Diamond Tooth Gertie Show
The one show everyone talks about when visiting Dawson is the stage production at Diamond Tooth Gertie’s Casino and Dance Hall. There are three shows nightly, and I decided to go to one of the later ones in hopes of avoiding the crowds. I found out that it doesn’t matter when you go because it is always packed.
The building where they have the dancing girls is full of tables stretching back from the stage with slot machines and gambling tables around the outside edges. Of course there is a long bar pouring drinks and waitresses roaming the floor keeping your glass full. The place was packed when I got there, but I asked a couple if I could sit at their table for the show. They were accommodating and we enjoyed good conversation before the show started.
The girls were good dancers and good singers. The act consisted of a story about a miner that had struck it rich in the goldfields and how all the girls played up to him for his gold. The two stars of the show were the head dance hall girl and Charlie, the rich miner. They did several duets together that were really good. It was a fun show, but of course one of the highlights of the show was when the girls pulled four men from the audience, put dresses on them, and made them do a cancan dance.
Midnight Sun
After the show ended I decided to ride up to Dome Rock – a twisting road that climbs high above Dawson – to watch the midnight sun. The sky was clear so I figured it would be a good time to go. The official town celebration is on the 21st of June but the forecast for the next night was cloudy and possible rain.
When I arrived at the top there were already many people there. Some were waiting for the sun to go down at 12:45 while others were in for the long haul and we’re waiting till it came back from behind the mountain a couple hours later. I stayed until I could get a picture of the midnight sun, then headed down the mountain with most other people.
Train Museum
Today was spent seeing a few places around town that I had missed. I walked to the museum and browsed there for a while, made a quick visit to Jack London’s and Robert Service’s Cabins, and then did the tour of the Keno Riverboat. I should have enough gold rush and early Dawson history to last me for quite some time.
Yukon riverboat Keno
This afternoon I loaded my motorcycle, took Minnie to get her tanks emptied and filled, and settled in to watch a storm pass through. My plan is to get an early start tomorrow and maybe get ahead of the long line waiting for the ferry. I have been staying up so late that it may be hard to wake up early.
So you lucked out and didn’t get dragged on stage, eh?
I had a little pang go through my heart when you mentioned Robert Service’s cabin. Mom loved his poetry and they visited his cabin. It was very special to her. This line in “The Spell of the Yukon” deeply resonated with her:
There’s a land—oh, it beckons and beckons,
And I want to go back—and I will.
I can still hear her reciting it, as if they were her words. And she loved the last stanza:
It’s the great, big, broad land ’way up yonder,
It’s the forests where silence has lease;
It’s the beauty that thrills me with wonder,
It’s the stillness that fills me with peace.
I don’t think he ever said if he was one of the four. Probably was but will deny it.
By the way, did you get up to Dome Rock in time to get a good view of the town? Really a neat spot we thought. Any hang gliders like we saw? They landed in the park along side the river.
Any more problems with Minnie’s engine? Maybe just bad gas?
Seems to be running OK now. The only worry I have is that it ran OK once it started. If it was gas or filter it would miss even while running.