We left Dawson early in the morning. We had to get to Alaska and the only way was to cross the Yukon on the ferry two at a time. Once on the other side, we began our ascent to the Top of the World Highway. The Top of the World Highway connects Dawson City, Yukon to Tok, Alaska. While most roads traveling through mountains wander through lower elevations, this “highway” winds along the top of the mountain range for a truly breathtaking drive. But, boy, is it a tough drive. The first 110 miles is all gravel! We shook, rattled and rolled all the way to the border. Poker Creek border crossing from the Yukon to Alaska is the northern most international border crossing in all of North America. If you can imagine, once we crossed into Alaska, the road actually got worse. We were ready for a break when we pulled into Chicken, Alaska a little after 1PM.

Chicken is a very small (population about 17) town. It originally was established as a gold mining town and mining does still exist in the area. We actually saw a working mine site using hydraulic mining methods that were banned in California in the 1880s. I especially enjoyed Chicken because of the story of Anne Purdy. Anne Purdy came to Chicken in the 1920s as young teacher. She taught (and lived) in a one-room schoolhouse. What made her special was that she was the first in Alaska to insist on providing native children an education. At the time this practice was revolutionary and caused great upheaval in the community. She wrote a book (Tisha) about her first year as a teacher in Chicken and her first winter in Alaska. So, getting to see her school house and home in Chicken was so much fun.

After leaving Chicken, we finally had a paved road! We made it to Tok (the only way in and out of Alaska if you’re driving) in time for dinner, some country music and a quick game of pancake toss for a free breakfast (and, yes, I did win). Next it’s on to Fairbanks.