Monday, July 4, 2011

HAPPY 4th of JULY!!  The Dawson City Visitors Center invited tourists in for Independence Day cake and handed out US flags. 

We took the walking tour of Dawson City.  Our Parks Canada tour guide, dressed in period clothing of 1898, showed us the historical buildings in Dawson and told us about some of the more colorful residents, past and present.  Some of the two dozen buildings were open for touring while others had window displays of the century Klondike supplies and services, the old Post Office, Ruby's, the 1st
British Bank, the Dawson Daily News, the Palace Grand Theatre and the Red Feather Saloon.  She pointed out the effects of the instability of perma frost.

The Wagon Masters invited everyone to a 4th of July party at their site.  We had hot dogs, potato salad, beans and tortilla chips.  We took in the Diamond Tooth Gertie stage show, plugged a couple of slot machines, and LeRoy won $100 on the blackjack table.  LeRoy got sung to by Gertie, a buxom redhead who reminded me of Mae West, while she patted his flat top hair. A bit later she tapped us to be one of the 3 couples to dance during one of her songs, and you know how much LeRoy loves to dance....  The troupe puts on 3 shows nightly, each one different, with the 12:30 show being more risque.