HISTORY GALORE

For one thing, more than prospectors lived in Dawson City. There were ladies of the night, burlesque dancers, Wild West showmen, bankers and whisky slingers who came to “mine” the miners.

Stroll down these dirt roads and wooden boardwalks and you’ll pass the Dawson Daily News, Canada’s first CIBC bank (where poet Robert W. Service worked as a teller), and more than one house of ill repute. In fact, I stayed at Bombay Peggy’s, a converted brothel and bootlegging haven that’s now a guesthouse, steeped in vintage furnishings. There’s also the impressive Palace Grand Theatre, built from discarded paddlewheel boards. I’m told the original owner Arizona Charlie Meadows dreamed of floating his theatre down the Yukon River.

Then there’s the oldest gambling hall in Canada, Diamond Tooth Gerties, where spirited, leg-kicking cancan dancers still perform all summer long. For more cultured sightseeing, walk by the old homes and cabins of Canada’s famed writers including Robert W. Service, Pierre Burton and Jack London.

Though Dawson’s original miners relied on sourdough for surviving the epic winters, modern tastes have evolved beyond bread. My stand-out meal is from Bonton & Company, considered one of Canada’s best new restaurants.

Bonton serves locally sourced produce and meats. I think our group orders almost everything on the menu, from the charcuterie board with house-made salami and Klondike Valley Creamery Cheese, to small plates of honey-glazed carrots and buttermilkdrizzled fried eggplant nestled on a bed of tabbouleh.

Like the old gold rush days where the bar was the social hangout, you’ll find there is still no lack of watering holes. The most famous is the Sourdough Saloon inside The Downtown Hotel. Home of the Sourtoe Cocktail, a shot of 80-proof (or stronger) alcohol is served with a preserved human toe sunk at the glass bottom. Strangely, it’s now this odd libation that draws people north, rather than gold.

Never one to shy away from locally authentic encounters during my travels, I down that infamous Sourtoe Cocktail, contemplating the entire time on how Dawson City really has it all: history, culture, natural beauty, great food, and the world’s most famous drink. Cheers to that!