6/19 to 6/20
We will head into Alaska this morning. We started out on gravel for the first 4-5 miles then changed to black top which is in very bad condition. We are having to moving slowly. We are seeing damage on the highway done by the permafrost. Permafrost forms when the average soil temperature is 27 degrees. Ice slowly forms in poorly drained soils. One sign of existing permafrost is a black spruce bog. Black spruce are small, scraggly trees that can survive in the few inches of soil that thaws out above the permafrost. A tree of only 2 inches in diameter is often 100 years old. In a black spruce bog, a thick mat of mosses and other small plants covers the ground. This mat acts as a sponge that holds moisture and serves as insulation keeping the permafrost from melting.
We see some waist-high vertical corrugated metal culverts topped with cone-shaped “hats” along the highway. They are an experiment to keep ground from thawing and thus prevent frost heaves. Hip, HIP, Hooray. We are in Alaska. The boundary line between Alaska and Yukon was originally described in an 1825 treaty between Russia and England. The U.S, accepted this version of the boundary with its purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. But after gold was discovered in the Klondike in 1896, a dispute arose between the U.S. and Canada, with both claiming the seaports at the head of Llynn Canal (Skagway). An international tribunal decided in favor of the U.S. in 1903. Now there is a narrow clearing going south to denote the border. Shortly after crossing the border we bought gasoline for $2.31. That is the lowest price we have paid since back in Washington. The roads here seem to be a little better than in Canada. We are staying in Tok at the Sourdough Campground. They serve sourdough pancakes for breakfast and sourdough bread bowls with chili or reindeer stew in the evening. They also have music entertainment each evening. These perks seem to draw a lot of people as their campground is full nearly every evening. We spent 2 nights. We went to the music show the first night which was quite good and the next night we had the chili bread bowl. It was raining so the whole affair was held inside. By the time we got there the restaurant was full and no one was leaving due to the music performance being there too. So we ate outside with 2 other couples and then went home. We took a side trip from Tok to Dawson City. It is about 165 miles but took 5 hours one way due to the road condition. The weather was cloudy and raining off and on. Shortly after we began our journey we could see evidence of a forest fire. This fire occurred in 2004 along with several other fires in Alaska. A total of 708 fires burned 6.7 million acres. It was the smokiest summer on record in more than 100 years. We stopped in the small town of Chicken which was named by early miners who wanted to name their camp ptarmigan, but were unable to spell it and settled instead for chicken, the common name in the North for ptarmigan. Chicken has a population of 37 people. It has 3 businesses, no phone or TV services and they receive their mail only twice a week. There are 2 campgrounds there so the area is swarming with tourists. We never did see any houses. They must be off the main road. About 10 miles before we arrived in Chicken the road turned into gravel clear to the Canadian border. From there to Dawson City it was paved but in very poor condition. We are very glad we did not take this route with the motorhome. This highway is called “The Top of the World Highway” It goes for many miles near the tops of the mountains and on a clear day provides beautiful views. Unfortunately it was very cloudy until we were very close to Dawson City. This highway ends at the Yukon River and we had to take a ferry across the river to the town of Dawson City. We walked around the downtown area and then found a place to eat. Again this town is styled from the 1990’s. There is not really much to do here but browse the gift shops. Since we don’t have anyplace to put things we don’t buy. Our trip home was on the same road. By the time we were close to home it was raining again.