The Rolling Home

July 21st
 

This log will describe our last two weeks and bring you up to date.

Today, July 7th we left Fairbanks on the Richardson Highway for Tok. We followed the Chena, Salcha and Tanana Rivers for much of the way. Wild flowers are now in abundance alongside the road. We didn't travel too far and saw one "Bullwinkle" and one female moose close to the road.

We crossed the Big Delta Bridge (88.6 miles from Fairbanks), which is also known as the Tanana River Pipeline Crossing. The pipeline is suspended across the wide and fast running Tanana River. This particular crossing is quite nice with the braiding effect of the river and the mountains in the not too far distance.

We reached Delta Junction (pop. 884), which is known as the end of the Alaska Highway. We were going to stop at the visitors center, but we could not find a parking space, due to the number of campers and tour buses. We noticed that most of the traffic is headed for Fairbanks and many of the RV's have caravan stickers displayed. Most caravans have been in groups of 6 or more.

We think it is interesting that in a town of only 884 people that 40,000 acres are reportedly utilized for agriculture. Their main crop is barley, but they also grow vegetables and they have 5 active dairies.

Thirty or forty miles after we left Delta Junction we saw another moose and right in front of us two huge mountain ranges came into view. They were covered with snow and ice. In this same area a very large beaver ran across the road just ahead of us. We were quite surprised at its size. It was the first we had ever see that close.

We entered the Tanana Valley State Forest, which encompasses 1.81 million acres and extends 265 miles from the Canadian Border to the Manley Hot Springs.

About 30 miles from Tok we moved back into the most gorgeous mountain ranges. They looked as though they were back to back with the highest peaks still packed in snow and ice. The next lower range had ice and snow on many of the peaks and in the crevices. They were very rugged and dark, so the bright white snow was a beautiful contrast. The lowest range did not have any evidence of snow, but were impressive nonetheless with their shear dark gray walls and trees and shrubs growing about half way up. On the opposite side to the west there were low rounded hills totally covered with trees. We just love these mountains.

We pulled into the campground at Tok and about an hour later our friends, the Holders, arrived. We visited and ate dinner at the park, which consisted of prime rib or halibut and all the trimmings. It was pretty good especially since we did not have to cook it. In the evening we had the air conditioning on, which was the first time since we left Lancaster, California.

On Saturday, July 8th, we left Tok and took the Taylor Highway that will lead us to Chicken, Alaska and Dawson City, Yukon. As we turned onto the highway we entered the Tanana Valley State Forest and drove through 5 miles of stabilized forested sand dunes. About 15 miles out we started to see mountains in the distant. About 22 miles from Tok we moved in to a heavily forested area with hills that is called the Fortymile Mining District, home range for the Fortymile Caribou herd. It is estimated that 23,000 caribou move east across this part of the highway in late fall for the winter and return again in the spring for calving. In the summer they can occasionally be spotted above the timberline in the high country.

So far the road is in satisfactory condition with most dips and holes marked by orange flags, leaving some to be discovered on our own. At 23.6 miles the pavement ended and we started driving on gravel into an area posted as a construction zone for the next 20 miles. It was pretty rough in places, but still tolerable at a much reduced speed. (30 to 35 mph).

To the east we can see Mount Fairplay (elev. 5,541). Some of the mountains in this area range between 6,500 feet to one at 13,00 + feet. A spectacular view of the Fortymile River Valleys opened to us. It is a steep drop to the valley floor. Our elevation is providing us with a panoramic view of the lush valleys. We could see a wide river skirting the base of the mountains, while weaving in and out of vegetation and beautiful healthy looking trees. It looked so absolutely perfect. This area is being magnificently maintained and groomed by mother nature.

We drove into the Fortymile Mining District, which is the second oldest mining district in Alaska , yielding gold in 1886. We were at the end of the Fortymile River National Wild and Scenic River system and the responsibility of the Bureau of Land Management.

We finally reached Chicken. It took us about 2 hours to drive to this point. This small community of 30 to 50 people in the summer was once home to 700 gold miners. When the strike hit Dawson City in 1898, most of the miners went east to find their riches. Chicken itself is in a valley and if you sneeze, the turn off to downtown chicken will surely be missed. Downtown is nothing more than one very old multi-use building consisting of a homestyle restaurant, saloon, liquor store, one gas pump and a gift shop. Oh, I almost forgot ... and two outhouses.

Greg and Susan Wiren purchased the property nine years ago. The building was originally a hotel before the original owner bailed on the project. They live in Chicken with their children and make up half of Chicken's full time population. The Wiren's have their own airplane and fly to different destinations during the winter for a break.

 The little restaurant has baked goods to die for. Susan cooks the largest cinnamon rolls I have ever seen, big thick chocolate cookies, homemade pies, homemade muffins with 3 to 4 kinds of berries in each and serves meals as well. John and I think the cookies are some of the best we have ever tasted. The gift shop has a very nice selection of souvenirs. I bought a book called Tisha (AKA Anne Hobbs Purdy) that is a true story of a woman who moved from the lower 48 in 1927 at the age of 19 to teach in Chicken. She raised 14 children in this community. It should be an interesting story.

There is another store in Chicken called the Goldpanner (gift shop and snacks) owned by George and Ingrid Seuffert that have lived in Alaska for 30 years and have relied on gold mining for their livelihood. They provide guided tours from the store to the actual historic townsite.

Massive dredges were abandoned 30 years ago by the F.E. Gold Company and two can been seen from the Taylor Highway, along with parts of dredging equipment along the banks. There are active mines in operation and one of them is within view of the road.

The Canadian and US border check point is the most northern border crossing at an elevation of 4, 127 feet. The Canadian side is know as Little Gold Creek and the US side is called Poker Creek (pop. 2).  The Canadian side is paved for the most part with some badly worn sections and breaks in pavement. The US side is mostly gravel for about 80 miles with stretches of holes and dips to maneuver around. There are short stretches of satisfactory road on both sides. The road varies in width with some sections of the road being quite narrow. We only saw one short section of a guard rail and that was on the Canadian side.

As information, we are traveling on "The Top of The World Highway" located in both the US and Canada.  It is called this because from our elevation you can see mountain range after mountain range in a tight formation as far as the horizon. They become higher and higher to the point that the farthest look like they touch the sky. The sky is a vivid blue and two or three of the mountain ranges closest to the horizon have a beautiful blue cast to them. It is a pale soft blue that makes them look mystical and makes you wonder what is beyond. We are surrounded by mountains. There are so many mountains that the overwhelming majority have no name on any of the maps we have referred to. We know that we can see part of the Alaskan Range and the Ogilvie Mountain Range, but other than that we do not know their names. We have actually seen some maps and references in the Milepost magazine that refers to some mountains as "no name".  I have counted 6 to 13 mountain ranges to either side of us depending on our angle of view. What makes it even better is that none of the area is inhabited. It is a treasured land for our enjoyment and generations to come. A quiet place that makes you want to sit for a spell, take in the fresh air, to savor the view and to know how blessed we all are to have such a place to enjoy if only for a few hours. A photo just can't capture the vastness and intense beauty of this area.

About 45 miles from Dawson City (Canadian side) the paved road is badly worn in areas with pot holes and they are not all marked, so you really have pay attention to what is ahead of you.

As we came up the hill over looking Dawson City we could see the mighty Yukon River making its way through the valley region with impressive mountains rising on each side. It was a sight that you do not soon forget. As we made our decent into Dawson City, the Yukon River came into view surprising us with its swift current and how wide and powerful it appeared, almost like a fortress against the small city across the water. We pulled up to claim a place in line for the ferry crossing. We were later told that the current of the Yukon is running at 8 to 10 miles per hour. It reached 90 degrees today. What a scorcher.

We found a room at a new hotel, the Westmark, and left to walk around Dawson City.  It is much larger than we expected with some rather large homes at the back of the community up against the mountains. There are plenty of restaurants and shops.  There is a mixture of buildings from the early 1900's up to new construction, such as the school, library and museum. We ended up at  Diamond Tooth Gerties, which is a saloon and gambling establishment. We paid $6 to enter, did a little gambling (lost a few dollars), had a beer each that were named Gerties Golden Lager and Yukon Gold. Oh, they were good. Every night they put on a show that is free to the patrons and it was just great. There was singing, dancing (Can Can Girls), and audience participation, which was really funny. We had so much fun. People were there from all over the US and Europe.

The next morning we talked to a couple that came with a tour group that has camped in Young Harris, Georgia and said they loved that area and Blairsville. John talked to some people while we were waiting for the ferry to leave Sunday, July 9th, that said they were from Clarksville, Georgia. Everyone was having a wonderful time in Alaska and Yukon Territory. 

Of course we had the pleasure of the same breathtaking scenery reversing our route back to Tok. We stopped in Chicken and proceeded home.

It was a great trip and we hope to return. We are seriously thinking about taking the Dempster Highway from Dawson City to Inuvik, Northwest Territory during our next visit. We discussed this with an employee of the Northwest Territory Tourist Bureau and watched a video that featured travel aspects of the highway, the communities and provided testimonials from people traveling the road. It is close to a 500 mile drive. Another adventure to plan!

We have decided that we will not take our motor home on the road to Chicken and Dawson City via the Taylor Highway and the Top of the World Highway. The road was terrible in some areas and we think it would take us 8 hours or more to make the journey in the motor home that took us 5 hours in the Tracker. Most people in their RV's were driving far too fast, with little to no courtesy for the people on bikes much less fellow RV'rs. John and I have come to the conclusion that these people were either in rental units or in a rush to see all that they could in a limited amount of time. Either way they stand the chance of damaging their rigs or someone else's. Most of the construction truck drivers were courteous and without question the road crews were friendly and informative.

We made it back to Tok and started doing housekeeping in preparation for leaving this area.
We had lunch with our friends the Holders and in the evening we borrowed their son, Tommy, and went to the Burnt Paw Northern Specialties shop to play with 7 week old husky puppies. They also have sled dogs and each evening at 7:30 they give free dog sled demonstrations. The puppies were so soft and one was especially cuddly.

We left Tok on Tuesday morning for the Canadian border, which is only about 83 miles. From that point we will continue to Haines Junction where we will stay for the evening.  About 50 miles down the Alaskan Highway the road started to parallel the Tanana River. It is a beautiful morning slightly overcast with light breaking through the clouds placing highlights on the water and the hills bordering the river. The river looks calm with aspen and spruce trees visible all the way up to the base of the Mentasta Mountains. We can now see the Kalukna River in the distance snaking its way through the plains. The mountains can be best described as rounded, long and overlapping each other.

Gaining a little in elevation we can now se what looks like hundreds of ponds to the southwest separated by grass and low shrubs, which appear to continue until they meet the mountains. As we move forward the view of the ponds is blocked by very tall aspen, spruce trees, and willows that now cover low rolling hills. Directly before us we can see our winding route toward mountains with a much higher elevation, but low enough to be void of any remnants of winter snow. The are rounded and have a soft appearance and you can't help but wonder what type of wildlife might just exit their cover.

Occasionally there is a break in the trees to the southwest and we are given a glimpse of a large valley with a winding river and several lakes. It looks so peaceful and inviting. Thick growths of purple wildflowers border both sides of the road. The Chisana River has appeared to the southwest. We can still catch a glimpse of the Mentasta Mountains to the west and the Nutzoitin Mountains are coming into view from the south. A little over a mile from the border station we entered the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge, a 730,000 acre refuge of rolling hills, lakes and two glacial rivers that combine to form the Tanana River.

We reached the Canada Customs Station and were not detained. It is funny about the same time as John turned off the CB Radio I asked him to, fearing that Tommy, our 11 year old friend, might saying something about us being stopped. Well, he did. Much to his mom and dad's surprise he picked up the mike and said "don't get caught", which would might have caught the border patrols attention. We laughed about it. I guess we know Tommy by now.

After lunch we hit the road again and were treated to a clear view of the Wrangell Mountain Range. Some peaks in the range exceed 16,000 feet. When we were here about 6 weeks ago the mountains were practically covered with snow and ice. The majority of snow and ice has melted except for the tallest peaks. The absence of both reveal every crevice and rock formation of this truly massive mountain range. They are just as impressive as they were when we drove north.

We crossed the White River, a major tributary of the Yukon River, named for the white color caused by volcanic ash in the water. The river is must more robust and running faster than our earlier glance.

The Alaska Highway parallels the Kluane Range from Koidern, which we just passed, to Haines Junction, presenting an unbroken chain of mountains to 8,000 feet. To the west we can now see the Donjek River Valley and the Icefield Ranges of the St., Elias Mountains, which has the highest point in the Canada, Mt Logan (19,849), and is located within the Kluane National Park.

We entered the Kluane Wilderness Village which is nestled in the picturesque Kluane Mountains. Without a doubt this has to be one of the most magnificent mountain ranges in existence. It will take your breath away. A turnout and viewing platform provides viewing of Mt Kennedy, Mt Logan and Mt Lucania.

For about 20 miles north of the Kluane Wilderness Village the road is narrow and seems weak in structure making us believe that nature does not want this road here. We have been on such roads in other places making it obvious that there is a continuous struggle going on between progress and nature. Glacier Creek  and the Kulane River are east of the highway. The river is fast moving with piles of tree trunks deposited in places. A portion of the Kulane Icefields just came into view and it is an impressive sight. The Icefield Ranges are Canada's highest and the world's largest nonpolar alpine icefield. What a wondrous place this is.

We now approached one of the most spectacular places in the Yukon, Kluane Lake. As the lake comes into view you feel a need to become very quiet, so that you can try to take in the truly magnificent beauty of this aqua blue lake and the impressive snow capped Kluane mountains soaring to the west and the Ruby Mountain Range across the lake. We had the same feeling when we entered from the opposite direction. The roadway approaching this area and well beyond had an abundance of wildflowers in purple, lilac, white and yellow. John and I agreed that neither of us had ever seen so many wildflowers in one area.

We stayed the evening at the Kluane RV Park, which backed up to the Kluane Mountains. They actually looked very close. Wow, what a backdrop! It rained almost all night and we had the heat on. We think it was in the 30's.

On Wednesday, July 12th, we started our drive in 42 degree weather. A short distance from the park we noticed a fresh dusting of snow on the mountains and it was so pretty. We realized that we were not far from the fresh snow line. The wildflowers are abundant, as the day before. What a contrast, fresh snow and wildflowers. The highway is now paralleling the Dezadensh Range and the Ruby Range.

As we approached Whitehorse we saw a portion of  the beautiful Yukon River that flows through the city. The mountains before us are called the Big Salmon Range. Every mountain range has its own characteristics. If you look at an atlas of Alaska and one of the Yukon, you will immediately notice how the majority of each map indicates mountains.

We followed the Teslin River for miles before we actually entered the community of Teslin. It is a wide meandering river that is bordered by trees and shrubs right up to the river bank. It is a peaceful scene and your eyes want to follow it as long as possible.

The Alaska Highway winds through the Rancheria River Valley. This valley is a beautiful sight to behold. The "U" shape of the valley makes it obvious that it was shaped by a glacier, along with the many rocks that were deposited on the banks and far up into the trees. There are rivers and lakes mirroring lush foliage and  rugged mountains that mark their boundaries.

We stopped at Watson Lake (pop. 1,794) for the evening. We proceed to the Liard Hot Springs   on 7/13 to treat ourselves to a little pampering and to relax. Just before we arrived at the springs we passed through the Liard River Canyon. The Liard River runs quite fast and has three whirlpool areas called Whirlpool Rapids, Whirlpool Canyon and the Cranberry Rapids. There are class II and III rapids and a few of these are visible from the highway. The rough canyon walls expose colorful rugged rock formations complementing the threatening nature of the white water. We drove on and were given a glimpse of the Gitaga mountains rising to 6,000+ feet and the entrance to the springs not long after. We saw two black bear along side the road.
The last time we visited the springs it was chilly and this time it was quite warm resulting in a much shorter time in the very hot natural springs. While John enjoyed a second visit to the springs in the evening, I walked a little higher up the hill on a wooden trail that led me to the hanging flowers. This is an area where the hot springs leak through a hill spilling mineral deposits, which  form small ponds and create a fertile environment for algae, moss and wildflowers. It is hard to take your eyes away from it. It is quite a delicate area of growth and is protected by a fence. Listening to the trickle of water falling at many levels makes it a very soothing and peaceful place.
This is also where we met the attack squirrel. 

On July 14th we started driving toward Fort St John. Along the way we saw two more black bear, two caribou, one small "Bullwinkle", and we had to come to a full stop for 7 or 8 stone sheep in the road. We followed the Liard River early on. It is a fast moving white water river. It is reported that many early fur traders lost their lives negotiating waters of the Liard. It is quite treacherous when the melting of snow and ice is at its peak. We reached Muncho lake known for its deep green and blue waters. A record 50 pound lake trout has been caught here. The Sentinel Mountains are to the east and the Terminal Mountains are to the west. Both are rugged and dark with accents of copper oxide. The tallest peaks have sharp edges masked somewhat by lingering snow. The highway weaves in and out very close to the bank of this enormous lake requiring careful negotiating around sharp curves.

When we reached Fort St John we found out there was no room available at any campground from there through Dawson Creek, 47 miles away. They were mostly taken by caravans. The people running the campground that we stopped at made room for us in a picnic area. The host called a campground in Dawson Creek to secure two sites for the next two days for us and the Holders. The next morning we stopped at Freightliner and had the "D" lubed and the oil changed.
We washed it at a truck/RV wash and left for Dawson Creek. As we entered Dawson Creek we were thrilled to the fields of Canola in bloom. Canola is a very bright yellow and the fields are so large that some look like yellow lakes from a distance. The yellow looks even more intense next to the deep green fields scattered throughout the farms. Of course, the Canola plants are used to make canola oil.

We will stay at Dawson Creek July 15th and 16th and then leave on Highway 2  to head south.

Before I continue our log, I must say that our adventure through British Columbia, Yukon and Alaska has been a dream, a thrill, and a great joy. The people of these lands are friendly, happy, proud of their home and make you feel most welcome. As John said the other day "The drive alone was worth it". As Mardy Murie, senior woman of the wilderness movement, stated in her book titled "Two In The Far North" (Alaska & Arctic Region) ,   "Words can never tell the peace, the strength, the triumphant beauty of this land." I hope our log has given you some indication of how we feel about this great wilderness area.

We left Dawson Creek on July 17th, stayed one night at Whitecourt, Alberta with the Holders, stayed in south Calgary, Alberta, the 18th  and arrived in Great Falls, Montana the 19th. We crossed the US- Canadian border at Coutts and were once again stopped, but this time by our very own US customs. They asked if we had registered our shot guns before entering Canada and wanted the serial numbers. We did not know we were suppose to pre-register them at US customs. There was no indication of such a requirement in any of the material we had read in preparation. There were no serial numbers and once they found out they had been John's father's guns and were very old they let us continue on our way.

I do want to tell you that after about a month with 20+ hours of sunlight each day we missed the dark. You can't have a beautiful sunset unless it gets dark enough.

I hope our letters that turned into novels weren't too unbearably long. We have enjoyed sharing our wilderness adventures with you. I am going to take a pause at writing, so this will be the last verbose log for a while.