Our next destination was Dawson City in the Yukon Territory, Canada, travelling on the Top of the World Highway to get there. The largest community we passed through on our way was the town of Chicken, Alaska – population: 7.
Back in the days of the gold rush, food was scarce in the area, and the inhabitants relied on a bird called the ptarmigan for food. They decided to name the town Ptarmigan, but then realized no one knew how to spell that. So, they settled on calling it “Chicken,” figuring that name would stick. And so it did.
Nowadays in Chicken, you can check out the dredge, a big chicken, and the “downtown” area. In the shops, you’ll find good coffee, brownies, and T-shirts that say “I got laid in Chicken, Alaska.” There is no running water in Chicken, but if you need to use the facilities, you can stop by the “Chicken Poop.”
A few hours after that, we made it to the Canadian border. After being asked mystifying questions by the border patrol, we were allowed to enter the country.
My first impression of Canada was that it looked a lot like the Alaskan terrain we had just driven through, but even more remote and rugged. We meandered along the curving mountain road for another couple hours before finally reaching the Yukon river.
There is no bridge across the river, so we had to take a small ferry. Once on the other side of the river, we were in Dawson City. Suddenly there were a fair amount of people out and about, comparatively, and lots of historic buildings and charm.
Around 1896, word had spread that there was gold to be found in the northern mountains of the Yukon Territory. Dawson became the center of the Klondike Gold Rush with a population around 40,000. The gold rush ended in 1899, causing the population to fall drastically. Today Dawson has a population of 1,375, much of its economy coming from the tourism business.
There is lots to see in Dawson, such as old steamboats, a large dredge, a historic theatre, and Robert Service’s cabin. Walking along the streets of the town feels like going back in time.
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