Day 74

August 11, 2017

Leaving Tok on AK 2 for 11 miles then turn onto AK 5 toward Chicken.  Ah, Chicken, it has a nice ring to it.  About the time the road really got bad we passed an Alaska State Trooper on the side of the road behind a pickup with a caribou in the bed.  Iris insisted we stop and she went back to see the deceased caribou, feel the velvet antlers and talk to the trooper and the hunter that had just bagged the caribou under his subsistence permit.  Due to their information we drove very slow for the rest of our trip to Chicken and were rewarded with sightings of a group of eight animals trotting away from us on the roadway.

Then shortly a herd of about 20 crossed the road in front of us.

The final sighting was a big male standing on the road but before we could get the camera up he bolted into the trees so no photo.  There was the usual construction zones

and the last 10 miles was gravel into Chicken.  The trees are beginning to turn for autumn.

Our campground was the Chicken RV Park where there is no water or sewer hookups, only 15 amp electric provided by generator.  We went into the office and signed up for the pizza tonight then got out the grill and cooked some bacon-wrapped filets with salad for lunch.  Then a nice nap.  We thought a photo of the outhouses was appropriate along with the huge chicken overlooking the campground.  Bob walked down a path from the gold dredge to another campground.  Along the way there was evidence of moose in the area but no sighting.  He bought a t-shirt at the other place and walked back.  Some of our group were panning for gold but no big strikes.  At 6:30 PM we joined most of our group on the terrace of the cafe/office for pizza prepared in a wood oven and it was outstanding with some local draft beer.  At 8 PM we gathered in the pavilion where the campground owners had prepared home-made blueberry and oats crumble with ice cream, Yum!  The owner did a presentation of some facts and fiction about Chicken AK.  Also some information about what to expect tomorrow on the “Top of the World” road, gravel and dirt with a ferry crossing, mostly in Yukon Territory Canada.  In winter there are only 2 people live in Chicken, the postmistress and her husband.  The post office has to remain open or the USPS will close it permanently.  We finished the western movie with Sam Elliot that Paul and Susan had loaned us as there is no TV or cell service here.  Then to bed.