Dawson City, Yukon

The gals are in town

A handy watering hole...Marie enters

This is one of the main streets - dirt

Boardwalks keep you off the dirt & mud

We gave Diamond Tooth Gertie's Can Can girls a run for their money

Baby Boomers overlook Yukon River

Overlook to Dawson - if you click on this photo, you will see I have marked where the Klondike enters the Yukon to left of photo

That's our RV crossing the Yukon after leaving Dawson

That's also our RV in distance with grizzly in foreground

Close-up of the grizzly

Click on this map to see where we are headed

Yes, we crossed the Yukon River into Dawson City - found at the confluence of the Klondike & Yukon Rivers. Originally a small fishing camp of local tribes was located here on the river, but the population swelled to around 40,000 when gold was discovered near Dawson in 1896, resulting in the Klondike stampede. Apparently the lure of gold attracted gold seekers from USA, United Kingdom, South Africa & Australia, among other countries. By 1899 most miners had left Dawson for the newer gold finds in Nome. Today it is mainly famous for tourism - it gets around 60,000 visitors a year - and some gold mining still occurs.

After we spent the morning re-visiting the Top of the World Highway, Eric dropped us off in town and we read the history sites, walked around and chatted to folk and generally enjoyed being in the old town. The streets remain unpaved, and the footpaths are simple wooden boardwalks to keep you above the mud when it rains. The local businesses retain the flavour of the gold rush days with their building structures and facades. It reminded us of the old western towns such as Tombstone, Arizona.

After dinner Eric drove us up to the top of the 5 mile/8 km Dome Road which is just under 3,000' above sea level. The summit overlooks the Klondike & Yukon Rivers & the Dawson township, and across to the surrounding mountains. What a fantastic view! We sat up there for some time just enjoying being there, and chatted to several different people who gave us tips on what to see when we got near Jasper, Bamff & Calgary. Eric couldn't wait to get his mountain bike out and ride up the mountain. He has a great story to tell, so watch out for his blog on that ride. He still has some entries to catch up on, so check it out in a few days or so. After our 2 nights in Dawson, we hit the road and headed for Whitehorse, the Capital of the Yukon. We passed a grizzly bear beside the road before Murray had time to pull over, but fortunately I was able to radio to Marie, and she got some good photos. We also saw a coyote, but I wasn't quick enough to get a photo. From here we will head west on the Cassiar Hwy to Stewart/Hyder before making our way south - east to Jasper, Bamff, Calgary and then out to Montana (see map) and east to North Dakota.

Top of the World Highway

Fine enough when we started out

Uh - oh...potholes ahead

Even our GPS is saying go back - this road is not for you

Lots more potholes

Way up in the clouds

Eric emerges from the mist

Yukon River & Dawson City below - nearly there

Waiting for the ferry

Our dirty RV boarding the small ferry

Driving off the ferry in Dawson City

This Combi is dwarfed by our RV

Marie & I celebrate surviving the Top of the World Highway with our Margaritas!

Next day...let's do it all again!

So THIS is what the road was supposed to look like!

Yep - it sure feels like we are on top of the world

Picnic on Top of the World Highway

'Lewis & Clark' show the way ahead...hmmm

Few visitors to Alaska can pass up the challenge to drive the 127 km (79 mile) Top of the World Highway - and we were no exception! It is a notorious, mostly unpaved highway, full of potholes. The highway officially begins after you have left Chicken (see previous entry), Alaska and crossed the border into Yukon, Canada, and finishes at the Yukon River with Dawson City on the other side. Don't be fooled by the length of the highway - it took us 4 hours to do the 80 miles, and that was without stopping. The day we did the drive was the worst day we could have done the trip, as it was drizzling with rain and once we got up to the high elevations (most of the highway is over 3000 feet and peaked at the border at 4,127') we were surrounded by mist, fog and low-lying cloud. It was all we could do to see Eric & Marie's headlights ahead of us most of the time. While the road is the worst in Alaska, they say the scenery makes up for it - ha - we couldn't see a thing - just mist, mist and more mist.

The Top of the World Highway can be quite dangerous as it is narrow in parts with only room for one large vehicle, and sheer cliffs on the other side for those who disregard the rules to stop at these narrow points and let the North-bound traffic continue. Despite being advised against doing the drive in wet weather (the road surface fills your tyre treads with mud/clay and then you slide around the bends), it seemed a preferable option to staying another night in the town of 'Chicken'.

We soldiered on and as we turned a bend on the last mountain we could finally see the Yukon River and Dawson City below. Now all we had to do was catch the Government Ferry to cross the Yukon River (and find my bonanza gold) - thankfully that only took a few minutes and we arrived safely on the other side. Hurrah, we survived the Top of the World Highway. Time for a celebration!

Wouldn't you know it, the next day I woke up and was startled by a bright light shining into the bathroom - it was the sun! Whoo hoo. The skies were blue and it was lovely & warm. We didn't hesitate when Eric & Marie asked if we would like to take a drive back up the Top of the World Highway - we left the RV's behind and just went in their 4WD. We would get to see the scenery we missed the day before. We had a great drive and had a lot of laughs, and ended our foray with a picnic lunch up the top. Then it was time to return to Dawson, absorb the 'aura' and experience a little bit of this isolated city and its historic beginnings.

Chicken, Alaska

Leaving Tok

Chicken's 3 businesses

Murray & Marie in front of our lunch spot

Chicken & Dredge (relic from gold mining days)

Chicken's take on Santa's Sleigh - replacing reindeer with chickens

Eric & Marie heading out of Chicken - into the clouds...

Our time in Alaska is drawing to a close, but we couldn't leave the state without visiting just one more town. The town of Chicken. The town is a relic from the gold boom days. The locals wanted to name the town 'Ptarmigan' after the Alaska state bird, or was it because many miners caught Ptarmigan and cooked them for a tasty pot dinner and wanted to memorialise them in history. Either way, when they went to register the name, none of the miners could agree on the right way to spell Ptarmigan, and as they also called the Ptarmigan 'chickens' in those days, they decided to just call the town 'Chicken' instead.

The town has no electricity (they use generators) and no internal plumbing (they use outhouses). No phone service either, and the mail plane lands twice a week. The population is around 9 in the winter, and swells to just under 40 in the summer. Gold is still being found locally by miners and many tourists pay to pan for gold - and on the day we were there, some gold was found. Nothing to write home about though!

The weather during our visit to Chicken was wet on & off, and it was miserable. Considering there are no paved roads and no footpaths etc, it made for a muddy visit. There are only 3 businesses (a cafe, a gift shop and a saloon) as well as 3 basic campgrounds, and after one night we were keen to move on. Stopping in Chicken was just a means to an end - it was the starting point for our drive along the infamous Top of the World Highway.

Fairbanks, Alaska

End of Alaska Highway

Proximity of Fairbanks to Arctic Circle

Walmart facade looks like a street front

Saw this Moose on the outskirts of Fairbanks

Wonderful video

Northern Lights (courtesy www.daleandjo.com)

Gold found near Fairbanks

Now there's a Rack of Caribou Rack

After Denali we spent a few days enjoying the environs of Fairbanks, our most northern- most city. The city grew along with the gold rush in the early 1900's, and an area 26 miles north of Fairbanks, is currently home to Alaska's 2nd largest gold producing mine. The city is about 200 miles south of the Arctic Circle (but it is a 16 hr return trip just to cross into the 'Circle'), and it is the most popular place on earth to view the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights - you just need a clear, winter sky and a lot of patience. We visited the University of Alaska campus with Marie & Eric, and we all attended an information video on the Northern Lights which we found so fascinating. After that we headed to a wood carving place as Marie had taken a class in woodturning earlier in our trip and we wanted to see the pros doing it - it was interesting to see them laser printing photos and other images onto the inside of wooden bowls. We also called into Walmart and I just had to take a photo of the front facade - they built it to look like a little street of shops, but it was just the one supermarket.

On the way back to our campground, Murray spotted a moose drinking in the river, so we wheeled back to watch her for a while and take a photo. Being so far north in the summer made for very long summer nights - pity they were cool and not warm evenings, as most nights were too cold for a campfire - unseasonably cold I might add. However, on one of the rare, milder evenings when Marie & Eric had gone to dinner with some friends they made while staying at Denali, we were sitting outside our RV chatting to some young neighbours from the camper to our left, and although it was still bright, we realised with a shock that it was midnight. We all scuttled off to bed ready for the adventures awaiting us all on the next day.

The next day found us heading south towards Delta Junction and the very end of the original Alaska Highway that we started out from in Dawson Creek back on the 2nd June. From Dawson Creek driving direct to Delta Junction is 1390 miles/2237km. The signs show the Alaska Highway as being 1422 miles, as that is what it used to be before continuous road improvements have re-shaped it somewhat and reduced the overall length. Because we took several side trips visiting Valdez, Seward, Homer etc, we have clocked up 3,202 miles/5153 km since we left Dawson City, and we haven't finished yet.

North Pole Revisited

Candy Cane Street Lights

Christmas Decor inside Wendy's

Marie busy at the counter surrounded by Christmas

Baby Boomers with Santa

In the previous blog you read about my first visit to Santa in the town of North Pole. When Marie & Eric paid their visit the next day, I couldn't resist visiting once again. This time all four of us got to have our photo taken with Santa. Four happy Baby Boomers - letting the kid inside each of us shine!

I omitted to mention that the street lights in North Pole are like giant candy canes. So pretty. Even the Wendy's (fast food chain restaurant) has Christmas decor all year 'round. Just thought I would share this 'special' place with you all...

Visit to North Pole

Ho ho ho

Santa Claus House - North Pole

Yay - I made it!

Well hello there Santa! How nice to see you in person after reading about you in Christmas stories for over 50 years! You don't look a day older than you did in my childhood Christmas books!

As a young girl growing up in central Australia where Christmas meant searing heat & red dust storms (it was during the 10 year drought), it was so magical in those days to read Christmas books about a place called the North Pole - not the geographic North Pole - but the town where Santa lives with his reindeer. There was always lots of white, glistening snow in the books and on the Christmas cards, which we could tell (by what Santa was wearing), was very, very cold. I was 35 years old before I ever saw snow for the first time. Never in a million years did I think I would ever set foot in this place called the North Pole, let alone sit on Santa's knee! Hard to believe that this is the very place that all those letters that kids address to Santa in the North Pole have been getting delivered for decades, and letters from Santa to kids, have come from here since 1952.

Mind you, it is high summer here at the moment during my visit to the Santa Claus House in North Pole (15 miles from Fairbanks), so there is no real snow left, but I did find santa and his reindeer! However, the reindeer were behind a double wire fence, so not the ideal photo setting in my opinion.

I don't know what it is about a Christmas Shop, but I can just stand there and look around at all the twinkling, beautiful decorations & ornaments, listen to the Christmas music and immediately I am transported back to the awe & magic I remember as a child. As commercial as Christmas Shops are, and despite being devoid of the real meaning of Christmas (apart from the occasional nativity ornaments), I am able to just enjoy the aura and magic of Christmas that has thrilled children since stories of santa began.

Denali National Park

The Park Road on a fine day with Mt McKinley in background - courtesy wikipedia

Ptarmigans turn white in winter so they are difficult to see against the snow

Nice rack Mr Caribou

Wildflowers were everywhere

Our bus buddies admiring the view

A small glacier we passed on the way

This wolf was stalking some caribou

A single Dall sheep high on left, then a herd of them lower right

Fox with his prey

A grizzly ambling across the valley

The grizzly closer up - notice his hump

Looking out from here we should see Mt McKinley - all we could see was mist

And again here - through these windows should be the view in the photo

This miniature of the mountain found in the visitors center

Yesterday Murray & I took an 8 hr bus tour into Denali National Park here in the Alaskan interior (the park is almost half way between Anchorage and Fairbanks). Marie & Eric had booked into a wilderness lodge at the end of the 95 mile Park Rd to spend 4 nights and be as close to Mt McKinley as possible, so we were flying solo. Our bus trip took us to the 66 mile point on the Park Rd to the Eielson Visitors center, and due to stopping to see animals and the nature of the road itself, that drive took 4 hours each way. On a clear day the view to Mt McKinley from this point is amazing, but as luck would have it, we were fogged in when we reached that point.

That is not to say we didn't have a great day - we thoroughly enjoyed the drive through the park - around every turn the vista changed and the bus kept stopping for wildlife. We spent several minutes watching a wolf stalk a group of 3 caribou, a fox ran by the bus with a tasty morsel in its mouth, a family of Ptarmigan wandered casually past with their chicks, solitary grizzly bears foraged in the open grasslands and a sow and her cubs were nestled safely on a ridgeline near some bushes. A bright, white dot on a distant hillside turned out to be Dall sheep when magnified with binoculars. They were the reason the National Park was established in the first place - to protect the numbers of these sheep. Now people come to see the awesomeness of Mt McKinley, and the frequently seen wildlife - especially the 'Big Five' - moose, caribou, Dall sheep, wolf and grizzly bear. We saw all of them except the elusive moose. We have now done 2 bus trips in Denali and 3 drives around Yellowstone NP, and not yet seen a moose in either place. Fortunately we have seen moose on other roads here in Alaska, so we are content with that. Especially the big male we saw returning to Anchorage the other day. Fall/Autumn (September & October) is the rutting season and is the best time to see and hear the moose - the male have huge racks (antlers) by then, and they rub them on trees to remove the velvet so the antlers are ready to do battle with other males. After the mating season they drop their antlers each year, growing a new, and larger rack the next year (health permitting) - antlers can grow up to 1" per day. During mating season both males and females can also be heard calling across the valleys.

Denali is the home of the tallest mountain peak in North America: Mt McKinley, which at 20,300 ft high, is about 1,000 ft taller than Mt Kilimanjaro - the tallest mountain in Africa. So far this year 9 climbers/hikers have lost their lives here on the mountain. Not for the faint hearted. The ranger was saying there were several reasons for death including loosing their footing, having a heart attack, confusion due to altitude (loss of oxygen) leading to errors in judgement when close to the edge, camping near a glacier (frequent earthquakes in this area shear ice off glacier - 3 people in same tent died from ice crash recently) amongst other reasons. Each climber pays a one-off fee of $300 to climb the mountain. I read that climbers on Kilimanjaro pay a daily fee, which sometimes causes hikers to try and speed up their climb to save money, which often inadvertently leads to altitude sickness. Two of my kids are climbing Kilimanjaro in September, so this is of interest to me. Take as long as you need Benn, Kim (& Daina)!

Our RV park here is nestled right at the back of the main Denali Village shopping mall, so it is very handy for RVers. Today we will check out the numerous shops with their Alaskan arts and souvenirs, and tomorrow we drive about 2 hours to Fairbanks where Marie & Eric will catch up with us, and we will spend about 3 nights.