Chicken here we come…from the back door

May 30
I am very disappointed that we didn’t go to Dawson City and the Top of the World Highway, it was one of the things that was on my bucket list. We heard that the border didn’t open until June 1. I tried to explain to my travel partner that we could slow our trip to Dawson City and be there by June 1. He wasn’t having any of that….didn’t want to wait and was worried about that wear and tear on his truck and camper. Since it’s his vehicle and he’s the driver, I backed down on the idea. Instead we drove the Alaska highway last Haines Junction to Beaver Creek. I will be. Ack to do this trip again…..my way! The way I like to travel….. I had hoped that by travelling with someone who had the same bucket list as me would be good. But it’s not!

It was very uneventful trip as I was deep in thought most of the trip….I was going to do this trip again, at how disappointed I was….

Haines junction is the gateway to Kluane National Park and Reserve. Beautiful mountains!

Tried to find a good place to go dip it wasn’t to be! Kluane Lake still had snow and ice!

We stopped at the Kluane Museum of History in Burwash Landing. Burwash Landing is one of the oldest settlements in the Yukon. The museum had wildlife exhibits and display of Native clothing, tools and weapons. We really enjoyed it!

Animal count today: 4 wild horses, I Elk, and one brown/black bear!

Todays drive 322 km (200 miles)

May 31
Wheels up at 8:30 this morning. Didn’t have too far to go to cross the Alcan Alaskan Border.

Alaskan time is one hour behind BC time

We stopped at the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters and met a wonderful lady that worked there. She told us the village she lives in, told us about fishing and how to get a fishing license.

A few kilometres down the highway we noticed the temperature at 0c then it started to snow…

And snow….

And snow….

We talked about heading to Chicken for the day. If we had gone to Dawson City, Chicken would have been one of the towns we would have passed. But with the snow we were hesitant as we heard the road to Chicken was not in good condition. However as we approached the junction, the snow seemed to slow so we decided to go for it!

As we turned into the highway we saw two people hitchhiking. Feeling sorry for them standing in the snow with their big packs we stopped to pick them up. They were from Switzerland. NIck and Yana both 25 years old, been travelling for a year now. They were on their way to Eagle. Eagle was a community of miners that took up residence in 1898. At one point, it’s said, the population dipped to 9 residents, 7 of whom served on city council. The drive to Eagle from Chicken will take you 3 hours on a highway that is unpacked, dusty, full of turns and potholes. There are no buses, the only way in is by car in the summer or snowmobiles or dog sled in the winter.

The snow started coming down heavier and the roads were awful but we kept going because these two needed to get to Eagle.

Chicken, a place to buy gas, a gift shop, a few business selling coffee and beer. Allegedly, the name of the town originated at a meeting of resident miners in the late 1800s. The men voted to name their new tent-city “Ptarmigan” since that chicken-like bird was was rampant in the area. However no one could spell it. So they called it Chicken.

We didn’t see any animals today, I think it’s because of the weather.
Travelled 389 km (242 miles) today.