Chicken to Dawson City
August 15, 2023
In our original plans, our stop in Chicken was on the way to Alaska in June. Our timing would have coincided with “Chickenstock,” a music festival where hundreds if not thousands of people converge on the town of Chicken, whose average population is 12. It sounds like a hoot, but with the tickets having sold out almost instantaneously in January, we scheduled to come on our way out of Alaska instead. This is Chicken, and I’m not sure where all those people stayed.
We toured the Pedro Dredge with Simon, who was very informative.
The dredge was moved here from a mile away in 1998, restored for tours by 2005, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
After the tour, Larry had the best time panning for gold and stayed at the stand-up troughs for several hours. I even purchased a gold pan and sniffer bottle to make it easier for him.
We boondocked that night in Chicken just beside the restaurant, which was super convenient for being first in line to buy a colossal cinnamon roll the following morning!
Larry needed the fuel for the hours and hours and hours he spent later at the Jack Wade public gold panning area.
We only left when the rain became more serious, chasing a cow moose down the road on our way to Top of the World Highway.
We found a boondocking spot with epic panoramic views on the spur to Eagle- the kind of camping spot whose beauty and wildness are permanently etched into your memory.
The next day was Sunday, August 13, and we drove the Top of the World highway to Dawson City. The name is appropriate as the road has stunning scenery and incredible views.
We crossed into Canada at Poker Creek-Little Gold border crossing, and for such a lovely place, the border agent was grumpy. We were sad to leave Alaska, too!
From there, the weather in Canada deteriorated to match his mood, with rain making the roads slick and muddy. We crossed the Yukon River into Dawson City on the free George Black ferry, and our first stop after arriving was to find a spot to wash the rig!
Looking all fresh and clean, we parked on Main Street to make several Parks Canada tour reservations at the visitors’ center.
Gold Rush Campground is located right in town and was a very convenient place to stay, as Dawson City is a very walkable town! After checking into the campground, we returned to the Visitor Center for a downtown walking tour. Our guide, James, gave us a good overview of town history and peeks behind the scenes in some buildings.
The following day, we joined Lucy for a guided tour of the SS Keno. The Keno is smaller than the Klondike in Whitehorse and meant to haul silver ore from the Mayo mines instead of passengers. It is a remarkably well-preserved memory from a vanished era, and we enjoyed Parks Canada’s access.
Afterward, we walked uphill to visit the Jack London cabin and then the Robert Service cabin, where Fred presented a program reciting many of Robert Service’s famous poems.
We had some time to relax before going to Diamond Tooth Gertie’s that night for a show based on Dawson City history.
Of course, no visit to Dawson City is complete without a trip to the Sourdough Saloon for the “Sour Toe Cocktail.” Drink it fast or drink it slow; your lips must touch the toe—there are substantial penalties if you damage the wax-encased frost-bitten toe in any way!
Dawson City is a quirky town that grows on you, and we enjoyed our short stay there. As we left, we drove uphill to the Midnight Dome, where sweeping views of the city allow you to see where the Yukon and Klondike rivers meet, the colors being different until the waters mixed downstream.
The Dredge #4 National Historic Site just outside town was one of the best we’ve been to, probably because of our tour guide, Sue. Sue is a small, wiry, and knowledgeable local miner who explained that Dredge 4 was underwater when mining ceased, so the lower levels remained intact and unsalvaged. The Canadian Army raised the dredge and restored it for the park, making it a wonder to behold. It is undoubtedly the largest dredge we have been on!
Ah, but the best part is Claim #6, just down the road on Bonanza Creek, where you can pan for gold at no charge!! So Larry scoped out a spot on the creek and bought a three-legged stool for $10 Canadian from a fellow gold fever-stricken German tourist, which allowed him to pan for probably six hours.
He found color in every pan, so how could he stop? We ended up boondocking there overnight next to several old trommels.
What a wonderful place to wake up and imagine all the crazy events and people this little creek has seen.
After a long 8-hour drive that next day, we landed at a spacious, peaceful boondocking spot hidden across from the rest area on the Klondike Highway @298 km that talks about conglomerates.
We spent a rainy night with no neighbors, two or four-legged, though a scant mile or two down the road the following day, we spied an enormous grizzly scampering away into the woods, so—who knows?