We Reach the End of the Alaska Highway!

A few miles further on the Taylor Highway and we were back on the famous Alaska Highway. Delta Jucntion (Highway 2) marks the end of the long drive up to Alaska. To sum it up, the road was much better than expected, great scenery and had a good bit of wildlife & birds along the way. Although long, there are things to do along the way and many interesting places to see and a few things to laugh at! Here was one of my personal favorites... can you see why?

Not too far down Highway 2, now headed for Fairbanks, we stop at the Rica's Roadhouse. Run by a single woman for almost 60 years, this landmark stands as a tribute to those days of harsh travel on trail & riverboat (the house is on the bakns of the Tanana). The house is in remarkable shape, and provides a convenient rest stop for many travelers still today.

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Shortly after reentering the Highway, we cross the Tanana, and get our first glimpse of the Alaska Pipeline. The pipeline today is surrounded by high fences and electronic surveillance, quite a change from my visit in 2000, I guess as a direct result of 911.

As the Tanana flows northward, it becomes a sprawling delta, quite a spectacular sight!

Our final stop along the way was at "The Knotty Shop" were we received a free ice cream and enjoyed the interesting art produced from the Black Spruce...

2nd Annual Chickenstock Bluegrass Festival!

Highlight of the visit to Chicken, was the Second Annual Chickenstock Bluegrass Fest. Hosted by Mike Busby & the great folks at Chicken Creek Outpost, the venue included performances by four local groups.


With the Kachemak Mining Corp. circa WWII truck (which certainly looked like it had been through at least one war) serving as the stage, and a Honda generator in back powering the sound, Steve Brown and the Bailers took the stage and provided some great bluegrass covers along with several new originals written by Steve.

With the crowd now warmed up, “Salty Gravy” followed with a rousing second set, highlighted by some great female vocals & harmony and nice leads taken by their fiddle & mandolin players.


The group triggered the dancing to start, many of the locals anxious to show the “Chicken Dance”, but little did we know that more on that would follow.

John Hicks, a native of Victoria, Texas came on solo doing a set of country favorites, followed by a couple of excellent originals. John had the honor of announcing the upcoming “Chickendales” which stirred interest in the crowd as to just exactly what this was all about?
Well, within minutes our question was answered, as the Chickendales themselves came out and taught us all the Chicken Dance. You can see the live version on YouTube @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx_XtpV9BNg

Kim, Susie & I couldn’t miss the opportunity to pose with these now famous mascots!

The evening wouldn’t have been complete without the final set provided by “The Last Frontier”, led by local favorite Carl Hoffman….
all-in-all ,
Quite a great ending in CHICKEN, ALASKA!

Top of the World Highway to CHICKEN, ALASKA

On our way to the Ferry, we run across Dean & Reg once agaion to discover they had a fine trip up to Innuvik, only having to stop once to replace a transmission clutch band. They got on the Ferry ahead of us, and just watching it cross the Yukon was a treat….it reminded us so much of the Mississippi back home.



Once across we are on the famed “Top of the World” Highway that leads to the US border at “Border”. Although dirt (well every now & then there’s a trickle of gravel), it was pretty smooth and mostly free of heaves & potholes.
It wasn’t to long before we pass our Model T friends again, and ran ahead to the border. This view of the customs facility at the border confirms to us that this has to be the most remote crossing point in North America!

Arriving there, we were cordially greeted by an agent much more interested in our kayaks and travels than our passports, so we enjoyed a few minutes chat, and learned that this is the “vacation duty” spot for customs agents.

Ironically, the road on the US side (now called the Taylor Hwy) was far worse than it’s Canadian counterpart..interesting isn’t it??
So, now we come to the settlement of Border, a few old relics and a small store. We enjoyed the rustic charm of this place, everything was old fashioned with the exception of the generator humming out back…yep you’re hundreds of miles off the grid out here!




Just a little farther and we ARE in CHICKEN! Now what a name for a town, the story goes that the original founders wanted to name it after the Ptarmigan, but were uncertain as to the correct spelling. Well, the darn bird looks like a little Chicken, right? So, there you have it, straight from “official” sources. Now everything in Chicken is about Chickens (or Eggs)….





We also meet our friends Jess & Susie at the campground. Turns out they had traveled the Taylor "Highway" the day before in the rain. There jeep (which they tow behind a pickup camper) told the story of just how messy a dirt "Highway" in Alaska in the rain can be!

Before leaving I couldn’t pass up a visit to the airstrip, and sure‘nuf the Alaska special was there, a SuperCub wi
th tundra tires….

onward to the ARTIC CIRCLE !

As we prepared to leave the Tombstone Campground for the 200+ mile drive up the Dempster to the Artic Circle, I couldn’t help but get a couple of pictures of our new neighbors. Dean & Reg had driven this totally original 1929 Model T all the way from Iowa City, just to do the Dempster up to Innuvik! Dean explained that even the trailer was original for the period with the exception of the Comstock cover which he had fabricated himself to give it an old fashioned look. I find it ironic that we had so many “worry stories” about this drive from folks in modern, highly reliable vehicles and here these two guys brave it in an old Model T…GO FOR IT, DEAN!

Pulling out of the front gate, we stopped to pick up Peter, a self proclaimed witty, garrulous yet articulate, Italian from Sacramento that was hitch-hiking to Innuvik (a 500 mile trip that he has walked before!) only to jaunt solo across 250 miles of tundra, scrub & forest eastward to Paulatuk, Northwest Territory (yep, in the absolute middle of nowhere!), where he plans to catch a plane or boat out some two months from now! But, more on Peter in a minute….

It wasn’t long before we were greeted with that same 18 wheeler hospitality that the Alaska Highway is known for, actually almost a welcome sight on this long drive where met only a handful of other vehicles.

Soon we were approaching the Ogilvie’s, those giant lumps of shattered slate standing gray on an otherwise blue over green horizon.

Driving into the range, I noticed the moonlike appearance of one particular hill, the result of a few piercing light beams shooting through the clouds.
Just past the grey giants, we enter the land of rusty red at Engineer’s Creek, truly fitting the phrase “land of contrasts” that we often heard about this remote part of the planet.

A few more miles, and the phrase is emphasized again with this awesome view of the Ogilvie River in the valley far below.

The surveyors did a magnificent job keeping the entire highway centered on top of ridgelines enhancing one’s ability to absorb the diverse terrain.
We pull into Eagle Plains, one of only two fueling stops on the upper end of the Dempster, and are delighted to find that gas is actually cheaper than at the Klondike Highway junction almost 300 miles to the south…that’s right only $1.59 per liter (right at $6 a gallon!), not too bad considering the logistics of getting the liquid gold up here…

Peter treated us to a big juicy hamburger, and suggested browsing the halls and bar to sample the history portrayed on the walls by the many wonderful old photos & memorabilia. Among the many pictures I found this one of Lindberg and his wife on their 1931 flight to Aklavik.

A short drive northward, and the moment we all were waiting for…we’re here! The ARTIC CIRCLE! And that’s Peter on the right, our wonderful tour guide and historian.

As I stepped behind the sign to gaze straight down that latitude line, I must say I was somewhat disappointed. Isn’t this supposed to be lush spring green vegetation on the right (south side) and solid ice & snow on the left, to the north??? Oh well, we get the same rich beauty in all directions, I guess that’s ok!
About 20 miles ahead at the Rock Creek Campground we are greeted by thousands of those dreaded northern mosquitoes (they're really are about twice the size of those bred in Louisiana), where we meet up with Tony (Birdfest, from Calgary) and decide there’s no way we’re going to spoil this nice evening with gloves & headwear. Peter agrees, and opts for thumbing again upward to Innuvik, so we share farewells, turn back southward, and find an isolated gravel pit far from the biting woodsy creatures. (We're hoping that when he returns to Sacramento, he'll give us a report on his journey in either a comment or an email.)

A few minutes and the tent is up, lawn chairs are out, beers are open and relaxation is started.....and the view out back? Well, I’ll just let the picture explain!
Heading back towards the Circle the next morning, southbound, the early light wakens huge fields of snow white wildflowers, and as we cross the line I notice that the two-wheeled vehicles make this trek also. For you cycle lovers out there, this is a popular trip, but be prepared to get pretty dirty.


I also notice a spot in the road for another favorite activity of mine, an airstrip, out here in the middle of nowhere!
We cross the Eagle River, get out to stretch our legs, and discover a bit more of the local history,

.....while just down the road at Eagle Plains, our Model T friends Dean & Reg, have made it this far, had a restful night, and are preparing to shove off for Innuvik.

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At Engineer’s Creek we find a local mountain ram enjoying the minerals alongside, and a bit farther down we bag another lifer bird, the Red-Throated Loon (photo borrowed from the internet). We arrived back at Tombstone late that afternoon, spent the night there, then back to Dawson City for a couple of days before moving on, knowing now we can say “we camped above the Artic Circle once”!