It seems like we are always one of the first RVs out of the park. It really paid off the morning we left Dawson City for Chicken, Alaska, where we had to cross the Yukon using the George Black Ferry to access the Top of the World Highway. This ferry service is a free service provided by the Yukon Highway and Public Works Department that runs 24 hours a day every day except for Friday mornings, where it is shut down for maintenance between 5 and 7 am. We were the third RV to cross following John and Carol and Mark and Nancy. We had disconnected the Jeep so I could drive it across. Even though we could get the RV on the ferry while towing the Jeep, we were told it was easier to get on an off the ferry separately. I drove the Jeep over on the trip before the Dirt Yacht, with Mark and Nancy so I was able to get some pictures of the RV as Randy made the trip. I could not replicate the 1967 photo of the van from the rear but I hope someone else that was waiting to cross took some pictures. This is the same exact ferry that Randy and his family took when they made this trip, however, the ferry has been improved with the addition of sides.
The ferry ride was a quick trip of about 7 minutes once we left the dock. When we hit the river’s current the ferry swung around and had to slowly make its way upstream against the current. The exit from the ferry is uneven and Randy bumped quite hard and bent the hitch plate slightly when disembarking; however, we made it to West Dawson and the start of the Top of the World Highway!
I saw where Mitch and Kate and Tom and Cait Morton made it on the next ferry but I found out later almost everyone else was delayed for several hours. After 7 am, I believe local businesses were given priority as the Dawson City Chamber of Commerce runs a commercial priority pass system that is probably the reason that most of our fellow travelers had to wait over 4 ½ hours before they could get on the ferry. Because we got out early, we made it to the border near their opening time of 9 am so we did not have to worry too much about on-coming traffic. We only passed a few cars right after getting off the ferry. And with the soft shoulders of this narrow and sometimes steep, dirt and gravel road, I was glad we didn’t have to worry about moving over for other large vehicles. We did not see very much wildlife on this road, except we did see a small herd of caribou right before the border.
We crossed the border at Poker Creek, Alaska, the most northerly land border port in the U.S; population 3 about 9:35 am. The border guard only asked us a few questions about fruits and vegetables, wood, weapons, and purchases in Canada before she waved us through. As soon as we crossed the border, we set our clocks back another hour making us 4 hours earlier than home! We will cross the border and change our clocks many times on this trip. The road near the border was wonderful for a few miles, but it wasn’t long before it was again a rough washboard—but slightly better than on the Canada side.
We stopped for the night in Chicken, Alaska, at the Chicken RV Park and Campground at Chicken Gold Camp. No services except for generated 20-amp power (which was not working for most of the evening) but a friendly place to stay. Chicken was settled in the late 19th century by gold miners and in 1902 the local post office was established requiring a name. The story is that the name chosen was ptarmigan for the population of birds in the area, but when the spelling could not be agreed on, Chicken was used. The post office is still in operation and open 2 days a week after the mail is flown in to the local airstrip.
Because we got there early in the day, we could do a few of the planned activities including panning for gold and touring the dredge. Previously called Dredge No. 4, the Chicken Dredge and the Pedro Dredge, the dredge is a (mostly) complete bucket line gold dredge open to the public.
The dredge was built by the Yuba Manufacturing Company in California and was shipped to Pedro Creek north of Fairbanks in 1938 where it was assembled and operated until 1958. It was disassembled the following year where it was trucked to Chicken, Alaska, where it was reassembled on lower Chicken creek. The dredge worked Chicken Creek approximately 5 months every year where the small 3-cubic foot dredge (measurement of the bucket capacity) mined over 55,000 ounces of gold in the 8 years on the Chicken Creek. That’s over $70 Million in gold at modern prices. The dredge worked until October 1967 when it was shut down. The fixed gold standard that kept the gold price at $35 per ounce hindered gold mining. The dredge set idle until 1998 when the million-pound dredge was moved to the Chicken Gold Camp. The dredge was moved in one piece and took two weeks to move.
Mike Busby, the owner of the mining camp, took us on an informative tour of the dredge and gave us an in-depth glimpse of its history. When asked why it was purchased, he told us it was so the history of the dredge and mining operation could be maintained for future generations to enjoy. He did not tell us exactly how much he paid for the dredge, only that it was more expensive to have it moved in one piece than it was to buy it! The dredge is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
After our short lesson on panning for gold, we found out how difficult it really is to pan for gold. We were both very careful and timid on our first couple of pans, but quickly found out we would find the same few specks whether we took our time or quickly swirled the clay mud and gravel out of the pan. The most difficult part was separating the tiny specks of gold out of the black sand and getting it into the bottle we were given to store the gold. After 2 hours we had a VERY tiny amount.
After the rest of the caravan arrived, we had a shared dinner of salad and gumbo. Many of them arrived late because of the delay on the ferry. The campground hosts provided us with blueberry pie with ice cream for dessert and gifts for winners of their trivia game. I would have won first prize if I had stuck with my answer of 70 below zero as the coldest temp in Chicken. But I went with Randy’s answer. Randy did win a book, “Tisha” about the life of a young teacher in the Alaska wilderness. I know I will enjoy it! With no TV, internet or cell phone, it was an early night! That was fine for me as the stress of the road getting to Chicken had taken a toll on me.
