Alaska, 2.7

Fairbanks, Chicken, Dawson City.

Fairbanks is the most northern city on our journey. We stayed 4 nights at the northern most KOA campground, which is also it’s name, Northern Most KOA. Full hookups, and easy access to Fairbanks and other places. Once again, we spent a full day doing utility stuff, and Kathy had to do some work time, and phone calls with family. I spent time processing photos and working on the blog while it rained outside. Then I actually got a little claustrophobic in the trailer, which has never happened before, so we left and explored some around Fairbanks. Al and Monika had their 43rd wedding anniversary and Kathy and I are having our 6th, so we all went out to dinner to celebrate. Then we spent a half day at Chena Hot Springs, which is an hour drive away from our campground. It’s a privately owned resort at the very end of the road, literally, the road stops at the resort. They pretty much have a small, full service village there. So we soaked in the natural mineral water hot springs, I walked around a little for some photos, and we had lunch in the pickup. The effects of the hot springs were felt by all of us I think, because we all reported the next morning of sleeping really well.

Ice Sculpture Museum and mounted airplane at Chena Hot Springs. The airplane was the strangest thing to see there.

A complete mounted airplane. How in the world did they get it up there?

Snow cats to carry paying customers in the winter.

The next day we packed up and started our southward journey, which is scheduled to take another 30 days. We spent one night at Tok, AK at a full hookup site doing all the usual things to do before heading onward. The next morning, I was asked by Monika to repair a couple things in their trailer. I was successful at identifying the issue with one thing, and succeeded in repairing the second thing, which was a window curtain frame that had come completely off from the wall. With that completed, we then hit the road again.

We knew the day’s drive was going to be sort of short, so we took our time getting going. We were headed to the Top of the World Hwy. This road is mostly gravel with a little pavement here and there. But we found the road to be in great shape, which makes us drivers so happy! We made our way toward Chicken, AK. This is not so much as a town as it is a little grouping of buildings and old dilapidated shutdown businesses. There is officially 12 residents and 3 businesses. We were staying at one of two RV parks, and the other business is a small strip which includes a gift shop, bar, and cafe, which are all side by side, all part of the same building so to speak. The person who is at the cash register in the gift shop also is the bartender in the bar. So, you can buy something in the gift shop, and then walk out and over to the bar to find the same person standing there waiting to serve you a drink! This was so much fun to do. The only digital photo I have is of Kathy and Monika having a Margarita. The rest of the photography was film, so I will develop that once we arrive at home. The reason the little village of Chicken is named Chicken, is because when they were trying to decide on the town name, it is said that no one could spell ptarmigan, so Chicken it became.

The town hosts a music festival each year in June. The festival’s name is ChickenStock. A nod to the famous Woodstock festival, for those of you are too young to remember that. It really takes some dedication for folks to drive all the way out to Chicken for this.

Monika and Kathy enjoying margaritas in the Chicken bar.

From Chicken, we made our way up and over the Top of the World Hwy. The road was in really great shape, I was so happy for that. We found our preferred campground on the west side of the Yukon River, right near Dawson City, and set up for the night. Al and Monika wanted to go to town that evening for dinner and a show. There is no bridge crossing the river there, just a small car ferry that runs back and forth all day and all night, 24/7. So we all got ready to go and made our way across the river and into the city. Kathy and I drove the truck while Al and Monika decided to walk onto the ferry. We met up again near the place where we to watch the evening show. I wasn’t aware at the time, but dinner was to be part of the show as well. This place is Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall. Kathy and I had heard of the place and knew about the shows, but the last time we drove through here 5 years ago, we didn’t take the time to check it out. I am happy Monika and Al wanted to do this, it was fun and we had a great time. There was a live drum set and piano player and 3 shows a night, one at 8:30, 10:00, and midnight. We had a great dinner and stayed for the 8:30 show, this one being the Can Can show. The singing and dancing was really pretty darn good. Just a great time for an evening. So, at a time close the end the show, they bring 6 people from the audience up on stage to take part in a short Can Can dance routine. A woman who was sitting right in front of us was chosen, so she enthusiastically went forward. They were taught a short routine and we all laughed and clapped along. Fate is a strange thing sometimes. With the show being over, we made our exit and headed back to the trailers. While out in front of the trailers, up came walking the girl who was sitting right in front us who went up in stage. We recognized her and said, “Hey! We know you!” It was so funny. We stood in front of the trailers and talked for a while. Turns out she and her husband live near Colorado Springs, Colorado. Now, Al and Monika got to know her and her husband a little better when the stage dancing girl found them again by chance at a farmers market in White Horse Yukon two days later! Their names are Mandi and Mark. Kathy and I were to meet A & M at the farmers market, but we couldn’t find a parking spot, it was that busy. So we left and finished our shopping. They made some plans to meet the next day for a hike at a gorge where the Yukon River flows through. So we all did that and ate our packed lunches. Then that evening we all met again for dinner at Mexican restaurant in downtown White Horse. The best Mexican so far on this trip, very good food! We finished dinner and said our goodbyes.

Yukon River ferry at Dawson City. Al and Monika's Timber Ridge rig on board.

The next day, before departing White Horse, Monika texted saying that Mark and Mandi wanted to spend one more day and evening with all of us. They were heading the same direction for the day. So, we drove the day together, had a lunch together at a place named Rancheria Falls, and then all got camp spaces for the night at Big Creek Campground. The campground has only 15 spots, and we each got a site, so we were so happy about that!

Our south bound highway choice is the Cassiar Hwy. Its 874 kilometers, or 543 miles from the north end to the south end and is filled with mountains and rivers and forests. The forests go on seemingly endlessly. Sometimes we drive through burn areas and see the progression of recovery. One part that burned this early summer was still smoldering in places. Other places have signs telling us when a burn happened, and we can see the process of recovery happening from as many as one hundred years ago. We stopped at Boya Lake campground for one night, then we moved down to Kinaskan Lake campground for another night. These are provincial parks in British Columbia. BC does an amazing job of maintaining and keeping their parks and campgrounds top notch. There is such a huge difference between these campgrounds and the US National Forest Service campgrounds. The BC campgrounds just seem a little cleaner, a little better maintained.

Next stop is Stewart, BC, Canada and Hyder AK.

Alaska, 2.8

Alaska, 2.6