7/29/2014 All Things Chicken

Did you ever play "chicken"? eat chicken? (silly question)

Did you ever visit "Chicken"--in Alaska?

We did, today.

There's a special reason it is named "Chicken"  The original settlers (gold miners) wanted to call it "Ptarmigan", a plentiful local bird that filled many a pot.  But....the settlers couldn't spell "Ptarmigan"....it became Chicken.  Truth.

Chicken is 78 miles from Tok, 100 miles from Dawson City, 278 miles from Fairbanks.

Winter population is either 3 or 6, depends on whom you ask.  Summer numbers soar to 30-50.
Snow plows don't run in winter--until April.  Low temperatures may reach 80-85 BELOW zero.

The mail comes by plane every Tuesday and Friday.  But, the postmistress works five days a week, all year--we asked her. 

The residents of Chicken have done a marvelous job of capitalizing on their name.

 Look closely at the name of the building.

Compare the trees to these.  They are huge.

Gold Dredge

 It's not "Woodstock", it is "Chickenstock".  This summer there were eight bands and 450 people.

Wild blueberries growing close to the ground in the forest.  We picked enough for blueberry pancakes.  

Employees from The Milepost were in Chicken looking for new businesses, checking on mileage,  anything that should be in or removed from The Milepost.


Each major highway has numbered markers mile-by-mile.  The Milepos is a book  that has 782 pages that highlight each mile marker with suggestions to stop and why; it highlights all of the villages,cities with pertinent information.  Most visiting travelers use The Milepost as they travel.                                                               

7/28/2014 Travel Day: Fairbanks to Tok (Tok (rhymes with oak) RV Village, Tok, AK)

We have started the southbound sojourn.  We traveled about 200 miles to Tok.  Does that name sound familar?

One has to travel through Tok going north and south.  We have been here before.

Today's journey is a desolate area.  There were trees, always lots of trees, a few rivers, but no cabins/houses built alongside the road or back in the trees or on the sides of the mountains.  

The lone stop was Delta Junction, the northern end of the 1422-mile long ALCAN Highway.  The Visitors' Center was interesting.  We stopped there for lunch.

"We" means Jim and Dee and Gayla and Glen.  The Framily Caravan has split as of this morning.  

Gary and Evelyn need to be in Missouri by August 11.  This Thursday, July 31, they are boarding the Alaskan Marine Highway Ferry  at Haines, Alaska for a 40-hour ride to Prince Rupert, BC..  Jeff and Marcella are travelling with them to Haines, but will not ride the ferry.  From there they will travel farther south in their RV.  

All spots were filled for the Haines' ferry when we called this morning to see about boarding the ferry.  The next available slots were for Thursday, August 7.  Both Jim/Dee and us will get on the ferry at that time, going to Prince Rupert, BC.  

Here's some pictures from the stop at the Visitors' Center in Delta Junction.

 Glen hears the mosquito saying "I vant your blood."

 See, the mosquito is big enough to be the state bird.

 Gayla: in fear of her life.

Glen and Gayla at the northern end of the ALCAN highway, 1422 miles from Dawson Creek.

Roadhouses were built "a day's travel apart". Sullivan's was built in 1905. 

 Sullivan Roadhouse was disassembled, carried log by log by a helicopter to to this location, and reassembled.  It is on the National Historic Registry.  The original roof was replaced with a metal roof.

 Flowers around the roadhouse.  Tuberous begonia.

 Ice plant -or- Livingston Daisy, per info from a volunteer at the roadhouse.

 Decorative kale.

 This color is so vibrant and bold.

7/27/2014 Truly a Day of Rest

This is the last day and night in Fairbanks.  The days have passed by swiftly.  

We haven't yet decided where we are headed when we leave here in the morning.  There have been many discussions on possibilities.  

At nine o'clock Monday morning (because that is when the office opens.  They are closed today.)  we are checking with the Alaskan Ferry System to check on possibilities of traveling on the ferry part of the way back to the lower 48.  The answers from them will determine our route. At this point Jim and Dee will be traveling with us.  If it doesn't work out to get on the ferry, then we will leave with the rest of the gang.  Stay tuned to see where in the world we will be.

Gary and Evelyn are leaving to the south east, heading toward Tok, then Haines.  They are boarding the ferry at Haines and riding to Prince Rupert , British Columbia, then making a beeline toward their home.

Jeff and Marcella are traveling part of the way with Gary and Evelyn.  They are not going on the ferry.  We will probably meet up with them again at some point. 

Even though it has only been in the 50's and mostly cloudy, we have enjoyed being outdoors in our loungers, visiting with everyone.  There was a music session. 

Jeff and Jim cooked halibut for everyone.  The rest of us furnished side dishes  The halibut was excellent, and the rest delicious.  You could say it was the "last supper".  lol

It is going to be sad in the morning to see the Framily Caravan split into two directions (maybe).

7/26/2014 Destination: the Arctic Circle; the adventure of a lifetime. (lots of photos)

An adventure? maybe.  It was only a van ride; but what a ride.

Two hundred miles north of Fairbanks.
One hundred of those miles are not paved.
Those not paved are dirt, not gravel; muddy when raining, with soft, crumbly margins as Mike, the driver, called the edges of the road.  
The dirt section is barely more than one lane in lots of places.
It's called the Dalton Highway. It's originally the "Haul Road", built to serve the construction trucks/workers/builders of the Alyeska--the Alaska Pipeline.

Not much wildlife: a mother moose and her calf, and several ravens.
Lots and lots of trees.
The Mighty Yukon River was crossed.  

The TAPS...Trans Alaska Pipeline System, parallels the Dalton Highway, both underground and above ground.

Destination reached.  The ARCTIC CIRCLE.
The fartherest north we will ever be.  

Look at the pictures.  We think we had an adventure, much more than a van ride.  I hope you agree.

 The gang of eight: Jeff, Marcella, Gary, Evelyn, Gayla, Glen, Dee, Jim

 One of the trucks that regularly run the Dalton "Highway"--96 feet long.

 It can be dusty.

 The skies can be beautiful.

 Typical of the dry, dusty surface.

 The bridge over the Mighty Yukon.  The pipeline is behind the metal grate along the side of the bridge.

 In front of the river: Glen, Gayla, Gary, Evelyn, Marcella, Jeff

 The fireweed has bloomed all to the top.  Local folklore says just six more weeks 'til winter.

 The ink pen shows size perspective.

Mother moose and calf.

 Typical: road on the left; pipeline on the right.  If there is permafrost present, then the pipeline is above ground.

 Around Finger Mountain.

 Finger Mountain.

Gayla and Glen...at the Arctic Circle. 

 Not everyone gets to celebrate a birthday at the Arctic Circle, but Dee did.

 This is the tour company we hired.

 After the rain, the rainbow.

 Yes, more rain. and more mud.

Going both north and south on the Dalton Highway we passed this gentleman walking and pulling this "trailer.  Why? good question.  Where is he going?  Wouldn't we like to know the answers.

Mike, our driver and narrator.  He is a college graduate.  After graduation he walked the Appalacian Trail north to south in three months; he is a certified white water rafter, an EMT.  He often works 80-90 hours per week.  He is quite a young man.

7/25/2014 The Rest of the Day

I was right.  The rest of Friday has been routine, mundane, unexciting!

We drove to a wildlife refuge on the edge of Fairbanks.  It is the wrong time of year for a variety of birds to be there.  We did see 18 sand hill cranes and two lesser yellowlegs, violet-green and tree swallows..  This is not of interest to our non-birding friends.

There was also a summer camp taking place around the visitor's center.  There was no chance of seeing anything there.

Myrna: no crossbills of any color!  There is talk everywhere regarding the colder and wetter than usual summer.  

The next stop was at Fred Meyers.  Think of a cross between Walmart and Penney's.  The chain is owned by Kroger.  We finally are convinced the refrigerator is going to stay working, and bought some groceries.  Remember everything had been tossed.

Dinner tonight was at "The Loose Moose".  It features burgers of exotic meats:  buffalo, reindeer, and moose.  These exotic meats are very lean so either beef or pork is added for moisture.  Our buffalo mushroom and Swiss burger was delicious. We split the 1/2 pound burger.

Morning will come quickly as we are to be at the office of the RV park at 6:45 a.m. to be picked up for an all day adventure.  

7/25/2014 Two For One (Warning: a long entry with photos)

Two for one...a couple of meanings.

+Two entries,  since it was too late to blog last night after I downloaded 60 pictures.

+A coupon book we have used several times throughout the trip.  One pays one adult fee and the other is free.  A great deal.

It was a busy day yesterday with two tours.  Details in a minute.  Chefs Gary and Evelyn had prepared delicious meat loaf for all the gang with baked sweet potatoes and a salad furnished by Marcella.  After dinner conversation was witty and fun

Our Thursday morning tour on a bus owned by this RV park.  We were introduced to several locations in the city, especially downtown, a stop at the Pipeline, and ended at the University of Alaska Museum of the North.

The flowers all over Alaska are beautiful. 

This quilt is on display in the Fairbanks Visitor's Center.  It represents the multi-arms of the rivers in Alaska.

 This is the front and back of a statue in Golden Heart Park that represents the First Family of all the Native Americans in Alaska.  This the Father, child, and dog.

 This is the mother with child.

This Catholic church was moved in the dead of winter across the frozen river on log rollers to its present location.  The driver called it the "first holy roller church." 

More flowers.  I can't identify these.

 A map with the location of the pipeline.

Glen and Gayla. 

 Darn! I wanted to play on this four-foot plus insulation pipe which is several feet off the ground.

This is a modern day "pig", a device to clean out the pipeline.

 Our transportation for the day.

 Where we are going next.

 Handmade fish traps.  The natives used willow twigs, bark, and roots to make the traps.  

How about some gold!  

Two of my favorite things: bead work and baskets.

Thursday afternoon: a trip down the Chena River on Discovery III, a stern-wheeler paddle boat.  Enjoy the ride.

Our afternoon transportation.

 A float plane landed and took off right beside the paddle boat.

 There are no zoning laws in Fairbanks or surrounding area.  Land sells for $100,000 per acre and building costs are $170 per square foot.  Home styles ranged from traditional and beyond.

This is an unusual home style.

 The Ididatoid dogsled race is over a thousand miles.  Susan Butcher won the race four times in the 1980's.  She died of leukemia in 2006.  There are her kennels now run by her husband Dave Munson.  This is the nicest of all kennels we have seen.  Her husband is front left.

 Young dogs in training.

 The kennels seemed to be made of a composite material.  The dogs are Alaskan huskies.

The dogs cool off in the river after pulling Dave Munson and a four-wheeler around the property.

 Another stop on the river.  Domesticated reindeer.

 We stopped at a replica fish camp.  This is a Univ of Alaska student modeling traditional wear.

 Isn't is more beautiful with the hood in place.

 The back is as pretty as the front.

 Chum salmon in the smokehouse.  This is not a chosen salmon for people.  It is also known as "dog salmon" because it fed to the dogs.  It is a major part of the winter diet.

The garden at the fish camp.

There is nothing scheduled for today (Friday).  
As soon as I start moving, we are going to the grocery store.  Did I mention the refrigerator is working?  YES!  We were impatient and wanted the cooling process to be fast.  It was cold yesterday morning, temperature just where it is supposed to be.  Hurray.

We are going to drive to a marshy, water filled area to see if there are any waterfowl, moose.

There's a bowl factory we may stop at.  The bowls are made of aspen.  

We shall see.  Have a great day.