Bell II to Dawson City

On Friday we departed Bell II bright and early with nice cool morning temps running a pretty stretch of Hwy 37 to Dease Lake - a tiny pass through town on the Cassiar. The ride side hotel I had stayed at in 2019 was closed and appeared to be under renovations. It was only around 10ish in the morning and we only needed fuel so we gassed up and ran north to our next stop - Jade City. A little roadside gift shop with free coffee surrounded by a jade mine and a cut and fabrication operation.

After a cup of coffee and a couple of jade piece purchases we were off to the Alcan Hwy to make our way northwest on towards Whitehorse. A few miles into the Alaska Highway we hit a fairly short rain and wind storm that tested the gear. Test passed an we kept pretty dry. That was th first rain for me after a week of riding. Another fuel up and quick pit stop in Teslin to light a final burst of energy for the push to a bed for the night in Whitehorse. 550 miles for the day on Friday when it was all said and done.

The hotel was called Canada’s Best Inn and hoping this wasn’t Canada’s best. But it did have a laundry - which we took full advantage of - and was a short walk to Klondike Rib & Salmon. Dinner was great with Salmon & Char plates ordered and devoured with a pitcher of Klondike Gold. Drying the clothes took until 11pm as the laundry was used by many other travelers.

The next day we were on the road by 8am headed north to Dawson City. Shaded by the mountains for the first few hours brought us temps in the mid 40’s. We pulled over at a rest area and added layers to combat the cold. A fuel stop, several massive construction zones, and patches of wheel eating pot holes preceded a stop at the start of the mighty Dempster - our likely destination tomorrow. After a couple of photos, we finished the last 20 miles or so into Dawson City landing at the Bunkhouse Hotel.

We got checked in, relaxed a bit and headed over to the Downtown Hotel - home of the famous Sour Toe Cocktail. Dozens and dozens of people lined up to do the shot and get a certificate immortalizing their accomplishment, I did not partake - Google it if you are not familiar.

Dinner split Poutine and pizza and hit the spot. Tomorrow we will make a run up the Dempster to the Arctic Circle and make a weather call on the run to Tuktoyatuk, NWT and the Arctic Ocean. I made it there in 218 - the year the last 100 miles of road was constructed - and hope to be able to do it again over the next few days. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, things could get interesting.