Once again I embarked on my annual foray into the deep interior of Alaska. Chickenstock is a small, funky music festival held in Chicken, Alaska. The village of Eagle is 100 miles further, but takes 3 hours to drive that 100 miles.
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The hill starts to fill with tents.
Took a little walk about.
Dredge buckets which would scoop up the dirt/gravel and bring it to the gold dredge to be seperated and run through to collect the gold.
The stage.
It was hot and dusty. I found some shade and spent some time with Fairbanks area firefighters.
Was invited to jam. That was the most fun I had at Chickenstock. We ended up with 4 guitars, 2 fiddle players, a banjo, a dobro, and a tambourine.
In the camp next to us, I noticed people were naked. Funny that those pictures I tried to take, didn’t turn out.
Moon rising over chicken butt?
The Taylor Highway between Chicken and Eagle. Got one flat on the way up, and one flat on the way back. It was hilarious because at first a car load of tourists stopped to see if I needed help, then shortly thereafter, while we were standing there visiting, a pick up pulled up with a young couple. We were all visiting and the girl asked me if my name was Georganne. I said yes, are you XYZ? I know her sister. The amazed tourist said “Here we are in the very middle of no where, and you two KNOW EACH OTHER?” Yes, Alaska is a very, very large state, with a very, very small population.
The road is brutal but worth it.
My favorite river, the 40 Mile!
Get to Eagle, park at the Yukon River. Take the boat X amount of miles up the river, park the boat. Take the ATV up the trail to the little cabin in the woods.
Scarlett and her sassy feather that she just got in South Africa!
Dinner the first night, moose steak and sprouts salad. It was delicious!
There is no better dining facility in the wold. That’s the Yukon River in the background.
Yay puppies!
This is the life!
Soft, feathery horse tail ferns cover the forest floor.
The sauna.
Dried salmon to feed the dogs through the year.
Wayne, working on a dog sled.
Scarlett watering the tomatoes in the greenhouse.
Training a lead dog to “line out”. This is the command given to the lead dog to hold the team tight and straight while stopped. It’s the most difficult thing for them to learn. Normally takes about 2 years.
A little afternoon snack. Dried salmon.
A bear got into one of their salmon storages last winter so they removed what was left and stored it in 55 gallon barrel/s.
Wayne and Scarlet are some of the most fun and interesting people to sit around and visit with. My dad is one of those types of people, imparting knowledge, entertainment, and comraderie all at the same time.
Finally it was time for me to go home.
I love the Taylor Highway. It is closed in the winter so residents up the road either fly in and out or just sit tight for our long, cold winters.
Arctic Lupine line the road side.
We do have sand dunes in Alaska.
Tetlin Junction, Milepost 0 of the Taylor Highway where it begins from off the ALCAN. The buildings on the northwest corner of the intersection are what remain of the old Fortymile Roadhouse.
Have you ever seen a mile post with this many miles on it? This is towards the end of the ALCAN (Alaska Canadian Highway).
Alaska Pipeline crosses one of the many rivers on it’s journey from the Arctic Slope in Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, our only port that doesn’t freeze up in the winter.
Sorry this one is short and sweet but I am about to embark on an 11 day backpacking, camping, fishing, communing with nature, just kicking around the Kenai Peninsula trip.
You can read my previous “Fowl Adventures” by clicking here:
These all have many more pictures and a lot more information.
Alaska, The Madness 