Dawson City to Chicken, Alaska via Top of The World Highway

Dawson City is one of the most beautiful, funkiest towns we have yet come across. It was transformed from a First Nations camp into the largest, most refined city north of Seattle afer the Yukon Gold Rush of 1899. It’s population numbered almost 30,000 in 1899 - an increase of 29,900 over the previous few years!! The First Nations Chief, a man named Isaac, packed up his people and moved them from the confluence of the rivers, where they had hunted and fished for thousands of years, to the village of Moosehide, a few miles downstream. Today the city iteself is a National Historic Site of Canada and they have worked hard to retain its original buildings - and charm!

After three days in Dawson, we headed out at 5am to catch the George Black Ferry across the Yukon river (only way of getting across) to theTop of The World Highway. This highway is an  unpaved, dirt, narrow, pot-holed, winding road with steep grades and few guardrails - 108 miles long!! The views are apparently spectacular….. we were fogged in the whole 8 hour drive and couldn’t even see the road in front of us, never mind the pot holes!  It was the most harrowing drive we have ever taken!

This is what we drove in the whole time!!

View after we got above the fog for about 2 minutes!!

We arrived in Chcken, Alaska around 5pm, and after prying Fredric’s fingers from the steering wheel we partook of a really good bottle of beer.  Our truck and Airstream were so dirty…. and we wern’t the worst!!  We came through the road with everything intact, but some of our group had shower doors fall off, fridge doors fall off, water tanks come loose, and one couple opened the door to the Airstream to find the whole kitchen unit in the middle of the floor!!

This is Chicken, Alaska... all of it!!

Panning For Gold

Baylee helping Fredric pan for gold

Yukon Territories to British Columbia to U.S. of A…. all in a Day!

This is the trail the Gold Rushers Traveled on!!!

 Our first big group event took place on Monday when we traveled in buses (nice not to have to drive) to Frazier then boarded the a train on the White Pass and Yukon Route; this route was designated an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1994. This is an honor shared by other world civil engineering marvels such as the Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty and the Panama Canal. 

Some history….The route was started because of the Klondike Gold Rush of 1896. Gold was discovered in 1896 by George Carmack and two First Nations companions Skookum Jim and Dawson Charlie. The first few flakes they found in Bonanza Creek in the Klondike barley filled the spent cartridge of a Winchester rifle. However, it triggered an incredible stampede for gold: the Klondike Gold Rush. The Seattle post-Paper broadcast that “Sixty-Eight Rich Men on the Steamer Portland” arrived in Seattle with “Stacks of Yellow Metal”.

The news spread like wildfire and tens of thousands of gold crazed men and women steamed up the inside passage to arrive in Dyea and Skagway to begin the overland trek to the Klondike. Six hundred miles over treacherous and dangerous trails.

Train we were on

 It was because of the danger of these trails that two men, Thomas Tancrede and Michael Heney got together and decided to build a railroad over the coastal mountains. The White Pass and Yukon Route began on May 28, 1898 and it climbs from sea level in Skagway to almost 3,000 feet at the summit in just 20 miles and features steep grades of almost 3.9%. The tight curves of the White Pass called for a narrow gauge railroad; the rails were three feet apart on a 10-foot wide road bed. Building the one hundred and ten miles of track was a challenge. Construction required cliff hanging turns of 26 degrees, building two tunnels and numerous bridges and trestles.

Work on Mile 16 took place in the dead of winter with heavy snow and temperatures as low as 60 below. The railroad was finished in July of 1900

One hundred thousand men and women headed north, but only between 30,000 and 40,000 actually reached the gold fields of the Klondike. Four thousand or so prospectors found the gold but only a few hundred became rich

And what happened to the original discoveres of the gold - George Carmack’s gold allowed him to have a more adventurous life with two wives inSeattle and California. Dawson Charlie solds his mining properties and spent his later years happily in Carcross, and Skookum Jim continued as a propspector and died rich but worn out from his tough life!

 The trip along the route was the most amazing scenic train ride either Fredric or I had ever had. And, to be quite honest, we ran out of adjectives to describe what we were seeing.  Here are a few photos - they will speak for themselves!

Drinking the Local Brew!

Watson Lake Sign Forest, Saturday July 19th

While visiting Watson Lake we placed a sign in the Signpost Forest that we made from a piece of driftwood taken from the Beach in Morro Bay.  

The tradition of leaving a sign pointing to your home town began in 1942, when a homesick U.S. Army GI working on the Alaska Highway was assigned to repair a damaged signpost that stated distances to various points along the highway.  He added his own hometown “Danville, Illinois, 2835 miles” to the post.  Signs were added every year and today there are over 72,000 signs and counting!

Fort Nelson to Watson Lake, July 16th

Llaird Hot Springs

We left Fort Nelson on Wednesday traveling down a beautiful piece of the highway to Toad River (yes there is such a place!). We had a lovely campground filled with trees and meadows, and luckily we were assigned a very secluded spot under some trees.  We are thoroughly enjoying our group of travelers, but we did enjoy a little piece and quiet away by ourselves.

From Toad River, we headed out to Watson Lake on Friday July 18th amid our first thunder shower.  Unfotunately Fredric and I were assigned as ‘Deparkers’ that morning, so we spent a couple of hours in the rain checking everybodys rig before they took off. This also meant we were the caboose so we were the last out!  Fortunately, 70 miles up the road was Llaird Hot Springs, an absolutely beautiful array of ponds with varying temperatures…. we spent an hour or so warming up before we hit the road again!

The next 5 hours of our trip upon the highway was unbelievably fantastic.  We saw herds of bison, and Caribou; we saw a a grizzly bear with her two cubs; black bears, brown bears, and an eagle that flew ahead of us of the road for a while.  All this wildlife was nonchalantly eating away at the side of the road, totally ignoring us crazy tourists snapping pictures left, right, and center.  It was a spectacular day!

Our Campground was just fine, although filled with the most voracious mosquitoes we have yet come across!!!  We are enjoying the gypsy life, so far - and Baylee and Zori are having a blast!

Tomorrow we head out for Whitehorse where we will stay for two nights.  Bigger town and some touristy events on the schedule!

Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson, July 14

Kiskatinaw Bridge, the longest wood curved bridge in North America. We had to pass over it one Airstream at a time.

 Monday July 14 we headed out from Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson, our second stop. The highway was breathtaking....
I did have a thought for those of you that are interested... maybe little history might be in order!
It wasn't until the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 that construction of the Alaskan highway was deemed a military necessity as a supply road to defend North America against the Japanese.  It was started in March 1942 and completed in October 1942. More than 11,000 American troops, including seven regiments of engineers. 16,000 civilian workers and 7,000 pieces of equipment were thrown into completing the task.

We always find something fun for the dogs!

America paid for the construction of the highway and turned over the Canadian portion to the Canadian government in April 1946.

 Our spot in Fort Nelson, really nice wooded campground with LOTS of mosquitoes!  I have discovered that I have hundreds of new friends up in this part of the world.... and they all want a piece of me!

Dawson Creek - Mile 0

Road to Dawson Creek

Friday morning, July 11th. We packed up our gear and headed out early for Dawson Creek.  Once we headed out the top side of Jasper National Park, the landscape changed and we were surrounded by beautiful forests that went on as far as our eyes could see.  The road was a two lane road for most of the way and very, very hilly.  If we weren't going up, we were going down and we were very thankful that we had the B.A.T. to pull Eddie B!!

Yes, dogs are very happy!

These are the traveling living quarters for the dogs, and as you can see they make themselves very comfortable!

Fredric already settled in with a beer!

We arrived at the park in Dawson Creek around 3:30pm after a long 7 hour day. There were already about 15 airstreams from our group parked so once we had settled in socializing was on the agenda. We are so excited to be at the official start of our Alaska trip and after all our planning can hardly believe it!!

The moon our first evening!

The daylight hours are already extended so I personally am very happy that Fredric was able to make blackout blinds for the bedroom otherwise no shut eye for me!!

Driving Thru Jasper National Park

 Early Thursday morning we left Calgary on our way to an RV park in Hinton/Jasper.  We had no idea that the drive would be so spectacularly beautiful that at the end of it we each thought it was the most awesome, and - to use an english word - the most gobstopping drive ever (at least so far).
I will let the pictures speak for themselves, but just know I have many more amazing pics, each one just as beautiful!

Great Airstream Pic!

Icefield

Isabella having fun!

Campground in Jasper

More Stampede!

Chuck Wagon Races

We spent the day after the rodeo grocery shopping, cleaning up the rig, doing laundry, and all that other boring stuff that still has to be done even when vacationing!
But, we took the shuttle back down to the Stampede to attend the evening show... what a blast. It started off with Chuck Wagon Races - now I have never ever seen one before, but am now a big fan - what a hoot!  It's like watching high powered drag races, or Nascar or something! Great sport!

Flying Cowboy!

We spent the next couple of hours been entertained by singers, dancers, kids, flying cowboys - a great show.  Didn't finish til midnight so by the time we got home we were a little past tired, but it was a great day!

Oh, and Fredric found his next toy - an uber-giant tractor..... probably won't be under then next christmas tree!!!

Statue that came to life

Showgirls

Fredric's Favorite Toy

Cowboys, Cowboys, and Cowboys!

After dropping Baylee and Zori into a fabulous doggy day care right next to the RV park we headed downtown.
We made it to the Calgary Stampede in about 45 minutes. We had to negotiate through heavy traffic in downtown Calgary, but fortunately we were disconnected from the airstream! Signage on the roads here is not quite the same (major understatement)!

Spent the first two hours wandering through the Stampede which is very similar in appearance to a State Fair, including all the good foods like hotdogs, deep fried Oreos, deep fried cheesecake, and the like.  We managed to stay away from everything but the hotdogs!!  Fortunately, we hit upon the beer garden fairly quickly so felt right at home! Massive amounts of people in attendance as the photo to the right shows - and thats less than half of the stadium!

The rodeo kicked off with cowboys competing on the bucking broncos.... absolutely amazingly fabulous to watch, but what a heck of a sport they compete in. Seriously I would be in hospital after been thrown around like them - but even the ones that got thrown off dusted themselves off and looked mighty fine walking away!

Then some of the same guys competed on the
bulls, a seriously dangerous sport! The arena is filled with cowboys just out there to protect the riders if and when they are thrown off - nothing serious happened but it was scary to watch!

The Rodeo ended with the ladies coming out and competing in Barrel Racing.  Beautiful horses, incredible skills - we cheered til we were hoarse - so to speak!!

Fabulous day, very hot, exhausted - back again tomorrow for the evening show!  Phew..... this is hard work!!