As we travel by Motor Coach beyond Eagle, we are taking the 160 mile Taylor Highway. It is a twisting, curving, mountainous, mostly one-lane gravel road with switchback upon switchback. We have to have a Pilot Vehicle ahead of us for the first 94 miles to the town of Chicken, Alaska.
3,650 feet is the highest elevation we’ll reach on this trip. This will happen twice. Our first ascent is to American Summit, 3420 feet. Fireweed, is the featured plant on this part of the journey.
Polly Summit, 3500 feet, is where we stopped for a stretch break. Unfortunately, the camera battery used up it’s charge, so I couldn’t take any pictures. Once we departed, we climbed another 1000 feet before our descent into Chicken. On one side of the Motor Coach, we had miles and miles of rolling mountains dotted with shadows from the clouds. On the other side, pine trees and blue sky with puffy of white clouds.
Upon arrival in Chicken, Alaska, the group set off to acquire blueberry, apple and cherry pies, chocolate chip cookies, chicken noodle soup and chili. All 15 residents seemed to be employed at the four businesses owned by a lady called Chicken Sue.
On the way out of Chicken, we encountered our first moose grazing on the vegetation at the bottom of a lake. After a quick stop of the motor coach, pictures were taken and we were on our way. We had a second moose sighting that was a drive by and was seen only by a few of us.
We arrived in Tok, Alaska, just in time to have dinner. I haven’t said much about our accommodations, but let me tell you a little about this Westmark property. First of all, we were greeted by the General Manager and his family. His son and the daughter of the chef welcomed us to town with a little talk. They were celebrating Independence Week and passed out tokens of appreciation to the veterans, the wives, husbands and parents of veterans and to servicemen & women. They also did something special for the guests who had birthdays. This was a different, but pleasant, welcome to the town. The property is well kept and reminded me of cabins. The buildings are no more than two stories high and are spread out across the grounds. It has a Watering Hole (bar) and a Grub House (restaurant). They also had a gift shop where you didn’t have to shell out Cadillac prices for your souvenirs. Not much else in town, but it was an enjoyable stop.