6/19 - Depart Dawson City on the Top of the World Highway. What a gorgeous day! I had considered staying another day to explore Dawson City more, but since it was such a perfect day, I decided to head out and I'm so happy that I did. After being in Chicken (destination for the night), people were coming back saying the road was closed due to a fire only 12 miles in from Dawson City. The road was opened and closed intermittently. The fire is still going on 9 days later... 😟
The road was really good on the Canadian side and then beautifully paved once crossing the border for about 10 miles and then it was kind of rough for the rest of the way to chicken . It’s good to have low expectations for the road as I just go slowly and it’s all fine. Border crossing was super simple. They didn’t ask anything about food (which I had been warned about and tried to get rid of anything they might grump about) and they just asked about firearms and explosives and pepper spray I think.
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| View from the Top of the World. This reminds me of a Top of the World poster I had when I was a kid in my bedroom that was many feet long and about a foot high. |
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| Snow! |
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| We made it! |
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More lovely lupines | | Thundercloud |
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As I was arriving in Chicken, I ended up pulling up right behind Anja And Bob, who had left the campground at least a 1/2 hour before me. We both took our time and stopped along the way, but somehow ended up there at the same time. I went into town and had a cold beer at the saloon. It was such a treat this hot day after a long slow drive that required lots of concentration. I ended up parking behind the bar overnight along with a bunch of other people for some free camping. I guess it wasn't so free based on all I spent on dinner and at the bar. 😉 It was a really fun atmosphere meeting lots of different people all with similar experiences sharing stories.
After some chilling in the van (with AC on!), I went back to the bar for trivia night and Mike and I were a team. We came in last though. No surprise as I'm terrible at trivia, but I did get one or two answers.
After that, Zoe and I walked over to the campground where Anja And Bob were and hung out with them for a little bit along with their neighbors. It’s light so late - I don’t think I left there until close to 11 and it was still pre-sunset!
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| The big town of Chicken |
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| Chicken Saloon. Mostly hats, but also underwear (not always looking so clean) and other clothing items. |
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| Music played on an actual turntable. Rumors album - my first ever! |
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| Chicken's chicken |
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| Another Dredge |
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| Hanging out at the saloon while mom has a beer. |
6/20 - More Chicken photos
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| There are chicken sculptures all over Chicken |
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| We just missed Chickenstock - a music festival where over 3000 people show up. I wonder where they all stay?! |
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| chickens, chickens, everywhere |
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| It was HOT! |
After getting an amazing shower (you learn to appreciate these when living in a van!) at the campground across the street, we left Chicken heading for Tok. We were warned of the road conditions, so my expectations were low. Frost heaves and pot holes. Little traffic, so easy to avoid the potholes if going slow enough. I like never being in a hurry and just drive a good speed for the road conditions.
I met up with Anja and Bob again in Tok and we grabbed pizza at Fast Eddy's, which I guess is a place you gotta go when in Tok. Then we headed to Moon Lake Campground and hung out by the lake.
6/22 -
While I was driving the other day, I was thinking that I feel like I’m kind of done with this vanlife. Obviously, I have a long time before I am actually done if I am going to head back to the East Coast, which of course I will. I mean, I’m happy exploring and doing new things but I have some things I'd like to be different (and not easy to change). I have been living in my van 100% of the time since I left Tucson in early February or late January. I definitely feel like I need a break and I’d love to find a housesitting job!I stayed at Peggy and Rick‘s in Fairbanks for four nights total. I went to Pioneer Park twice. The first day it was so hot that I couldn’t really do much with Zoe so I went on my own and a lot of things were closed cause it was Sunday. I went back on Tuesday and it was cooler so I could walk around with Zoe. We tried to go to the Crepery restaurant in town, but they weren't dog friendly at all. Not even on the patio. Grrrr.
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| Determined to gather the sun's energy! |
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| That spec in the middle was a beaver that I watched chomping away for a while until it swam away |
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| Fairbanks artwork. These are really pretty and apparently they bring fresh air into the underground area (I didn't see what's underground...) |
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| I wondered what these posts with outlets was all about and then I kept noticing plugs hanging out of the front of many cars and realize it's for plugging cars in to keep the engines warm during winter. What a different world! |
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| I actually cooked eggs for breakfast! I had access to water and dumping my gray tank, so why not?! |
The Harding Car, also known as the Denali car was built in 1905 and carried passengers until 1945. President Harding rode in it when he came to Alaska in 1923 to drive the golden spike signifying the completion of the 500 mile long Alaska Railroad. Harding was the first president to visit Alaska.
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| Fishing wheel. As it spins, it picks up the fish. |
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| Sod roof on the post office |
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| Granite, a lead Iditorod dog, leading several wins |
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| Pretty flowers on that sod roof! |
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| Though I hate hunting for pelts, the Athabascans revered all these animals and nothing went to waste. The guides discussed how each pelt was used. It's so wonderful how everything has meaning and it's not just taking because we are humans and have the right to take what we want from this world. |
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| Temporary shelters while on a hunt. Spruce boughs for shedding water over the top. Soft fir needles under the animal skin/pelt for a bed. |
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| A real birch bark canoe |
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| birch bark canoe and hide shelter |
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| Caribou (Reindeer when in captivity) up close - not free. |
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| This parka, made almost completely from animal hides/furs has a value of about $45,000! It is so beautiful. The hood was made to look like the sun. |
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| The beading in the back signified the tribe. |
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| Two moose locked together by their antlers. |
After the presentations we could walk around and there was an area with the sled dogs, so I had to go there, of course! Such lovely dogs. One of them was just pacing and pacing and I asked if it was nervous energy. She didn't think so, but he didn't look happy to me. One just lazed around much of the time and another, the youngest, mostly went around the sides for pets.
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| This one really enjoyed some loving and attention. Thankfully these dogs are super well cared for and the bond is clear. Though it seems that they might not get much human interaction being chained up and in their houses, they do get in-home time, even sleeping on the bed. With so many dogs, they have to be rotated. |
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| Sod roof is a great insulator and keeps the rain off. |
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| Old snowmobile. Really old! |
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| plane skeleton |
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| The senior family member of the owners of the Riverboat Discovery company came out with her walker and caretaker to wave at us. Pretty much everyone in the family from each generation works/has worked on the boats. |
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| These are Pipeline tubes in the dock. They add water to lower the dock, then remove the water and the boat is lifted above the water for inspection. Ingenious! |
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| 😞 |
6/25 - I had debated on whether to leave on Tuesday or wait until Wednesday and I decided to wait because Thursday and Friday we’re supposed to be better days for me doing the Denali highway. I was bummed because Tuesday ended up being a beautiful day in Fairbanks. Of course I don’t know what it look like farther south. Anja said it was nice in Denali national park where they’re spending four nights. I may cross paths with them on Friday. We’ll see!
Back at Pioneer Park. The Nenena wasn't open when I was here before and these dioramas are just incredibly. I love tiny things!
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| Big Bertha got a bath! |
Since it turned into a beautiful day, I wish I had headed out, but oh, well. Fingers crossed for some good views and wildlife tomorrow!
6/25 -
Wednesday morning I packed up and headed out relatively early for me. I went across town and got another shower at the laundromat. This time I wasn’t in a rush so I got to take advantage of the 15 minutes that they allow and shave my legs. 😆 I don’t bother sharing them very often because you can’t see the hair, but I don’t like it when they blow in the wind. It feels funny. It was kind of cloudy but not too bad so I still got some views once I got on the Richardson Highway. The peaks of the mountains were covered for the most part. I got onto the Denali Highway and enjoyed the views that I could see. I stopped in at the tango Lakes campground, but really didn’t like it and I found a great spot on the side of the road. They’re so little traffic on the road that it really doesn’t matter. And I know it’s all legal so I don’t have to worry about somebody possibly knocking! I took Zoe for a walk and found a better site of the road so we moved to that one. I like the view from this one better plus I didn’t feel like I could be blocked in by another RV.
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| Rest stop/lunch view. Not too shabby! |
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| Alaska Pipeline |
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| Turn West on the Denali Hwy |
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| A little bumpy. Frost heaves - even on the main highways, though not as bad as this. And this was mild compared to Chicken to Tok. |
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| Landmark Pass. Caribou use this during migration. |
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| I love these spruce trees. I like how it's not a forest, but the trees just decorate the landscape. It's like a Christmas tree farm. |
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| Tonight's parking spot. On the side of the road, but there is so little traffic that I didn't mind it at all. |
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| We got quite a bit of rain overnight, but we're comfy and dry. |
6/26 - It rained overnight, but it was just partly cloudy in the morning. The sun was shining in the van and I looked at the time and it was only 5:30 so I went back to sleep. I was disappointed by the low clouds when I was ready to leave. But thankfully, as the day went on, and I was driving west it got a little better. We tried doing some hikes on the ATV trails, but there was a lot of water in the tracks, sometimes making it impossible to move. The first trail went down to a river crossing that ended that hike.
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| Snow! A great spot to clean our feet. |
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| Mama moose and her baby. You can barely see mama in this photo. |
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| Swans on Waterfowl lake |
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| Clear glacial water |
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| I wonder if Zoe appreciates cleaner water... |
We made multiple stops for hikes and views and then it was time to be looking for a place to sleep. I pulled into this place that would’ve been phenomenal except there were two women parked there and it was clear that they weren’t interested in having company. I moved on up the road and found a spot where there were a couple of RVs, but it was basically a gravel pit with heavy equipment. It had amazing views, but I didn’t like the dirt and I imagine that they might be getting to work early in the morning. So I moved along again and found a spot where there was already another van, but there was space for me. From the van, it has amazing views, but sitting outside on the ground, not as much because of the bushes, but still awesome. There are a lot of mosquitoes and black flies here which I did not notice at that perfect spot earlier, maybe because it was more open?
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| Home for the night. |
Sitting in the van, I’ll be looking down doing something and then I look up and am again awed/surprised/shocked again by the amazing view.
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| What to do when you see a bear. Apparently it's different if a black bear or a grizzly. With Grizzlys, if they are acting aggressive, you want to curl up and play dead. With a black bear, they'll eat you whether dead or alive, so you should fight a black bear... Hmmm. |
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| In the visitor center they try to make us appreciate mosquitoes, which I can do when they aren't bothering me! I did not know that Mosquitoes pollinate berries, which the birds and bears eat and of course the birds eat mosquitoes too. |
Hike to/around Horseshoe Lake with Anja and Bob.
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| Beaver dam. I wonder if there would be a lake at all without it. It would certainly be quite a bit smaller |
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| The Nenana river. Glacial water with rock flour. Apparently fish can't live in in this due to all the silt. It's amazing how gray the water is and you can't see through it at all! |
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| The meeting of the outlet from the clear lake to the silty river. |
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| The lake water is super clear! |
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| Another view of this impressive dam |
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| More lovely colored lake water |
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| A Ptarmigan |
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| Finally got a chance to see and watch a mama moose and her two babies. |
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| Home for tonight. This was just a pull off on the side of the road, but there were 9 of us parked there for the night. It was nice because there was a line of trees between us and the road, though you could still hear the road noise, which doesn't really bother me. |
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| Free spot - not too shabby! |
6/28 - I followed Anja and Bob to Byers lake for the night. I was hesitant 'cuz I had read not so great reviews, but it was fine and the lake was nice. I REALLY wished I had a blow up paddle board! I could have rented a kayak and had I been staying (why didn't I stay longer?) I definitely would have. Apparently, if it's visible, you can see Denali from the middle of the lake. We just took some walks around the lake and campground. In the evening we had dinner together and had a fire and played backgammon. I can't remember the last time I played backgammon with a human on a real board. They even had a proper board with felt lined shakers for the dice. And Anja knew all the moves that Avo (my Portuguese grandfather) taught me when I was a kid. It was really fun. And I really enjoy having fires and maybe I'll even start doing it more on my own.
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| Byers Lake |
Onto Talkeetna tomorrow.
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