Author: Wandering Dawgs

Happily married 55 years, retired baby boomer, mother of 2, grandmother of 4, traveler, Georgia Bulldog fan, Air Force Brat, avid reader, amateur photographer, gardener, ovarian cancer survivor, blogger. Every day is a gift!

Day 41: On Top of the World

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Day 41: June 25, 2013. Dawson City, Yukon to Chicken, Alaska on Top of the World Highway. Chicken Gold Camp Site 5. 108 miles traveled in about 7 hours.

To get to Alaska from Dawson City, the shortest route is to travel across The Top of the World Highway on mostly gravel road with few guard rails and spectacular views.

Our journey began as we got in line for the ferry about 8:00. We watched the ferry make several trips across the river before it was our turn to board about 9:00.

The free George Black Ferry crosses the Yukon River from Dawson City to Top of the World Highway.
On board the ferry
Crossing the river to The Top of the World Highway

Once we exited the ferry in West Dawson, we were on our way on the Top of the World Highway. It was originally called the Ridge Road because it was built on top of the ridge.

On the Top of the World Highway – mostly gravel all day
Spectacular views from the Top of the World highway
An interesting rock formation along the road
Traveling above the tree line on the Top of the World Highway in Yukon Territory, Canada
We were excited when we came to a paved section of road!
View on the Top of the World Highway
Views like this made it worth the hard drive
At an overlook on the Top of the World
Can you see the road?

We crossed back into the United States at Poker Creek, the northernmost border crossing by land in North America

Poker Creek Alaska
Overlook at the Welcome to Alaska Sign
Back in Alaska!

After that, the road was even worse than before! There is construction work on the American side. The road is very narrow in places and has very soft shoulders and no guardrails. After about 8 miles we turned onto the Taylor Highway which was the scariest part of the trip. Soft shoulders, narrow, and straight drop offs. The view of the valley below was supposed to be beautiful but I had to keep looking straight ahead!

We arrived in Chicken, Alaska and got the last electric site there. There are only three places in Chicken – Downtown Chicken, The Town of Chicken, and Chicken Gold Camp where we stayed. You can walk from one place to another. Each one has a campground, store, and restaurant. There’s a post office down the road a short distance. The mail plane only comes twice a week.

Chicken, Alaska
Henry had to scrape mud off the landing gears before we could unhitch the camper
The Pedro Dredge in Chicken is a National Historic Site.
Chickens everywhere in Chicken, Alaska
Attack chickens in Downtown Chicken
A display of old mining equipment in front of the Chicken Post Office
Outhouses in Chicken
Chicken Gold Camp Site 5, the last electric site in the park when we arrived.
We could see the Chicken and the Pedro Dredge from the campground
The postmaster will hand stamp your mail at the Chicken, Alaska Post Office

Day 40: Gold Fever in Dawson City, Yukon

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Day 40: June 24, 2012 in Dawson City, Yukon

Blondie and I started the day with a walk along the Yukon River.

During the Klondike Gold Rush, prospectors traveled up the Yukon river to Dawson city by riverboat.
Another riverboat on the Yukon River
On the banks of the Yukon River
Downtown Dawson City
Old buckets from the gold mining dredges marked our campsite
The buckets were also used as planters

In Dawson City it’s all about the gold. To learn more about the gold rush history and see where gold was first discovered here we drove along Bonanza Creek Road to take a walk on the Discovery Claim trail. Descriptive signs and old gold mining equipment line the trail beside Bonanza Creek where gold was discovered in 1896.

We walked on a trail at the Discovery Claim where gold was first discovered
Bonanza Creek where gold was first discovered
Bonanza Creek
Old mining equipment along the trail
An old sluice used in gold mining
An area designated as a free claim area gives anyone access to pan for gold here. If you pan elsewhere you may be claim jumping.
These guys are panning in the free claim area
Dredge # 4
Historic Dredge
Old buckets lined up

What better way to celebrate my birthday than to pan for a little gold? I learned how to pan for gold from a very patient teacher at Claim 33.

Another old bucket used as a planter
Learing how to pan for gold at Claim 33
Almost finished
Gold!
I’m bringing this back home
Panning for gold in Dawson City, Yukon

A drive to the top of Dome Road for a view of the city and the Yukon River was our next adventure of the day. The road is steep and narrow with many sharp turns. Bicyclists were also making the trek up the hill. When we got to the top to look around, they went down the mountain on one of the narrow trails.

Dawson City and Yukon River from atop Midnight Dome
Yukon River from atop Midnight Dome
At the overlook on Midnight Dome
At the Robert Service Cabin. He wrote several books of poems including "The Cremation of Sam McGee"
At the Robert Service Cabin. He wrote several books of poems including “The Cremation of Sam McGee”

Next, a stop at the Robert Service Cabin was in order. Robert Service is a famous poet who lived for a time in the Yukon. My brother Joe gave us a book with a collection of his poems for Christmas and we have been reading it as we have been traveling. “The Cremation of Sam McGee” is one of our favorites. Click on the link to read the poem.

Jack London, author of “The Call of the Wild” also lived in Dawson City.

After visiting with our neighbors from BC in the campground for a little while, we had a birthday dinner at Sourdough Joe’s. Ice cream for dessert was perfect after a hard day of being a tourist so we walked next door to an ice cream shop. Henry had on a Tybee Island Pirate Fest t-shirt and as we were standing in line to order a young man behind us commented that he had been to Tybee Island. Of course we started talking to him and asked him where he was from. When he replied “Nova Scotia” we asked what brought him to Dawson City on the other side of the continent from his home. He told us he was working at a small gold mine in Dawson City. The idea that someone from Nova Scotia who was working in Dawson City had actually been to Tybee Island just blew me away.

Day 39: Driving on the Klondike Highway

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Day 39: Sunday, June 23, 2013. Whitehorse, Yukon to Dawson City, Yukon. Gold Rush RV Park, Site 69. 332 Miles traveled on the Alaska Highway and Klondike Highway.

Today was a really long driving day for us. We traveled about 12 miles on the Alaska Highway and turned north onto the Klondike Highway for the rest of the trip. The highway ran along the Yukon River for part of the day. During the gold rush steam ships traveled up the Yukon River to Dawson City where gold had been discovered.

Crossing the Yukon River
Five Finger Rapids on the Yukon River.
The Yukon River

At one of the overlooks, we saw the most unusual bus we had ever seen. This orange bus was as long and tall in the front as a normal bus but the back half was like a triple decker bus with rows of windows with curtains. We guessed that the windows were some kind of bedroom. When we checked into the RV park the bus had checked in right before us. The lady at the campground told us it was a tour bus from Germany with 27 sleeping cubes. There were 14 passengers in the bus this trip. When they were set up at their campsite the passengers sat at table under a big awning at a table while dinner was prepared. After dinner, they all disappeared. I’m guessing they went to one of the shows in Dawson City. I was hoping to take a picture of it in the morning but they were gone when I went outside.

Day 38: Back in the Yukon

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Day 38: Saturday, June 22, 2013. Haines, Alaska to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. Pioneer RV Park, Site 55. 244 miles traveled.

Blondie and I took one last walk around Haines before we got ready to leave.

Fishing Nets in Haines
Buttercups
Our last view from the campground in Haines

After one last look at our beautiful view and saying goodby to our friends in Haines, we continued on our journey to see the rest of Alaska. There were no eagles to be seen as we passed through the Eagle Preserve beside the Haines Highway.

What a view along the Haines Highway
Along the Haines Highway to Haines Junction

We went through Canadian Customs and entered British Columbia. When we spotted a black bear in a field of dandelions, Henry pulled over to the side of the road and backed up so I could get a few pictures. That was no easy feat towing our trailer!

We finally saw a bear!
Black Bear beside the road in British Columbia

From British Columbia we entered the Yukon and spent the night in Whitehorse. There was another Titanium in the park just a few spaces from us. We rarely see other Titaniums and try to meet the owners when we can. The owners of this one were from Ontario on their way to Alaska.

Day 37: A day cruise to Juneau

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Day 37: Friday, June 21, 2013. Aboard the Fjordland from Haines, Alaska to Juneau, Alaska

There have been many WOW moments on this trip but our trip to Juneau has them all beat by far.

At 8:30 am we gathered at the dock with our friends Ted and Ruth Ann to board the Fjordland for an all day cruise to Juneau. The boat has comfortable seats inside the cabin and a nice viewing platform in the rear for wildlife viewing and photography. Our captain was very knowledgeable about the area and he and his daughter kept an eye out for wildlife. He would slow down or stop when there was something interesting to watch.

We took the Fjordland to Juneau from Haines
Aboard the Fjordland to Juneau

Our first wildlife came when we saw hundreds of steller sea lions at a rookery along the rocks.

Steller Sea Lion Rookery in Alaska
Steller Sea Lions
Steller Sea Lion
Stellar Sea Lions on day trip to Juneau
He was off by himself on the rock

There were so many whales we lost count. Some were too far off to see very much detail but we were fortunate to see some up close.

Thar She Blows!
We saw lots of whales close to shore
Humpback Whale
Whale dorsal fin
Whale Pectoral Fin on day trip to Juneau
Such an amazing sight to see their tail
Another dive
One last whale tail

We passed by glaciers and waterfalls and even a lighthouse on the way to Juneau.

We went by this waterfall
A whale went by as we got closer to the lighthouse

The boat docked a little outside of town so we boarded a bus to take us downtown. We enjoyed lunch at the Red Dog Saloon before doing a little shopping and sightseeing in the capital of Alaska. Next was a stop at the Mendenhall Glacier to see a glacier up close.

Miner’s Monument in Juneau
Lunch at the Red Dog Saloon
Red Dog Saloon in Juneau
Mural in downtown Juneau
Capital Building in Juneau, Alaska
Mendenhall Glacier
Waterfalls at the glacier
Mendenhall Glacier with the water falls on the right

After touring the Mendenhall Glacier we boarded the bus for our ride back to the dock. We enjoyed a delicious bowl of seafood chowder with smoked salmon while we rested up from our hard day of sightseeing. Whale sightings continued and our captain took us close by the Eldred Rock Lighthouse we had passed on the way to Juneau. Want to buy it? It’s for sale!

The seals came up close to the boat
For Sale – Eldred Rock Lighthouse
We passed close to the Eldred Rock Lighthouse
Another view of the lighthouse
Oystercatcher at the lighthouse
Harbor Seals lounging on the rocks by the lighthouse
Harbor Seals by the lighthouse

Our trip on the Fjordland was the Fjord Express to Juneau cruise offered by the Alaska Fjordlines. I highly recommend it. It sails from either Haines or Skagway to Juneau.