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Bridging the Past: The Klondike Highway, Yukon Territory, Canada

The spell of the north is an affliction that affects many people and a trip along the Klondike Highway in the Yukon Territory, Canada - between Whitehorse and Dawson City - is a sure fire bet to cure this malady. While it's an easy day's drive, set aside some time to see the attractions at both of these historic Canadian cities as part of your holiday plans when traveling this historic route.

Your adventure starts at Whitehorse, Yukon's capital since 1950. Visit the National Historic Site S.S. Klondike, a restored paddle wheeler, on the banks of the mighty Yukon River. The Beringia Centre features the glacial past of the Yukon, including the Giant Steppe Bison, Woolly Mammoth and Giant Beaver. The MacBride Museum provides a glimpse into the colorful past of Yukon pioneers and native cultures. Take a ride on the only remaining tram car from the Canyon & White Horse Rapids Tramway Company, along the edge of the Yukon River. Whitehorse has many other attractions - a must see is the Frantic Follies, vaudeville entertainment at its best in the Westmark Hotel each summer - including excellent restaurants with varied cuisine and competitive prices.

You won't be sleeping in tents and drawing water from a creek in Whitehorse it's a fully modern city with all the amenities of more southern locations in Canada and the United States.

The Klondike Highway branches off the Alaska Highway just north of Whitehorse and winds its way northwards some 525 km, amid the scenic wilderness of the far north. It traces the route that many Klondikers followed during the world's last great gold rush in the late 1800s along the mighty Yukon River - this highway is paved, with good sight lines and light traffic at worst. You don't have to worry about bumper to bumper traffic anytime soon and it's suitable for both cars and recreational vehicles!

Familiar place names spring up along the way on the Klondike Highway: Lake Laberge, site of Robert Services' famous poem entitled "The Cremation of Sam McGee"; Carmacks, named after George Carmacks, one of the veteran gold seekers who triggered the Klondike Gold Rush on Rabbit Creek in 1896; the Five Finger Rapids: treacherous rapids on the Yukon River that thwarted many a riverboat skipper.

Finally, the fabled Dawson City, declared a National Historic Site in the early 1960s, lies before you, much as it was at the turn of the century with its wooden boardwalks and gravel streets, with colorful,

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