Day 35, 29 June 2015
Whitehorse, YT to Carmacks, YT 122 miles
Whitehorse is the largest town in the Yukon Territory, and
it is very nice. It has a real downtown area, a river runs through it, and it offers
all services (including a Walmart where several RVs were parked for the night).
It also has a nice visitors center where the wifi was excellent. After trying
to post our blog at Tim Hortons over breakfast, we returned to the Visitors
Center for the broader bandwidth. We decided to venture off the Alaska Highway
to the Klondike Highway, in order to learn more about the gold rush. We got as
far as Carmacks, a small community with a hotel, campground, gas station,
school, recreation center, and a couple of old cabins preserved from the old
days. Once an important stop for Yukon River steamboats traveling between
Whitehorse and Dawson City, it now is a service stop for highway traffic. The
town was named after George Carmack, who established a trading post here in the
1890s. He came here hoping to strike it rich, spending 10 years prospecting in
vain. When the trading post went bankrupt, he moved to Fortymile, where he
could fish for food and cut timber to sell. That summer he found a 5-dollar pan
of gold and later extracted a ton of gold from the creek he later called
Bonanza Creek. That set off the Klondike Gold Rush. Our campground was on the
Yukon River, there was a nice boardwalk along the river, and we received a
4-cent per liter discount for fuel, thanks to a coupon we picked up at the
Whitehorse visitors center. That’s the best thing I can say about Carmacks.
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| Yukon River from our campground |
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| Nice boardwalk along the Yukon River |
Day 36-37, 30 June-1 July 2015
Carmacks, YT to Dawson City, YT 220 miles
The small communities on the way to Dawson City were
originally trading posts for stage and river traffic, often named after the
rivers the ferry crossed, e.g., Pelly Crossing, Stewart Crossing, etc. The map
calls them settlements, vs. cities or towns. We saw a bear cross the road
today, but did not get the camera ready in time before it disappeared into the
woods – looked like a black bear (vs. grizzly). We could see and smell smoke
from a forest fire.
Dawson City was
declared a national historic site in the 1960s. It used to be the capitol of
the Yukon Territory, but that changed to Whitehorse in 1953 – the railroad, the
highway, and the hub of activity made Whitehorse the choice, and it remains the
largest town in the Yukon. Many of Dawson City’s buildings have been restored.
The streets are still dirt. The sidewalks are wooden.
But they have added the best wifi to the
visitors center. Walking around is the best way to see the town and get a feel
for how life was in the days of the gold rush. We found a great Greek
restaurant serving lamb chops that rivaled those at Hella’s in Tarpon Springs. We
drove up the half-paved Dome Road to the top of a hill overlooking the valley. Nice
view of Dawson City and the river valley. Had to get my Jeep up the last dirt
pitch to the top – because I could. Charli found a new breakfast cereal at the
general store – “Holy Crap.” She also won some money at the casino in Diamond
Tooth Gerties, but her luck changed after the dancing-girls show. A steady rain
could have put a damper on the planned Canada Day celebration, but the parade
participants all showed up, those watching along the streets found shelter
under canopies and umbrellas, and the Canada Day parade was a success. We
decorated our bikes with maple leaf flags and joined in the parade, the raising
of the flag, the brat BBQ, and the muddy ride back. We saw the original spot in
Bonanza Creek where Skookum Jim, Dawson Charlie and George Carmack, while moose
hunting, originally found the gold nugget that started the whole stampede,
after George filed the claim. And we toured the only remaining dredge that was
used in the early 1900s to production-harvest gold from the creeks near Dawson
City. It is being restored by Parks Canada as an historical site. Very
interesting tour led by a third generation gold miner, whose father still runs
the family gold mining operation. He showed us his good luck charm – a ¼ oz
gold nugget
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| Smoky view from distant fire |
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| Navigating puddles in the rain |
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| Pretty good cereal |
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| Downtown Dawson City - Dirt streets, wood sidewalks |
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| Nice view of Yukon River from top of dome road |
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| Al just had to drive the Jeep to the top of the dome! |
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| "Diamond Tooth Gertie" entertaining |
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| Dancing girls at Diamond Tooth Gertie's |
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| Happy Canada Day! Prepping for parade |
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| Dawson City parade lineup |
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| "O Canada" while raising the flag |
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| Klondike Dredge |
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| Dredge tour guide is third generation miner |
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| 1/4 ounce gold nugget |
Day 38, 2 July 2015
Dawson City, YT to Tok, AK 187 miles
Now that we helped celebrate Canada Day, we are looking
forward to celebrating July 4th in the USA. We left Dawson City early
to catch the George Black Ferry across the Yukon River before a 22 coach
caravan staying at our RV park got there to bottle it up. The ferry connects to the Top of the World
Highway, a narrow, winding road with some steep grades and few guardrails. Unlike
most highways that follow valleys in mountain ranges, this road follows the top
of the range, providing unique scenic views. The road is paved for a few
kilometers from the ferry, then turns to gravel, then packed mud. Sure glad it
was not raining, or it would have been very slippery, and scary with no
guardrails. The road is again paved
nicely near the US border. Having left early, we arrived at the border before
they opened, so we waited with some other folks, including a couple of
motorcyclists from Vancouver. “Where you from?” and “Did you buy anything other
than food in Canada?” were the only questions asked by the border guard, so it
was an easy crossing. Some of the area we drove through had burned in a forest fire
in 2004, when there were 707 fires in Alaska, burning 6.3 million acres. We saw
lots of Fireweed, a wild flower that thrives in burnt areas. The first “town”
we encountered in Alaska was Chicken. Settlers wanted to name it Ptarmigan, but
they couldn’t spell that. Population of Chicken is 23 in the summer, 7 in the
winter. In Chicken I finally found a license plate for the front of Rocky “RV
AK”. We followed the Taylor Highway from
Chicken to the Alaska Highway and settled in Tok at the Sourdough Campground. By
tossing a pancake into a bucket at the nightly contest, Charli won a free breakfast.
And the breakfast was good.
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| We could see customs from a distance |
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| Waiting in line at customs |
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| Not much fanfare, just this little sign |
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| Strange town sign in Chicken |
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| Chicken made from recycled school lockers |
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| One of the three businesses in Chicken Alaska |
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| Campground owner Tim leading the pancake toss |
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| Who knew Charli could toss a pancake so accurately? |
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| Pancake toss winners |
Day 39, 3 July 2015
Tok, AK to North Pole/Fairbanks, AK 199 miles
So nice to be on a paved road again! The Alaska Highway is
quite nice in this last stretch, officially ending in Delta Junction at mile
1422 at the junction of the Richardson Highway. Near the visitors center in
Delta Junction is the restored Sullivan’s Roadhouse. It is the oldest roadhouse
in Alaska, once on the Valdez – Fairbanks Trail, now the Richardson Highway.
Also in Delta Junction is Delta Meat and Sausage – an outfit that makes sausage
from buffalo, reindeer, elk, and yak. We bought some for snacks and “rocktail”
hours. Crossing the Tanana River, we saw the Trans-Alaska Pipeline – pretty
cool. We camped at North Pole (yes,
really), just outside of Fairbanks. We did not go to Santa’s house, but we did
enjoy the Alaska Salmon Bake in Pioneer Park in Fairbanks. All you can eat fire-grilled
salmon, slow-roasted prime rib, beer-battered fried Alaskan cod, and baked
beans, unlimited salad bar, and dessert and beverages included for $30.
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| Dalta Junction |
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| End of the Alaska Highway |
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| Sullivan's Roadhouse |
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| Alaska pipeline across the Tanana River |
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| Salmon bake with folks from Maine |
Day 40, 4 July 2015
Fairbanks
We proudly displayed old glory at our campsite, then donned
our red-white-and-blue outfits and went to the North Pole 4th of
July parade – real small town America, and as patriotic as one can get. Even
met some people from Pittsburgh, our hometown, who moved here after being stationed
at Eielson Air Force Base. We also returned to pioneer Park to celebrate
America’s independence with the town of Fairbanks. Pioneer Park is a Disney-style
theme park that opened in 1967 for the Alaska 67 Centennial Exposition,
celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the purchase of Alaska from Russia. The
property was given to the state, then transferred to the city of Fairbanks. It
was renamed Alaskaland. In 1987, the city transferred the park to Fairbanks
North Borough, and in 2000, the name was changed to Pioneer Park. This is a
collection of early cabins and buildings and a stern wheeler, all have been
moved from their original locations.
Gazebos are filled with entertainers, and a train circles the park. Lots
of folks attended the 4 July ceremonies, which included a 50-gun salute, one
after naming each state - and its nick name – in the order of admission to the
union. We also visited the University of Alaska Fairbanks which has a beautiful
campus and a nice museum – the Alaska Museum of the North. Exhibits focus on
the cultures, wildlife, geography, and history of each of Alaska’s five major
geographic regions.
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| Happy 4th of July! |
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| Santa in the North Pole parade |
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| 4th of July parade in North Pole, Alaska |
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| Pioneer Park |
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| Pioneer Park train |
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| Antique gold digging steam shovel |
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| 50 gun state salute |
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| University of Alaska Museum of the North |
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| Grizzly Inside the Museum of the North |
Day 41, 5 July 2015
Chena Hot Springs Resort
We took a day trip in the Jeep to Chena Hot Springs, a
rustic 100+ year old resort about 60 miles from Fairbanks. This is home to the
beautiful Aurora Ice Museum where two award-winning artists carve and maintain some
fantastic ice sculptures, 4 bedrooms, and a bar where we had appletinis served
in lathed out ice martini glasses which we were free to take with us.
Unfortunately, since we took the Jeep vs Rocky, we had no freezer to store them
for the next round (or two), so they melted. We ventured out on one of the
mountain bike trails and saw some moose. And those hot springs were so nice
afterwards. Nice bar and restaurant as well.
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Chena Hot Springs
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| Workshop in Ice Museum |
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| Ice Bar |
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| Not so comfortable bed in the ice museum |
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Appletinis - ITSALAWNCHAIR!
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| Biking with the moose |
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| Al enjoying the hot springs |
Day 42, 6 July 2015
Fairbanks
We cruised the Chena River in a sternwheeler – Discovery
III. More than just a boat ride, we visited interesting places on the banks of
the river. Susan Butcher, who was the second woman to win the Iditarod in 1986
(and then won three more times in 1987, 1988, and 1990), died of leukemia. But
her oldest daughter, Tekla, and husband, David, continue to raise dogs and mush,
with kennels based on the Chena River in Fairbanks. And we learned about the traditions of Athabascan
culture with presentations at Chena Village on the river. We rounded off the evening at the Palace
Theater, with an entertaining comedy/musical show about Fairbanks.
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| Discovery III |
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| Sled dogs practicing with an ATV |
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| Nice swim after practice |
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| Log cabin with sod roof at Chena Village |
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| Beautiful traditional Athabascan parka |
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| Palace Theater Revue cast |
Day 43, 7 July 2015
Dalton Highway
We set foot above the Arctic Circle! Rather than drive the
rough Dalton Highway with Rocky, we joined a small bus tour for the 16-hr round
trip along the Trans-Alaska pipeline. Now available to the public, this “Haul
Road” was built during construction of the pipeline in the 1970s. It was
featured in the TV series Ice Road Truckers. Running 500 miles from just north
of Fairbanks all the way up to Deadhorse at Prudhoe Bay, the road is busy with
not only tourists, but also many trucks who still haul men and supplies to
maintain the pipeline. It was raining, foggy, and smokey from a nearby forest
fire. The road was partly paved, but mostly packed mud with lots of potholes.
Headlights and windshield wipers on, CB radio tuned in to talk to the truckers,
we had to coordinate stopping at pull-outs when wide truck loads were passing,
since commercial trucks have the right of way. Reminded me of the barge traffic
on the Mississippi River when we were on the Great Loop. We got great views of
the pipeline. Of its 800-mile length, only half is underground, like a normal
oil pipeline. Special structures with heat exchangers had to be engineered to
carry the 48-inch pipe over permafrost and at a height not to interfere with
animal migrations. And like the building of the Alaska Highway, thousands of
workers poured into Valdez, Fairbanks, and Anchorage to work on the project
from 1974-77. Some gold mining continues along the highway, and now the truck
stops and former construction camps are catering to more tourists. We saw
bicyclists, motorcyclists (some from as far as Brazil), and we met folks who
have made a home in the wilderness for the last 40 years. We went as far as
latitude 66 degrees, 33 minutes – the Arctic Circle – before turning around,
enjoying dinner at the Yukon River Camp and a break in Joy at Joe and Nancy’s
trading post on the way back to Fairbanks.
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| On the way to the Arctic Circle |
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| Very foggy Dalton Highway |
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| We got to see the Trans-Alaska Pipeline up close |
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| This bridge across the Yukon carries the pipeline along the side |
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| There's actually good food here! |
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| Brazilian motorcyclists on the muddy Dalton highway |
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| Gloria's Gift shop with hand made birch items |
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| Celebrating at the Arctic Circle |
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| We made it! |
Day 44, 8 July 2015
Fairbanks
With the chores and laundry done, we found a
great little brewery called the HooDoo. After a sampler flight, we discovered some
brews we liked better than the others. (not that I ever met a beer I didn’t
like). What was an empty tap house suddenly started filling up with locals.
First, James, an air traffic controller, gave us some great info on weather
cams where we could see the visibility in Denali National Park. Then we met
some really nice folks who actually moved to Alaska from California and
Illinois. We moved to a triple D – Big Daddy’s BBQ – for some of the best
pulled pork – yum! To Carmen , Monika, Kyle, and James…ITSALAWNCHAIR!
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| Hoodoo Brewery |
