Nowhere to be: Crossing into Alaska

Homemade houseboat on the Yukon River

Now that I'm back in the real world I'll try and get caught up on the trip. My last post had Petey and I spending our last week on the Dempster in the Yukon. I could have easily spent another week or two in this area alone but needed to keep heading west and south towards Alaska. Having been up north of the Arctic Circle we'd had some snow and cold temps so were anxious to get a little further south. Petey does not do cold well and I'm not a big fan either. After getting off the Dempster, I headed back into Dawson City to wash the rig and gas up before catching the free ferry across the Yukon River to access the Top of the World Highway. Another dirt/gravel road that offers some great scenery. I also wanted to take the side road which takes you up to the village of Eagle, Ak. Upon arriving in Dawson City, they were having the annual Outhouse Races so of course I had to stop and see that. I had met a girl on the Dempster that had been travelling and living on the road solo for the past year. I'm taking some pictures and noted she was in the race. Talked with her later and she said she was just walking down the street and one of the teams needed a member and asked her to race. Heard from her via email later that she ended up making some new friends and stayed in Dawson City longer than planned. Since I had been in Dawson City the previous summer there wasn't really much I wanted to see so after taking care of some business I caught the ferry and camped just across the river.

Outhouse race in Dawson City

Cheering section for one of the teams

Dawson City is a unique spot in the Yukon. Once the center of the Klondike Gold Rush back in the late 1890's. It has now parlayed that history and its unique character into a tourist spot during the summer months. Town has no paved streets, wooden sidewalks, no stop lights, its fair share of tourist shops and a thriving community feel to it. Without the tourist trade during the summer months though I'm not sure how it would fare. You have to come through it to get to the Top of the World and to cross back over into Alaska so you'll visit it whether you want to or not if coming this way.

Dawson City along the Yukon River

Downtown Dawson City

An area worth exploring from the campground is the old steam wheeler graveyard which is an easy hike downstream along the shore of the Yukon River. It's a spot where some of the old steam wheelers were scuttled after they'd reached their end of service. Fun spot to crawl around and view some history.

Current "tourist" paddle boat which hauls passengers out on the Yukon from Dawson City

Following morning it was over the top with a side trip into Eagle, Alaska. Born out of the Klondike Gold Rush it was a stopover spot for the steam wheelers. Eagle became a supply and trading center for miners working the upper Yukon River and its tributaries back in the late 1800's. It is also a checkpoint for the Iditarod Dogsled Race held annually up here. Another spot that is worth making the effort to get to. Nice BLM campground just outside of town. Road coming in here was fairly beat up when I came in due to some recent rain which turned it into a mud bath but could be done in just about any vehicle when dry.

Backtracked the following morning back to the Top of the World and headed to Chicken, Alaska. Another old mining town with a year-round population of about 20. No power to the town so the two businesses run diesel generators for power. Susan, who owns the bar and cafe offers free camping next to her place. Only problem is the camping spots are located near the generators and they run until the bar closes down at night. Night I camped, the revelers were out in full force and the generator didn't get shut off till 3:00 am. You take your chances! Short video of Chicken pilfered from YouTube. Video of Chicken, Alaska