"North to Alaska"...Day 36...Tuesday, July 9, 2013

This morning, I am paying the price for last night's "festivities". I don't even wake up until close to 10:00AM. I don't have the strength to brew a pot of coffee...some cold coffee from the Thermos goes in my cup, and the cup goes on the stove. While the coffee is heating up, I pop two Advils and drink a half a liter of water.
By noon, I'm hungry so I wander down to Cousin Bill's campsite. He's not feeling very "chipper" to day either. We drive downtown to a little pizza place for lunch...Bill gets a small pizza and I get a sub...we rate both meals as "OK" only.
There are several boat trips on the Yukon River advertised around town, so we check those out. One goes on a big "paddle wheel" boat and includes dinner. The other uses a local guide in a small boat...Cousin Bill and I opt for this one.
At 3:00, we meet our guide Tommy and head up the Yukon River. When we are upstream aways, Tommy cuts the engine so that we can float for several minutes in silence...very nice. Then we're on the move again as Tommy explains history, geography, hunting, fishing and First Nations culture. Several times we stop on different islands so that Tommy can show us his summer lodging, winter lodging and fish camp.
We're back in Dawson around 4:30 and head right for "The Pit" and headingfor a few beers. It is a particularly lively crowd on this afternoon.
Back at camp, Cousin Bill and I go over our itinerary, and we discover that we have a problem. Cousin Bill thought that we were leaving Dawson tomorrow...him heading over the "Top of the World Highway" and me heading south to Whitehorse, then west to Haines Junction. In fact, we are supposed to be camping for four days at Tombstone Territorial Park near Dawson. Bill booked campgrounds for his trip, and they will not let him change his dates. So...Cousin Bill is going to miss seeing what I have often called my favorite Park in the world. Now it looks like we will meet up again in five or six days at Kluane National Park.
Once we have resolved all of these itinerary issues, I head into town for dinner at the Jack London Grill...nothing special...mushroom soup and a cheeseburger. Then back over to "The Pit" for a nightcap.
Back at camp, the Wi-Fi is terrible. It takes several hours to get up a single blog post. It's after midnight before I climb into the camper to sleep.
Big day tomorrow...I've got to get gas and groceries before heading to Tombstone. Then I have to lay out, check off, and pack all of my equipment for my overnight backpacking trip on Thursday or Friday.