At 2.30 in the morning, the alarm blew my head off, and I rushed outside to see the Northern Lights. It was pitch black dark, the sky full of stars, and nothing else. No Aurora Borealis, no nothing. So, back to bed.
Which reminds me, while we were at the Dawson City visitors center yesterday, we were told that some people come in and ask what time the Northern Lights get switched on, and others ask which side of the river they have to get on the ferry.
Alaska! We could not stay away, we had to go back to Alaska!
We got on the ferry on the proper side this morning, sailed across the mighty Yukon River, fighting the raging current, the rapids, the wild winds whipping all around us, and the savage Indians firing arrows from the hillsides above.
Actually, none of that really happened, it is a five minute gentle float across to the opposite bank.
Then, 108 miles to Chicken, Alaska.
Marlipops drove all the way, the journey taking about 4 hours. The road is partially paved, and partially not paved. The not paved bits on the Canadian side are loose gravel, but pretty smooth and relatively easy going. Once you cross the border, the northernmost U.S. border crossing by the way, the road becomes very rough packed dirt, with pot holes and ruts and lots of twisty turny sections. We went round one hairpin bend and down to our left was the remnants of what happens to a motor coach when you don’t pay attention. See pix. This accident happened yesterday, thankfully no one was hurt.
Although the road was a bit of a slog, the scenery and views were worth it.
This road, which is closed from September to May, is known as The Top Of The World Highway, for excellent reasons.
We have mentioned before the awesome majesty of Alaska’s mountains, especially when driving through and between them. Well, this was as good, and the mountains just as beautiful, but we were on top of most of them, not between them. The road winds along the old miners trail from100 plus years ago, with drop offs on both sides, of hundreds of feet. The views go on for miles and miles, virgin forests and rolling hills, with snow capped mountains in the far distance. Also, there are lots of valleys, with rivers at the bottom, full of gold!!!
We were above the tree line in a lot of places, that’s how high up this road is.
We finally got to Chicken in time for lunchish, and soup of the day was chicken!
So we had a hamburger! It was an actual hamburger, a regular beefburger, with a big slice of ham on top. Delish.
The real downtown Chicken comprises 3 buildings, and the most incredible toilets.
In this part of the world all public restrooms are just a hole in the floor, with a commode above. All of them have been super clean, and this one in Chicken was no different, except when you looked in the hole, you could see daylight at the bottom!
We did NOT investigate any further.
We met Tucker, the three legged dog. He lost a fight with a GMC truck.
There is a massive old dredge, currently being restored, from about 100 years ago, which was used to pick up trillions of tons of river bed, in search of gold. Now it is home to a bunch of swallows, or swifts or some bird that makes mud type nest things.
Then, the return journey with the captain at the helm, going slower than Speedypops, and almost falling asleep, so her ladyship took over driving duty and we got home faster than a speeding bullet, after once more braving the mighty Yukon!!
Wildlife watch was some squirrels, and the coyote Marlipops thinks she saw.
