Chicken, AK

7/23/07
It was raining when I awoke. Ruth had already called telling me she was on the plane from Dallas to Boston. I started getting my things out of the trailer and setting it around my bike so I could pack it all. Roger came out and was on his way to haul mud for someone (it would really be topsoil but in the rain, its mud). I packed and hit the road by 8:30 AM. It was raining for most of the ride across to Glenallen. About 30 miles from there, the sun broke out and the weather improved but there were still gray clouds following me. I filled up with gas and went to the visitor center so I could see what the road to Chicken was like. They knew of no construction so that was on my plans for the evening.
The weather was clear and I headed toward Tok. I saw one ptarmigan along the road but no other wildlife.
In Tok, I ate a halibut burger at Fast Eddie's and called Ruth. I think the bluetooth headset was a great addition to the trip. Its great to be able to eat and have a conversation with her while I'm eating. Of course, the waitress thinks its a little weird that I'm talking to myself.
At Fast Eddie's the waitress told me that the Taylor Hwy was closing from 7 PM to 7 AM between Chicken and the border. I knew that meant I could get to Chicken and spend the night.


The ride to Chicken was interesting. There had been a fire a few years ago so all the spruce were burned but were still standing. There was brush there so its been about 3-4 years since the fire.
There was also signs identifying that this was the part of the area that the world's largest caribou herd migrates through. They weren't here at this time though.
I could also see rain ahead in a number of places. I was lucky and missed it most of the time but about 8 miles from Chicken, I hit a hard rain. The road also stopped shortly after that and I had a slippery gravel/dirt ride to Chicken. My first stop in Chicken was the Saloon. It had lots of business cards and hats hanging from the ceiling. I only spent a moment there and then went to the gift shop. On the dorr to the gift shop it says that Chicken is home to about 15 people but in the summer it swells to 30. The town was named for the state bird, the ptarmigan but no one could spell ptarmigan so they called it Chicken. The children do correspondence work with the schools. I bought something for my daughters there Chicken (including a magnet for Ruth's mom). I also asked what my options for camping were and the lady at the gift shop told me I had three; two RV spots or I could just throw the camp next to the parking lot there. I opted for the third option since I had everything I needed for the night. I had a sandwich in the Chicken diner and this is where I am right now.


It appears that they hire college students to work in Chicken during the summer. The 5 of them are sitting here in the diner chatting with each other and just enjoying themselves.