This is Gertie…she could really belt out a song. When her ex-beau joined in I could tell that Beth wanted to join in, but we restrained her.
Gertie’s “girls doing the can-can. After the show we walked around the casino watching the gamblers, then kept our money and went home to bed. I’m sure it wouldn’t have happened that way if Sparkle had been there with Beth.
In the morning, Carol and I toured the author’s cabins:
Robert Service, the bard who wrote “The Cremation of Sam McGee” among others:
And Jack London’s cabin….actually half of it. The other half was reconstructed in his home town in CA.
Then we boarded the ferry across the Yukon River to travel the “Top of the World” Highway to Alaska. We didn’t both fit on the same ferry, so Beth went first. You can see her rig exiting on the other side.
Then off we go in a cloud of dust…this road is all gravel.
A rest stop for the weary traveler along this lonely road.
The northernmost boarder crossing into the US.
And into Alaska.
View from up there.
The road follows along the mountain tops.
The first town you come to, if you can call it that, is Boundary.
This is a wide shot of the whole thing. Note the gas pumps.
A tire service business ought to do well here, with RVs just coming over that highway.
This truck’s in need of service. Looks like it’s been waiting awhile.
They must not have known we were coming…no one was there.
So on we go, down that dusty road again, following the mountain ridges.
Until we finally descend into the town of Chicken.
There were people in Chicken, a few at least, and we got to camp free after filling up with gas. Many of you know I’m sure how Chicken got its name…the residents wanted to name the town for Alaska’s state bird, the ptarmigan, but no one could pronounce it. So, deciding the ptarmigan looked something like a chicken…
In the morning, it was on to Tok, where we parted from Beth. She lingered in Tok to stay at a recommended RV park, while we went on toward Fairbanks to see about getting my generator fixed.
This is one reason I came back to Alaska. To camp out in the wild open places….like this gravel riverbed with a view of snow covered mountains.
The first thing to do was to put Carol to work collecting rocks…
To build a fire ring.
Then I let her rest awhile to enjoy the view before I sent her down by the river after driftwood for the fire.
After I built the fire, she had to cook her own dinner too!
A campfire always means marshmallows for dessert.
Clouds and sprinkles sent us inside early…at least it seemed early. Hard to tell because it doesn’t ever get dark.
In the morning there were raindrops on roses…isn’t that a song from The Sound of Music?
And a munching morning moose…
On the road again, we stopped to overlook the Tanana River as it braids its way toward Fairbanks.
And visited this burly gift shop with caribou and other animals made from burl logs.
And of course we had to stop at North Pole where it’s Christmas all year long.
Alas, Santa wasn’t in his shop today.
Carol and I are now in Fairbanks where we’ll tour around the next few days. I have an appointment for the generator on Tuesday, and also want to get an oil change while here.
You might want to have that air filter checked too with all that dust. You ladies are such an inspiration. Keep 'em coming!
