CHICKEN

Yes, today we made it to Chicken, Alaska. It seemed too risky to drive there in the motor home, so they “chickened out “and drove the 57 miles from Tok to Chicken in separate jeeps. It only took five hours round trip! Gianni and Bella went with the Taylor’s, and I chose to stay home and catch up on my sleep.

Originally Chicken was originally a miner's tent city, and when they were trying to come up with a name for the town, someone suggested “ptarmigan” a bird that which was found in great numbers in Alaska. But nobody could spell it, so they settled instead on Chicken. Today the population of Chicken is 37 in the summer and 17 in the winter. They have no central plumbing and only generators for electricity. And the mail arrives only twice a week, by plane.

The road to Chicken is supposed to be “paved” and it was in some places, it was also lots of gravel and potholes and frost heave bumps that seem like deep moguls on a ski run. They made a good decision not to drive there in the motor home. It was fun in the jeeps but too much for our big rigs.

While in town they did the touristy things. First stop was the Chicken Cafe for a delicious cinnamon bun and great coffee. Next a picture in front of one of the Chicken sculptures. And lastly a walk around the gold dredge. Over 100,000 ounces of placer gold has been mined on Chicken Creek and there still remain a lot of gold to be found.

Tomorrow, we head for Canada and back to the Yukon Territory.