Moose with fawn trotting down the Taylor Highway ... as we leave Chicken, AK (just memory shots).

Top of the World views on the Taylor Highway ... en route to Eagle, AK.

Not all custom stations on the border with Canada are open this year — Jack Wade Junction.

Cliff swallows swarming at the Fortymile Bridge ... Taylor Highway en route to Eagle.

We drove this section before turning back — Taylor Highway en route to Eagle.

Fortymile River cutting through the valley below — Taylor Highway en route to Eagle.

Eagle ... Not

June 16, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F

When we left the campground in the toad this morning, we were hoping to make it all the way to Eagle.

So, from Chicken, we drove another 29 miles to the Jack Wade Junction. This is where the Taylor Highway turns north to Eagle ... 65 miles away. It’s also where the Boundary Road, which comes into Alaska from Canada’s Top of the World Highway, connects to the Taylor.

We knew that the road to Eagle was gravel ... very narrow ... very curvy ... filled with potholes that needed to be negotiated ... and no barriers on the side with steep drop offs. Very tiring and stressful. Unlike the locals, who know the road and drive it at speed, I’d be very surprised if our speed even got up to 30 miles on the 20-mile stretch we drove on this road. We were very happy not to encounter vehicles on this section of the Taylor.

I suppose we could have continued the remaining 45 miles to Eagle. After all, it doesn’t get dark around here ... even when the sun sets. But it was already 3:00p when we decided to stop ... and the GPS said it would take us another two hours to reach the Yukon River and Fort Egbert ... where the highway dead-ends. We would then have to just turn around and retrace the 110 miles back to the campground. Seeing the storm clouds gathering behind us, the smart move was to turn back.

Alas, another road that we didn’t get to complete. Maybe we’ll try again when we eventually drive up through Canada ... someday!Read more