Wednesday, July 3, 2014 – North Pole, AK

When we arrived at Chicken, we had to reset our clocks as Alaska is one hour behind the Pacific Zone.

Although the shadows were long, at 11:30 PM, the sun was still shining down on Chicken. When we went to bed, we had to hang a cover over the window to shut out the light.

Today we drove from Chicken, AK to North Pole (a town just east of Fairbanks). We anticipated a slow beginning – 80 miles of roadway similar to that we drove on yesterday plus 200 miles from Tok to Fairbanks. So...we decided to leave at 8 AM – we got up at 6 AM and were on the road by 7:45 – what a great beginning. Gayle finally got cell service in Tok, where she was able to talk with Heidi. During their conversation, they discussed the time difference from Mountain Zone – 1 hour??? Ooops!! Instead of moving the clock back from Pacific, I moved it forward. We were on the same time as Denver!! We actually left Chicken @ 5:15 Pacific. No wonder no one else was up and about!! We arrived in North Pole earlier than expected, too. Funny how that works. Our clocks are now on the correct zone :-). (Oh yah – about the sun at 11:30 last night – it was only 9:30. And we got up at 4.)

We were right about the first 80 miles. It took about 2½ . On the way, we were able to see Mt McKinley – from about 300 miles away. Even at that, it was awesome!!

The rest of the trip was interesting but routine. We saw 2 moose and we stopped at a local shop that has yard art constructed from burl wood. Very artistic, I must say!!

We arrived at the very well maintained Riverview RV Park. We will stay here for 4 nights before moving on to Denali. Tomorrow, we will visit the Arctic Circle – about 150 miles north of Fairbanks.

July 2, 2014 Chicken, Alaska

Yahoo!! We are back in the USA!! Happy to be here, too!!

Today we had a 107 mile drive to Chicken, AK via the Top of the World Highway. It was to be a little slow, but we were not in a big hurry. We left the RV park at 10:00 AM. We arrived at Dawson's Yukon River Crossing ferry at 10:05 to find that we were the 15^th RV in line to make the crossing for the Top of the World Highway.

We inched our way ahead as the ferry loaded cars, pickups, semi trucks, motorcycles, pedestrians, and RV's. I timed the ferry from the Dawson side over and back. 20 Minutes. Lets see, one RV every 20 minutes = about a 4 hr wait. Oh well!!

We disembarked the ferry at 1:00 PM (only 3 hrs wait :-) and headed out of the Yukon River valley towards Chicken. The road was paved (for about 4 miles) then it was gravel with dust control. Not bad. We were cruising at 35-40 mph. Hmmm... we should be in chicken in 2½ hours. NO SO!! The road condition went from fair to not-so-good and we encountered steep grades (both up and down) that required us to shift into 1^st gear and travel at 15-20 mph. Still not bad!!

The road did take us to the “Top of the World”. We had vistas that were absolutely amazing. We could see for 20-30 miles at times. The mountains and valleys were gorgeous. We stopped several times to take in the views.

At 70 miles into the journey, we reached the Canada/USA border. No problem – cruised right through with our Enhanced Drivers Licenses. I asked the guard about the road conditions from the station to Chicken. She said there was road construction for 13 miles (damn engineers!!) and that the surface was rough. The road surface was VERY rough and the grades were steep at times. Our speed dropped to 10-15 mph!! At 83 miles, we left the construction area and traveled an unsurfaced road that had soft spots, pot holes, and wash board. At times the roadway was narrow and the outside shoulders were soft (drop off of 100'-500') and had Gayle on the edge of her seat.

I failed to mention that we encountered rain showers (and one down pour) along the way. The roadway turned to a skim of mud that coated our pickup and trailer from the front bumper back. Maybe we will get more rain tomorrow and wash it off!!

We arrived at Chicken at 6PM (5 hrs) and were ready for the day to be over. There are 2 RV parks here and 3 restaurant - of which 2 of them closed at 7PM. We chose to dine at the one that is famous for their chicken pot pie. (What else would you eat in Chicken, AK?) The service was great and the microwave only took 3 minutes!! However, the pot pie was less than a scrumptious meal!! Of course, what would you expect for $14 bucks.

We returned to the trailer at 7:45, took showers and turned in for the night. (Night??? Did we mention that is doesn't get dark here this time of year??)

Tomorrow we will drive to North Pole, AK  (via Tok Jct.  About 280 miles. We plan to stay 4 days.

July 1, 2014 Dawson City, YT, Canada

Today is rainy and cool (60 F). We had a really laid back day. We started late and finished early.

We went into town (about 1 mile) to see the attractions. Upon arrival, we were reminded that July 1 is Canada Day (similar to our Independence Day). So we got to enjoy the Dawson parade which included the royalty, the RCMP color guard, every child with a bicycle, a cruise line tour bus, and the fire department (2 antiquated trucks and 2 new units). The parade lasted about 10 minutes. The kids were cute.

After the parade we milled around town and went to the ferry ramp to access the size of the Yukon River ferry. Looks like our unit will fit. The ferry runs nearly all day, is fare-free, and is the route for the Top of the World Highway to Chicken, AK.

On the way back to the RV park, we drove up the Klondike Highway east of Dawson. This was the major dredge mining district in the late 1890's. We saw miles and miles of dredge tailings and a few operating placer mines.

The rest of the day was perfect for R & R!!

Tomorrow we will drive 107 miles to Chicken..

June 30, 2014 Dawson City, Yukon Territory, Canada

Yahoo!!! We have finally reached the Klondike in the Yukon River valley!!!!

We had a great day. We left Whitehorse at 7:30 AM for our 320 mile drive to Dawson City. The scenery along the way reminded us of several areas of Idaho including the Silver Valley, Elk River, and the Elk City area. We had assumed the road would follow along the Yukon River. WRONG!! We actually only saw the Yukon three times. The road is routed over and around the mountains and valleys. The vegetation was so heavy and tall, for a good share of the trip, we could only see the road in front of us. Pictures are of the Dawson Range and the Yukon River.

As we drove along, we came upon a roadside restaurant in the middle of nowhere. However, Gayle had read that they are famous for their cinnamon rolls. No more needed to be said. This roll measures 8” across and is 3½” thick!!

The road was fairly good the first 100 miles, but then we saw this sign:

Having been in the transportation engineering business for the bigger portion of my career, I was not familiar with nor had I ever had seen a sign with this warning. Gayle and I discussed what it may mean. Then we figured it out. ROLLER COASTER ROAD AHEAD. These were actually frost heaves and sags in the roadway. Unfortunately, we did not slow enough for a pickup pulling a 31' travel trailer.

At first it was like a porpoise landing in an airplane – that is where the nose gear touches down first and bounces the nose up, then down, then up, then down before making the final landing!!

Then, it was like a motorcycle moto-cross track. You know the double jump...and the rider doesn't make it to the second hump and lands short, smashing the front wheel into the mound???? Well, we are sure that all 8 of our tires were off the ground about the time we hit the second frost heave. Hell, when you are in mid air you can't slow down!!! Our necks still hurt!!!

We stopped down the road a bit to re-arrange the stuff in the trailer – some of the stuff actually landed in places you would never believe!!

Even after all of that, we arrived in Dawson at 4:30. That is only 36 mph average speed.

Perhaps tomorrow we will get out the gold pans and try our luck??? You never know!!

June 29, 2014 – Whitehorse, Yukon Terr.

We left Watson Lake around 9:00 AM for our 240 mile drive to Whitehorse. We were on Canadian Rt 2 which is similar to our US Highways. US 2 north of Spokane and west of Airway Heights would be a good comparison. The drive was easy and the scenery was great, but not as pectacular as the Cassiar/Stewart highway.

We arrived in Whitehorse around 2:30, set up the trailer at the High Country RV Park. We were a little low on supplies, so we found the Wal-Mart and re-stocked.

Just a side note: The exchange rate from CA is favorable as $.92 US = $1.00 CA. That being said, EVERYTHING costs more than the US. Gasoline has ranged from $4.50 to $5.60/US gal. Fresh food costs a bunch more too. Min price of beef is around $8.00/lb; pork is around $6.00, and chicken is $5.00. Produce is also higher. We bought ice cream bars for $4.60 each (and yes they were hard to swallow!!)

Tomorrow, we have a bit longer day. 320 mile drive from Whitehorse to Dawson City on the Yukon River. We will stay two nights there before moving on.

Having a great time!!

June 28, 2014 – Watson Lake

Well, the temp this AM inside is 60. Very comfortable!! Since we are not traveling today, we have had a leisurely morning.

We went into Watson Lake (15 mi) to get on wifi at the library – wifi is out until next week!! So we did some sight seeing.

Sign Post Forest: We had heard of this lace before leaving Spokane...but we never expected to find what we saw!! This was started in 1942 while the US/Canada were building the AlCan Highway. They estimate there are over 80,000 signs nailed up. We wandered around for over an hour and did not see them all. We did, however, see some from: CDA, Orofino, Mead, Garfield, and Brewster.

Northern Lights Centre: We visited this center to view a video of the aurora borealis. What we found was a 360 degree theater. The film was spectacular. Unfortunately for us, it is daylight for 22 hrs and dusky for 2 hours each day – no northern lights for us!!

To date, we have driven approximately 1750 miles. Tomorrow we drive to Whitehorse, YT and then on to Dawson City, Chicken, AK, and Fairbanks.

June 27, 2014 – Watson Lake, Yukon Territory

Since we only had a 150 mile drive today, we didn't leave Dease Lake until 10:00. Only a three hour drive – Right?? The first 15 miles wasn't bad, but the next 100 miles was frost heaved, chuckholes, and maintenance crews patching the potholes!! Our arrival time was about 2:30. We stopped several times to check the trailer and re-secure our stuff. We were glad that portion of the trip was over.

On the brighter side, though, the scenery was spectacular. The forests are pristine and have never been logged. Portions reminded us of the Lochsa River. There was a huge expanse of Lodge Pole pine forest and also sub-alpine spruce forests. All we can say is beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!!!

Upon arrival at the Baby Nugget RV Park, we found that their WiFi was out of service and the cell phone service was about 5 miles away. Oh well...this is a remote part of the North America continent!! The park is well maintained and has all the amenities you may need: showers, laundry, car/rv wash, gift store, fuel, and a restaurant. All of the sites are pull-thru, which makes access easier.

When we left Dease Lake, the temp was 50 degrees. Baby Nugget: 80 degrees. We set up the trailer and hooked up the water and power. But...when we turned on the A/C, nothing!!! We suspect the rough road took its toll. We will have to get it fixed – probably in Whitehorse or Fairbanks (next week). At 10:30 PM it was still 84 degrees inside the trailer, but cooler outside. We left the windows and vents open all night.