Top of the World Highway

Leaving Dawson City very early on August 6th crossing the Yukon River via ferry. We were warned to get an early start or risk sitting in line. It is a short 10 minute ride across the river and it was with a bit of trepidation driving that 40 ft motorhome on the itty-bitty  ferry. The coach went on first with the car right behind. There was another Class C motorhome and car from our group that traveled across the river at the same time.

The Top of The World Highway is so named because, along much of its length, it skirts the crest of the hills, giving looks down on the valleys. It is also one of the most northerly highways in the world at those latitudes.

Traveling the Top of the World Highway is kind of a thing for RVers. There are portions of of the highway paved (not in very good condition) but most of the road is dirt and gravel and on this day mud. We were told that we could expect to get a stone chip or two in the windshield, cost of doing business. We took precaution for our tow car adding a stone deflector on the tow bar between the coach and the car and a piece of reflectix covering the windshield.

It had rained off and on during the night and more occasional showers were predicted for the day to come. As we climbed the hill leaving the river behind the pavement ended and the showers began. They were occasional misty showers that increased in frequency and intensity as the altitude increased. The good news is the US border 50 miles away didn't open until 9:00 am giving us a couple of hours without any oncoming traffic.  The driving conditions were difficult the road twisted and turned, went up and down and around. There was very little time to relax between the hills and curves.

We took our time and tried to enjoy the countryside  
around us. Driving slow top speed @ 35 MPH most
of the time slower. 


There were breaks in the rain and the sun would come through offering dramatic views of the mountain and valleys around us.

The US border was @ 50 miles from Dawson City, we arrived just before 9:00 am when they opened. 

The forth vehicle in line we only had to wait a few minutes. I handed the guard out Enhanced Driver's License, he looked at Beth's then looked at mine and asked if I had a passport. I replied no and that the drivers license was enhanced. He replied that it was not and he was going to run it and if it came back negative he was going to send me back to Canada.

Pause for Concern
He came back a few minute lat said it wasn't enhanced but let me go anyway?
Not sure what that was about, upward and onward.

We had a brief rest from the gravel roads  

 about 15 miles of fresh asphalt and we 
thought we had it made until the gravel 
roads returned all the way to our final
 destination Chicken AK. 

There were a number of these single lane U turns that were quite challenging in a 40 ft coach pulling a tow. Slow and steady. Although the entire route was just over a hundred miles and a little more the four hours I felt like I had put in a full days work.

I was more than a little happy to see that big Chicken!

Downtown Chicken consisted of a cafe, Saloon, liquor store and a gift shop. 

Across the street was our RV park that consisted

of little more than a parking lot with 15 amp service.

But it was good to be somewhere!

This is the result of towing the car on a muddy road 

                                                    for a 100+ miles, caked with mud.

The Top of the World Highway is a 127 km-long (79 mi) highway, beginning at a junction with the Taylor Highway near Jack Wade, Alaska traveling east to its terminus at the ferry terminal in West Dawson, Yukon, on the western banks of the Yukon River. The highway has been in existence since at least 1955 and is only open during the summer months. The entire portion of the highway in Yukon is also known as Yukon Highway 9. The Alaska portion is short and apparently not numbered. The Alaska Department of Transportation refers to it as Top of the World Highway.^[3]