Call of the Wild

Seventy-five miles south of the north fork of Henderson Creek where author Jack London panned for gold and wrote such best-sellers as 'White Fang' and 'Call of the Wild' is the town of Dawson.

It lies in the heart of the Yukon gold country and it is the home of Diamond Tooth Gerties Casino.

In my weaker moments, I have actually toyed with the idea of climbing into my car, packing my thermal underwear, and driving through Canada to Dawson, just to watch those miners' daughters and wives dance the French Can-Can.

Notice, I said in my weaker moments. I am a warm weather creature, much more attracted to the Caribbean or South Pacific and its white sand beaches than to -35 degree weather with a wind chill factor included.

But from what I have heard and read about Dawson, it's definitely worth a visit on anyone's travel calendar.

Dawson has 1,500 permanent residents and attracts 60,000 visitors annually. They come to enjoy stepping back in time. Dawson is a sort of friendly tourist trap where the residents dress as people dressed in the late 1800s when a major gold strike brought thousands of dreamers to the Yukon. The district became the largest gold producer in Canada and the fourth largest production of gold in the world.

Dawson has an authentic Jack London Museum and a log cabin that was reconstructed with the logs from London's cabin which were transported to the town. Gold is still being produced in the area and for $12 you can pan for gold at Claim 33. If it were me, I wouldn't pay the $12. I'd just drive up to Bonanza Creek, roll up my pants and take a chance in the chill stream.

When Diamond Tooth Gerties opened for business, I understand the dancers did the real French Can-Can and actually bared their bottoms to the applause of the gold miners and other patrons pleasant. These days the girls do four shows nightly and don't go quite that far.

The casino has a roulette table, dice, poker, slots and other gambling games. It also has a restaurant and of course the liquor flows freely. That is a tradition of the Yukon and something even progress cannot stop.

Diamond Tooth Gertie actually existed. According to legend, she was an attractive dancer who had a real diamond inserted between her two front teeth.

Just a block or two from the casino are the Drunken Goat Taverna, Klondike Kate's Restaurant and the Alchemy Café.

Dawson also has the Palace Grand Theater. In the old days, the theater offered vaudeville, comedians, girls who would dance with the customers for $1 a dance, gambling, and drinks. It was a a perfect town for a gold miner.

Diamond Tooth Gerties is Canada's oldest legal casino and the first casino in the country that permitted gambling. When the casino first opened, fur trappers in the area reportedly brought their cache of wolves and other fur-bearing animals into the building and hung them in a room to dry.

As my regular readers know, I am a gold panner as well as a poker player. Any area that has gold is my idea of heaven -- even when the temperature plunges below zero.

I am giving serious consideration to waiting for the weather to warm up and I just may take that long drive north to the Yukon. I could get reacquainted with Jack London's work and I just may get lucky with my gold pan. If I don't strike it rich on the banks of Bonanza Creek, there's always the poker room.