RTG AlMex Daily Dispatch - FINAL - Flipbook - Page 6
day 2: Fairbanks to Dawson City, 29 August 2023
Jim Gately and Tony Brooks, 1937 Cadillac 60 series
photos: Marcus rowe - gerardbrown.co.uk
fast waters presented a formidable obstacle to the ‘49ers
desperate to reach the goldfields of the north.
whilst our passage was somewhat easier than in yesteryear,
this final section threw up a storm of biblical proportions,
with rain, hail and lightning filling our windscreens. with
everyone safely down from the mountains and across the
river, we converged on the downtown Hotel where the
famous Sourtoe ceremony is held. Guests are invited to
take a stiff drink containing the amputated toe of a long
dead bootlegger, before being presented with a certificate
to prove they’ve met the terms of this ancient rite: “You can
drink it fast, you can drink it slow, but your lips have gotta
touch the toe.”
Thankfully dinner, held in the palace Theatre, was less
cannibalistic. Afterwards the crews were free to wander
the boardwalks and soak up the unique architecture and
ambiance of the one-time capital of the Yukon.
Clint Smith and Martin Jones, 1925 Bentley 3/4½
www.rallytheglobe.com