July 22-24, 2008 -- Top of the World Hwy & Dawson City, Canada

Today we venture out and off the Alaskan Highway to take the Top of the World Highway to Dawson City.  We knew when we started that part of the road would be gravel, and it was recommended that the motorcyclists watch the weather conditions.  Weather report -- "cloudy, warmer, no rain expected".

As advertised, the weather was nice and there were spectacular views and beautiful scenery.  We knew from the information we had received that there would be approximately 26 miles of gravel between the town of Chicken (more later) and the border.  To no surprise, when we arrived at Chicken, the rain also began to fall.  We had already come this far, and thought we knew we should have pavement on the other side of the border when we reached Canada.

We stopped for lunch in Chicken.  This was an original gold mining area and at one point consideration was given to making it the capital of Alaska.  The original name was to be Ptarmigan (but no one knew how to spell it, so they changed the name to Chicken).  While in Chicken (of all places), we met up with the couple that had the Honda when we began our journey on the ferry.  The main part of town consists of a cafe, bar (now closed because the owners are divorced and he left town), gift shop, and outhouse.

The rain continued as we headed for the Canadian border.  The road separates outside of Chicken (photo above) and the northern route continues on to Eagle.  The other goes to Dawson City.  The information that we had regarding the road on the other side of the border was also incorrect!  The Canadian Highway Department had decided to redo the road between the Canadian border and Dawson City.  So instead of 26 miles of gravel; we had closed to 80.  The best way to describe the ride is going over Trail Ridge in the mud.  However, the drop offs were more like Mt. Evans.  (Bev was glad she had practice on both of these roads before heading to Alaska.)  There were signs along the roadway that said "gravel breaks"; but, because of the length of construction, it was more like "pavement breaks" were which few and far between.  The road was described by many of the bikers that it was more like "peanut butter" mud.  Ed did a great "save" -- we slid along for a while.  Thanks to his dirt biking experience, he was able to keep the motorcycle upright.  He did twist his knee doing ot, so we needed to stay in Dawson City an extra day so he could keep it on ice.  He was complimented by the other cyclists for taking a motorcycle as heavy as the Gold Wing across that type of road.

We crossed the Yukon River on ferry -- so guess you can say we have made the trek from Skagway to Dawson City the same as the sourdoughs (prospectors) did back during the Gold Rush. 

They even have a drink called the Sourtoe Cocktail. Supposedly, it is a toe that they keep preserved and they put it into a shot glass and it has to touch the lips for you to get a certificate. Bev told Ed she would do it as a reward for him keeping them safe over the last leg of the journey.





Bev toured the town between loads of laundry the next day while Ed rested his knee.  We went to Gertie's Dancehall and Salon to see a show and do some gambling.  It was surprising how difficult it was to get used to the short nighttime (see photo of motorcycle above).  Also, while in Dawson we reconnected with Jack London and Robert Service (Canadian poet).  They both had been in Skagway before departing to the gold fields in this area.

Leaving Dawson City, the road to Whitehorse was mostly construction, and it rained most of the day while we were in Dawson; so we were extra glad that we had waited out the time before heading south.  One gal said they were still waiting for summer -- the last time they had seen the sun was Memorial Day.  Another guy along the way had told Ed that summer was last month, and they were now having fall weather.  Other than the weather not being as expected, the scenery was beautiful.  We really only had one cold day on the road (which was today), and the rain hadn't been difficult to drive through unless they had construction on the road.  We stayed in Whitehorse.