No horse drawn wagons here!

....and again

This is a view of Dawson and the Yukon river from atop a place called "dome road." On the summer soltice, June 21st, the sun will not set. It will dip to the top of the mountain range and then rise above. This is the last town site that we will visit in northern Yukon Territory. Tomorrow we cross the river on a very small ferry and climb into the hills on a highway called "top of the world" that leads us to our destination of Alaska.