Anna's Awesome Adventures!!!: Dawson City to Valdez

First, some pictures from yesterday.

Queen Street in Dawson; our hotel was on that street.

The SS Keno.

On top of the Midnight Dome Road looking down at the Yukon River and Dawson.

Dolls at the Danoja Zho Cultural Center.

Now to today! We woke up at 5:45, ate a quick breakfast in our room, and loaded our bags in the rain. Last night, the town was bustling with activity, and early this morning, it was all deserted...the streets were quiet. Anyway, we got our stuff in the car and got on the ferry going across the Yukon River at 7 AM. About 20 miles up the road, we remembered we had forgotten to get gas (sounds funny, right?). So back to Dawson, across the ferry, to the gas station, filled up the car, then back across the ferry for the THIRD time. We just loved Dawson so much, we couldn't stand to leave it, so we had to go back one more time. Great excuse, right? :)

So then back on the Top of the Road Highway -- bad visibility and cold (45 degrees). It was drizzling and just kind of dreary all day, but we did get to see lots of snow. The highway was very bumpy and mostly gravel, so it wasn't exactly comfortable...but we did get to go high up, even though we couldn't see very much!

At 9:50 AM (Alaska time; 10:50 Pacific Time), we crossed the border. No problems, they just asked if we had any weapons or alcohol and stamped our passports. Five minutes at the most! We were still in the fog, but when we got on the Taylor Highway, we finally got out of it. It was still cloudy and sprinkling, though.

At 11:20, we pulled into Chicken, Alaska! "Downtown" consists of a liquor store/saloon, cafe, and store. We enjoyed lunch at the cafe, called the Chicken Creek Cafe. Matthew and I had the BBQ chicken sandwiches with a side of potato salad, and Grandma had the chicken pot pie. Excellent food; very generous portions, too! After lunch, we all shared a piece of cranberry-apple pie. The flavors mixed well and it was very sweet and the crust -- whole wheat -- was superb. After lunch, we visited the Chicken Mercantile Emporium. It's actually quite a nice-sized store selling books, chicken-themed trinkets, jewelry, and postcards. Matthew and I got hatpins to add to our fast-growing collection, a postcard, and a little rubber chicken keychain. She's so cute! I named her Bawk, and don't you make fun of her. I love her. :) Chicken also is home to (what else?) chickens! There are about 20 of them between the saloon/liquor store and the cafe in a small coop. They were beautiful and happily pecking away.

Our hour at Chicken was great. It's such a funny town. After our adventure there, we drove back into clouds and snow. We must have seen 100 mountains with snow covering the peaks and clouds shrouding the top. I'm sure that some of those mountains were getting snow at the summit, since it was 38 degrees in one place! Ah, such a nice time to leave 95-degree St. Louis. On one mountain, we could see the summit and fresh snow -- just like frosting on a cupcake!

We arrived at our hotel in Valdez, Alaska, at 7 PM. We are surrounded by mountains and it is so nice and cold. Grandma and I are going swimming now, so enjoy these pictures of yesterday (above) and today (below). I had a great day seeing God's BEAUTIFUL mountains, and I hope you enjoy seeing them!