Day 19

Day 19 - Tok, AK to Chicken, AK and
back to Tok
Miles today - 162
Total miles - 6320

Today we rode down the Taylor Hwy to Chicken, Alaska. It is a little town that was born during the Gold Rush. There is still mining there today. Here you see downtown Chicken - all three stores. The story goes that Chicken got its name because the miners wanted to name it Ptarmigan, but didn't know how to spell it - so they chose Chicken, the common northern name for Ptarmigan.




Always wanted to ride a Chicken Sled!



We enjoyed a good burger and homemade pie - the thing the cafe is famous for.

Don't get too close!!!

This antique gold dredge is across the road from downtown.

We wanted to go over the Top of the World Highway, which is a very scenic dirt road and leads to Dawson City. Once again we had to change our plans. The Forty Mile River had flooded five days before we arrived. It washed out the road in four places. The locals said this was the first time in over 30 years that this has happened. Several people had to be rescued by helicopter and one man even died when his truck was washed off the road. So.. we had to go to plan B. We returned to Tok and plan to go to Dawson City the long way - from Tok, it would have been 187 miles to Dawson over the Top of the World Hwy. By asphalt, the long way is about 733 miles. Because of lots of construction, it will take us a couple of days.

We got back to Tok and here we are chillin' and having Happy Hour in front of our little cabin. We're sad that this will be our last night in Alaska!