Chicken and Top of the World Highway

On Thursday, August 12, we drove from Tok up the Taylor Highway to Chicken after a last-minute decision to see if the road out of Chicken to the Top of the World Highway would really allow a convoy of vehicles through the next day. This time, though, we had a beautiful sunny day with bright blue skies instead of the clouds and occasional rain of our first trip. It was a beautiful drive!

Some of the landscape with the Alaska Range visible in the distance, which we couldn't see at all on our first trip.

Chicken was buzzing with activity, with road crews coming in to continue rebuilding the washed-away road. They had made enough temporary repairs to allow one-lane convoys of vehicles through twice a day, but work will continue on the road for months. They're trying to prevent another wash-out.

One of the pieces of equipment that pulled in just after we did. Of course Ernie loved all the construction stuff going on and had lots of chats with guys who work there.

After trying our hand at panning for gold and just hanging out in Chicken, we spent the night camped there, along with work crews from the road work and other tourists waiting to get on the highway. The next morning we got in line about 7:40 to take our place in the convoy heading to the Top of the World Highway. The convoy was scheduled to leave at 8:00, led by a pilot truck, but they actually left about 5 minutes before 8:00. Good thing we were ready! There were probably a total of 30 or more vehicles in the convoy.

A view of Chicken Creek from the hill above Chicken, heading out of town

The last of the convoy headed to where the pilot truck turned us loose--you can see part of the road we traveled in the distance. The drive was very dusty because most of the road was dirt, and that many vehicles on a dirt road generates lots of dust!!

The Boundary Spur Road, the road that leads from the Taylor Highway (the Taylor Highway heads on north to Eagle, but that road was closed also due to severe rock slides) to the Top of the World Highway, which begins at the border in the Yukon, Canada. Beautiful views!

Back in Canada again--but we'll return to Alaska later in the week!

Some views from the Top of the World Highway--appropriate name for it!!

Ernie and I standing by the Top of the World Highway Informational sign

Some more views--pretty awesome! We're so glad we made that last-minute decision to try it--definitely worth it!!

The town of Dawson City, Yukon, where the highway ends--an old gold-mining town

On the bank of the Yukon River, where the road ends. The only way to get into Dawson City from the Top of the World Highway is the ferry. We had to wait a short time to board the ferry, but not too bad.

The ferry taking the group before us

We spent a fun afternoon in Dawson City, eating lunch at Sourdough Joe's and investigating the town and all the little shops. I almost felt as if we'd stepped back in time about a hundred years or so! We spent the night at the edge of Dawson City before driving on to Haines Junction the next day.