Category: Alaska

Day 43: Going to North Pole

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Day 43: Thursday, June 27, 2013. Tok, Alaska to North Pole, Alaska. Riverview RV Park Site 123. 200 miles traveled.

Despite the smoke from forest fires covering the road for much of the day, it was a good driving day on paved, mostly flat roads all day.

We saw smoke from forest fires most of the day
Spectacular views when the smoke cleared
Fireweed
One of the bridges we crossed
We went shopping for Reindeer Sausage

We had our first view of the Alaska Pipeline at the Tanana River.

Our first view of the Alaska Pipeline
Henry and Blondie at the Alaska Pipeline

A nice rest area along the shore of Birch Lake was a perfect place to stop for lunch.

Yellow Pond Lily at Birch Lake
Wild Iris on the shore of Birch Lake
Yellow Pond Lilies on Birch Lake

Twenty-six miles south of Fairbanks the highway passes through Eielson Air Force Base. Signs posted announce no stopping and no photography. Seeing the runway beside the highway took me back to my childhood growing up as an Air Force brat.

I apologize for three posts at once. I am almost up to date!

Day 42: Back on Paved Roads

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Day 42: Wednesday, June 26, 2013. Chicken, Alaska to Tok, Alaska. Tok RV Village, Site 709. 78 miles traveled.

A few more images of Chicken before we continue on our journey.

There is a Chickenstock Music Festival coming up in Chicken
There’s even a taxi in Chicken
Downtown Chicken
The signposts show other towns named after chickens. Who knew there were so many?
We passed through areas of burned trees from forest fires
We saw evidence of forest fires

Our journey continued on the Taylor highway. After a few miles we finally were back on pavement! We hit a few more spots with gravel before we turned back onto the Alaska Highway to Tok. In many places we could see evidence of forest fires.

After arriving in Tok we spent over an hour giving the truck and RV a much needed wash before setting up in our campsite. We were so happy to have grass and trees between the campsites!

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 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.

Day 36: Fresh Crabs for Dinner

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Day 36: Thursday, June 20, 2013

One of the things on my list of things to do in Alaska was to eat some fresh crabs right from the dock. Thanks to Joyce, the great owner of the Oceanside RV Park where we are staying, I crossed that off my list on Thursday night.

I went for an early morning walk around the harbor and then hoping to see some more Bald Eagles, we drove a few miles down the road to Chilcoot Lake in Chilcoot State Park and along Mud Bay Road to the seafood cannery.

I walked around Haines Harbor in the early morning
Haines Totem by the harbor
Chilcoot Lake
Bald Eagle at Chilcoot Lake State Park, Haines, AK
Mama Bald Eagle on nest in Chilcoot State Park, Haines, AK
Bald Eagle at Chilcoot Lake State Park, Haines, AK
Bald Eagle at Chilcoot Lake State Park, Haines, AK

Then we went down to the dock to help clean today’s catch of 38 Dungeness Crabs.

Deadliest Catch!
The guys are hard at work
Joyce and crew cleaning crabs on the dock

A trip to the Hammer Museum sounded like a fun way to spend the afternoon before dinner.

Henry and Blondie at the Hammer Museum
Hammer Museum in Haines, Alaska
This one is for our friend Chuck, president of a small bank in Georgia
This is for Henry and all his buddies at BellSouth
A display of seafood hammers. Our mallet came in handy when we had a dinner of Dungeness Crab

Finally, it was time to eat!

Owner Joyce and the camp host getting ready to cook
38 Dungeness Crabs
Time to eat

Joyce, the owner of Oceanside RV Park, often puts on a crab boil or salmon bake for her guests. Joyce organizes everything, teaches everyone how to clean them, and then cooks them. Everyone brought a covered dish and paid for however many crabs they wanted. After we ate our fill of our six crabs we picked the rest and froze it for later in the trip.

Joyce is one of the hardest working RV park owners we have ever seen and goes out of her way to make you feel at home. If you are going to Haines, Oceanside RV Park is the only place to stay. This is NOT a paid advertisement! She doesn’t even know I’m posting this.