Where have we been?

6/7/2018 Thursday Chicken, AK to Delta Jct, AK to 6/8/2018 Chena Hot Spring, AK

Since I last checked in, when we drove over the Top of the World Highway, we ended up in Delta Junction, the end of the alcan -- or, Alaska/Canadian Highway.  A friend from my genealogy society in AZ lives there, so we met up with her and her husband.  The have a beautiful home on Clearwater River, so named because the water is crystal clear, even in winter, as it is spring fed and doesn't freeze over.  We joined them for dinner at the Clearwater Lodge and spent the evening at Clearwater Recreation Area.

the view from our campsite

the view at dinner from the restaurant

We left in the morning and got the obligatory pics by the Delta Junction terminus and then headed out to Chena Hot Springs, about 60 miles outside of Fairbanks.  We first passed through North Pole, a little village before Fairbanks with all kinds of Christmas ornaments and decorations at Santa's house

North Pole Santa's House

We saw moose on the way and after picking an RV spot, went into the hot springs for a good soak.  It left me really sleepy and I was in bed by 9pm.  By the way, it's light and getting lighter each evening up until the summer solstice later this month so we have aluminum foil-like cutouts for all the windows to make it dark at night.  

On Saturday morning we headed out to Fairbanks.  We had a BIG moose run out in front of the RV on the way into Fairbanks and Mike was cool and able to stop and avoid hitting it, scary moment!  

We'll be here in Fairbanks at Wainwright base for several days for our next adventures.  Stay tuned!!

We’ve reached the frontier!

6/4/2018 Monday through 6/6/2018 Wednesday Chicken, Alaska

On Monday we packed up and headed to the shore of the Yukon River in Dawson City where we drove our RV, with jeep in tow, onto the ferry to get to the other shore and the beginning of the Top of the World Highway. 

driving onto the ferry

ferry across Yukon turning back after we got off

The road is about 100 miles from Dawson City to Chicken, Alaska and runs along the mountain ridgeline.  At times, we were above the tree line, with spectacular views in all directions.  It was a little rough in spots, but overall not a bad road at about 30-40 miles an hour. 

Sign at border crossing at Top of the World Hwy

Our lunch break spot

view across Top of the World highway

We crossed the border at “the northern most border crossing” and entered Alaska after five hours, changing time zones in the process.  The border patrol agent recommended the post for our son-in-law, Jeremy; the agent had worked in Douglas, Arizona in the past.

We’d hoped to camp about 10 miles before Chicken where Mike could do some prospecting in the creek, but there wasn’t enough water so we came into the settlement; it’s not big enough to call it a town or even a village.  We opted for electricity but there was no phone service and limited wi-fi, so I got the chance to read and write alot while Mike went to some nearby spots and dug for gold.

More to come with pictures when we get better wi-fi!

Some pics from Chicken

Mama moose and baby I almost walked into

the "other" chicken town

what to do with leftover metal

8:00pm at night in Chicken

Dawson City - Gold Country

6/1/2018 Whitehorse Yukon to 6/3/2018 Dawson City, Yukon

After two nights in Whitehorse we headed up the Klondike Highway to Dawson City.  On the way, we passed on the "world's best cinnamon buns" having tried them before and while huge, our waistlines don't need it!  No animals today, but a good amount of rain.  There's a chain of past fires that are labeled along this road by year; 1953, 1958, 1967, etc.  It's sobering to see how long it takes for the forest to come back.

We lunched overlooking Pelly Crossing, with giant white sky mountains leading the way

Dawson City is the last stop in Canada before we take the ferry across the Yukon River and go on the Top of the World highway into Alaska. 

church in Dawson City

our site at Gold Rush RV park in Dawson City

We walked up to Jack London's cabin in town.  London lived here while writing and honing his craft.

Jack London cabin

 We enjoyed dinner with a buddy we met in Montana as our paths crossed again here in Dawson City.  I think I forgot to mention that we stopped in at Watson Lake signpost city and our sign from 2016 is still there, yeah! (we're the gold colored one in the center).

We'll be out of range the next few days, catch up with you the end of the week!