July 15, 2018
This morning I was up and out of the campsite by 6:30am and on the road to The Top of The World. Not too far out of town a fox crossed the road. It was too quick for me to get a picture.
Continuing along the highway, it was not long before it turned to gravel and would be this way for the rest of the way to the US Border. I stopped a few times thinking that I was at the highest point, but a little further down the road and I would be going up again. LOL
About an hour into the drive, I came across some caribou. They call these caribou the 40 Mile Herd. I read a story about them, where an old prospector commented seeing them stretched for a long distance crossing the river. The herd has dwindled until the last few years under wildlife management they are starting to increase in numbers again. They were quite skittish and went over the rise of the mountain.
When I drove around the mountain, there was a side road that went up and I thought I would walk up and possibly run into them again with the possibility of a bigger herd. As I was walking up I noticed a great number of hoof prints and thought that this would be an ideal spot to see them. I suddenly saw some movement to my side and thought what the heck is that?!
There was a large brown animal the size of a dog in front of me. Upon closer examination … it was a porcupine! I have never seen such a large porcupine!
As I approached it moved into the woods and I continued my walk up the old road. After about a kilometre I could see that the herd must have gone down the other side and I will not be able to see them so I returned to the truck.
Just before the border crossing, I made one last stop where someone had built an inukshuk up on the top of the hill. I walked up there and took some panoramic photos of the area and of the inukshuk.
Arriving at the border crossing, I was flagged to come forward. The border patrol gentleman asked me for my passport. I completely forgot, I had left my passport in my camera bag in the back seat. I explained to the border patrol man that I left it in my back seat and asked if it was okay to get it as I opened the door. Just at that moment, I saw a sign that said not to get out of your vehicle and saw the border patrol man back up. He lowered his arm to his side and asked me if I had any weapons in which I replied no. As I unzipped my camera bag, it dawned on me that he lowered his arm and had placed his hand on a gun … let’s just say I moved very carefully at this point and pulled out my passport and slowly turned around and apologized to him. Two things I will remember: 1) Don’t look so scruffy when crossing the border (hadn’t shaved for over a week); and 2) Make sure you have your passport up front. LOL
I had two pieces of firewood that I left with them as they are prohibited in coming across the border along with one orange. Oranges are not permitted at the border crossing either. There goes my vitamin C for the day. HaHaHa
Continuing on my way, a coyote or wolf crossed the road in front of me but was gone in a flash. As I was heading down the hill before entering Chicken, I was a moose head into the woods. I made a quick stop at a place called Chicken. A very unique spot, as the story has it when they were thinking of naming the town they thought it should be named after the Ptarmigan that were in the area. No one was certain how you spelled Ptarmigan so they thought that Chicken was an easy word to spell and they were something like a chicken. LOL They have quite some interesting things to see and do in this area. From mining history, the Chicken monuments, Chicken saloon, souvenir stores to restaurants. Certainly worth a quick stop.
As I drove towards Delta Junction, I came across a cow and calf moose near the road. I had to stop and take some photo’s, for whatever reason they don’t stay out in the open for very long.
Finally arrived in Delta Junction and to my surprise fuel and groceries were more expensive here than in Tok. I assumed Tok was going to be more expensive so I just kept heading north towards Delta Junction. Gas was $3.75/gal in Delta Junction and $3.54/gal in Tok. I stopped to buy a few grocery items at IGA, but narrowed down my choice as Orange Juice was over $6.00 and is normally only $4.00! I had purchased the gas after I stopped at the grocery store and I couldn’t believe that ice was cheaper at the gas station than at the grocery store.
I visited the Information Center in Delta Junction and this is where the commemorative milepost stands to indicate the end of the AlCan, or as known today … Alaska Highway.
After talking to a couple of people, it was indicated that near this region was the best place to spot moose. I decided to stay in this region for a night as it was already after 3pm Alaska time.
Another little display they had here were of 2 giant mosquitoes. Well, I didn't know what that meant until I was camping in the area ... it is quite swampy here. Talk about a lot of mosquitoes. Somewhere I saw the mosquitoes considered the Alaskan National Bird. LOL
I found a lovely State Park called Quartz Lake and on my drive onto the side road to get to it, I came across a moose just off the road in the woods.
After setting up the tent and eating, I decided to go for a drive down the highway to see if any moose were out. I did not spot any and it was after 6:30pm so I decided to return back to the campgrounds. On my way back, I found a spot to pull over and take a mile hike in to a swampy area that indicated to be a great chance to see a moose or other wildlife. As I neared the end of the path, I could see the swamp straight ahead through the trees when all of a sudden I heard a loud splash to my right. I stopped and between the trees could see a moose in the swamp dunking its head coming up with some weeds to munch on. I slowly took out my camera and started to take photo’s.
I was swarmed by mosquitoes which made it difficult to hold the camera up for too long. This is one of those moments that I wished I brought my tripod. I watched the moose for about twenty minutes and then it got out of the swamp and went into the woods. What a magnificent site!!! This was the highlight of my day, that is for sure.