Where Have You Been?

Thursday June 9th through Saturday, June 11, 2016  Start: Tok, Alaska  End: Chicken, Alaska

If we were away from everything in Tok we are beyond everything in Chicken!  A gold prospecting camp and later town founded in 1887, Chicken is the farthest away from anywhere that we’ve been so far.

Chicken sign post

Chicken is 78 miles from Tok on a mostly paved road over a couple mountains and into a valley.  It was 76 degrees and bright sunshine as I wrote this.  There are remnants of heavy mining here, large historic dredges as well as active mining.  We explored the three campgrounds/cafes/store fronts and picked up some souvenirs before Mike went off to play in the dirt. 

It just so happened that there was a bluegrass music festival in Chicken this weekend called "Chickenstock", the 10th year of the event,  so I took in the music while Mike was off in the hills prospecting.  For a town of less than 100 people, there were over 700 people here, camping in tents, trailers, cars, trucks, vans, and RVs and enjoying the music, even when it poured down rain most all of Saturday.

Cars lined up at Chickenstock

We’re having a ball doing exactly what we want.

Back in the U.S.A.

Wednesday, June 8, 2016  Start: Kluane Cogdon Campground, YT to Tok, Alaska

We are back on U.S. soil!  We crossed into Alaska about 12:30 Phoenix time.  On the way we saw SOME GRIZZLY BEARS!!  

baby grizzly bear

Check out the video here on youtube https://youtu.be/Kw5OuSQQ12E .

Tok (pronounced like “poke”) is the first town in Alaska.  It’s tiny with just the necessities but it was nice to be back using U.S. dollars, though the Canadian exchange rate was to our favor.

We’re boondocking for free tonight in the Chevron parking lot and on our way to Chicken, Alaska tomorrow, just 60 miles (yeah, no more kilometers) up the road.  Life just doesn’t get any better.

Critters and nature's creations

6/7/2016 Tuesday  Start: Takhini Hot Springs, Whitehorse YT  End: Cogdon CG, Kulane, NP, YT

We were up early so that Mike could take the truck into Whitehorse for an oil change.  While he was in town, I went to the Yukon Wildlife Preserve.  I saw elk with a 2 day old baby, caribou, deer, bison, musk ox, dahl sheep, big horn sheep, mountain goats, lynx, white fox, Arctic hare, bald eagle and a snowy owl. The tour guide explained each animal and how they care for and protect them. Quite a treat!

Elk and 2 day old baby

Female deer - what are you lookin at?

musk ox

lynx

white fox

Mike picked me up and we went onto the Alaska Highway heading north toward Tok.  We got to Kluane National Park about 2:00 pm.  It is a massive mountain range that spans the Canadian U.S. border.  It is named for the lake that the highway weaves around.  We settled in at the Cogdon Campground on the lake, had dinner and a fire and enjoyed the deep silence.

I'm making a face because of the gnats

Kluane Lake

The view from our campfire (about 8:30PM)

Kluane Mountain Range across the lake

Happy Birthday June 6th to my sister, Mary Beth and June 7th to my brother-in-law Jim.