7/8/19 - Day 10 - The Yukon River

Waiting to get loaded on the ferry.
The only way across the Yukon River here at Dawson is by ferry. It runs 24/7 and is free. Our camp is across the river, so we have crossed a few times now. The first time was a teeny bit unnerving. The river is a about a quarter mile wide here, muddy brown, and is flowing at a pretty good clip (we have some video, but haven't downloaded it yet). Now this is not a Washington State Ferry! It is open bow and stern and is the width of two vehicles. The giant motorhomes fit, but only two can go on the ferry at one time along with a few cars.


When the ferry first takes off from either
Here comes our ride!
side, it is immediately pulled downstream. Then they angle across the river and have to power back upstream to get to the landing point. That too is not a Washington ferry dock! It is a gravel bank with two little flags that mark the point they want to drop the loading ramp.  They run the ferry up on the gravel, drop the loading ramp, fill in the dip with a couple of 2x6's, and then start to unload the vehicles.


Aboard and on our way.
There is only one ferry that we can see. We aren't sure what they do if it breaks down. They are a pretty ingenious group up here, so I suspect they pull it in some where and patch it up. The whole process has usually taken us less than 15 minutes.

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