Showing posts with label Top of the World. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Top of the World. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Exit- Stage Right! (08-22-14)

Tok to Dawson (12) Someone once told me that when the Fire-weed stops blooming in Alaska- summer is over.  Well, folks, the Fire-weed has stopped blooming and we have started our trek south.












Tok to Dawson (22) Our road of choice is the Klondike Trail, which is actually 3 roads-  the Taylor Highway in Alaska, Top of the World Highway in the Yukon, and the Klondike Highway in the Yukon. 








 This route has a reputation- as both a beautiful, scenic byway, and a dangerous, slippery road. Indeed, 2 motor homes have “fallen off” the Klondike Trail  this summer.


Tok to Dawson (23)
The Taylor portion was the spookiest for me.  Much of the road is dirt, and it has soft shoulders with sheer drop offs.  Paul was confident and the truck handled fine, but the passenger admits to some white knuckle moments.





Tok to Dawson (21)
Its not a road that anyone takes when they are in a rush nowadays, for sure.  We took two days to drive it, spending one night near the Canadian border.











Tok to Dawson (17) There are very few towns along the way, but the few that are here are definitely full of character!


 The town of Chicken has a population of about 200, mostly gold miners.  The story goes that the original inhabitants really wanted to name the town after the state bird- the Ptarmigan, but no one knew how to spell it, so they settled on Chicken. 




Tok to Dawson (18) There are 3 business downtown, as well as an overgrown chicken.  The signposts point out distances from such places as Clucker’s Hall, Illinois,  and Chicken Scratch, NC.







Tok to Dawson (15)
The historic post office has been open since 1903, and receives mail twice a week.  There is no phone service in Chicken and the water and electricity are generated locally.







Tok to Dawson (44)

Once we crossed the border, the view got even more incredible.


Tok to Dawson (54) 
The road was in pretty good condition and an easy drive.












This is why they call it Top of the World. 









Tok to Dawson (45)

You can see the road skirting along the tops of the ridges for miles.













Tok to Dawson (50)
We did drive through clouds at one point, but we only got rained on a little bit so the road didn’t get too slippery.








Eventually we landed where the Klondike Trail has been bringing people for over a century- Dawson City.

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