London, who penned White Fang and The Call of the Wild,
both set during the Klondike Gold Rush. There's also a small
museum and interpretive staff (www.dawsoncity.ca/klon
dikeattractions/jacklondonmuseum).
Ply the Yukon River on a sidewheeler boat (www.klon
dikespirit.com), check out the Dawson City Museum (www.
dawsonmuseum.ca) or learn about the relationship between
gold diggers and the Aboriginal peoples at the fascinating
Dänojà Zho Cultural Centre (www.trondekheritage.com).
GOLD DIGGERS
Buy gold on Front Street or acquire it the old-fashioned
way via GoldBottom Mine Tours and Gold Panning (www.
goldbottom.com). Visitors tour a working gold mine and
get a close-up look at the process in action. Finish the experi-
ence by panning for gold in Bonanza Creek—the same
stream where they first discovered gold up here.
Be astonished by the engineering genius that created a
four-storey floating barge, a massive dredger that created all
those gravel mounds you see on your approach to Dawson.
Dredge No. 4 National Historic Site offers a fascinating tour
(www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/yt/dn4/index.aspx).
Meanwhile, back at GoldBottom, your back's hurting and
you're sweating buckets. You realize you may not have what
it takes to be a true gold digger until you find, in the bottom
of your pan, the tiniest flake of gold.
Now it's time to get back to Dawson to spend your
winnings and party 'til sunset—whenever that comes. That's
the rhythm of the town that never sleeps.
DAWSON CITY & YUKON RIVER • YK TOURISM
2012 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CANADA 173
