From Dawson City

July 2, 2010

Left Palmer and headed toward Tok. The first part of the day the road was good but by the second half it became brutal. Got to within 12 miles of Tok and stayed at a SRA(State Recreation Area) campground. Fifteen dollars for the night. I thought it was a bit over priced since the others we had stayed in were 10. On top of that the water was rusty. Fortunately we had almost 2 gallons with us and we made do with that.

Got the camper set up and make my usual cup of coffee. Went outside to drink it. Sitting in my camp chair I was dozing off and waking up. Regained consciousness and to my great surprise there was a Brown(Grizzly) was standing between the car and the camper. Later I paced it off and it was 6 paces from where I was sitting.

I got up slowly and calmly said Bear a couple of times, spread my arms and it went away. I think it was a 3 year old just separated from its mother. It certainly did not display any aggressive tendencies. While Joyce and I were eating it came thru our section of the campground again. Joyce got the picture and I yelled and clapped my hands(we were both inside the camper) and it left. We did not see it again.

We went up to the next section to tell some folks about it and they were on the way to warn us. Evidently when it left the from our site the first time it went to theirs.

Joyce and I took a short nature walk to see some Northern Lady Slippers. Back to camp and I went to bed.

July 3, 2010

Left camp and drove a few miles til we got a phone signal. Pulled over to call our children and let them know our plans. Talked a few minutes with our son and left messages for our daughters. Went to start the car and nothing, zilch. Stopped no more than 10 minutes, headlight on, and killed the battery. Some kind Alaskans stopped by and gave us a jump and told me the best place to buy a battery. Went and found a battery and changed it out, which was no easy job. Fortunately I had packed a small tool kit and was able to get the job done.

While I was there working on the battery four different Alaskans stopped and asked if we needed help. These people look out for each other and us tourists too. Not sure that happens anymore at home. In fact I know it doesn't.

Back on the road heading for Chicken Ak. I will not go into the story of chicken but it was a gold mining town(??) and gold is still panned in the area. Had lunch at the Chicken Crossing Cafe. The only thing on the menu that was not chicken was a hotdog.

There are no utilities in Chicken. Each person is responsible for their own electricity and water. There is one Satellite telephone for emergencies. Think you could live that way? In the summer there are about 100 people there and in winter it drops to 8. When the snows come the roads are not maintained. Those 8 folks are truly on their own.

Left Chicken and left for Dawson City, YT on the “Top of the World Road”. And it basically seemed that way. Views of mountain ranges, rivers galore. Road was dirt most of the way but we have seen much worse. Rained, of course, so we picked up a load of mud. What's new.

Arrived Dawson City and took the ferry across the Yukon River. Found a campground, checked in and then went to the car wash. I washed a lot of the mud off the camper. Parked the camper and leveled it. Then went to find something to eat and left the camper to dry. Ate at Sourdough Joe's and came back and set up. Now trying to catch up on emails and my Journal.