The route from Tetlin Junction through Chicken, AK, to Dawson City, YT was 168 miles. We expected about 40 miles to be packed earth and gravel. What we got was dust and dirt for over 100. miles. Chicken is a very quirky community. The post office is up the hill off the main road to the left beside the landing strip. All the mail if flown out on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The rest of the town is in three different driveways. There are two RV parks, two restaurants, three stores, two gas stations, a bar, a mining operation, a barbershop open only on Saturdays, and 21 residents who have to leave around October 1 and can come back after April 1.
The Top of the World Highway over the border into Dawson City has outstandingly fantastic views. You feel like you're on the top of the world. You can see mountain range after mountain range for miles and miles.
Just before Dawson, the road ends in a steep downgrade to a small ferry. It's a short ride over the Yukon River to town. I was expecting something different in Dawson - they are working on being a frontier town - I think I was expecting a more gold rush era look to everything (and maybe I got what I wanted except not what I thought the gold rush era was really like!). The show at Diamond Tooth Gertie's was not the 1890's vaudeville they are advertising. It was 30 minutes of songs from the era, one can can, and the rest was more like a modern Broadway musical and with modern costumes without any story line.
When we got into town and were setting up in the RV park, we discovered about a bucket of dirt all over the bed, the drawers of the closets, and carpet. It got into the oven, and the shower. Some how the seal or screws holding a panel on got loose and that was enough to let in massive amounts of dust. I don't think we will ever get it all out. All our clothes and the bedding had to be washed, then we needed to be washed, and all the upholstery pieces, including the window cornices, had to be vacuumed. I can still smell it and I tasted it in my dinner. All the pots and skillets had to be washed.
AND the cell phone died again. I've taken the batter out three times and putting it back in. It still won't work. No service in Canada, but I thought it would still show me the time and the amount of batter life left.
