So I left Tok and headed north to Chicken! Gotta love the names of these small Alaskan towns. This was my first leg of the Taylor Highway 5 in Alaska, which is only open during summer months apparently. This portion is paved, and the land around it very scenic.
The shoulder on both sides of the road was smaller than what was on the Alaska Highway making it seem a lot thinner to drive along, and there were some ups and downs through mountainous areas. The speed limit if I remember correctly was 50 MPH (80 KPH) which didn’t feel too bad most of the time. Not a lot of traffic either, just the odd RV or fifth wheel so this part of the drive was uneventful, just paid attention and enjoyed the scenery until arriving in Chicken about an hour and a half after leaving Tok!
Arriving in Chicken (below)… Amenities such as the store, gas, and accommodation are to the right:
The Goldpanner is a large gift shop. They make ‘fluffy’ coffees there too so I tried a mocha even though it was probably 30 degrees outside. Why is it that any time I order a hot mocha or latte or whatever in hot weather that people look at me like I’m some sort of crazy person??! How many times can I say that I DON’T DO COLD COFFEE… That is one bandwagon I’ve NEVER jumped on!! NEVER!! Sigh! Well the hot mocha wasn’t bad! Got it for free too with the purchase of a coffee mug, so how can you go wrong with that? There was also a cafe in another building which I looked inside. Everything was self serve with I think an honor system that you would pay for what you had at The Goldpanner when you were done.
And look! CHICKENS! Except they look more like roosters but let’s not get technical 😛 😛
There was a small suspension-like bridge to the side of the buildings, not sure why it’s there other than to go over the very small river and look pretty. I don’t recall seeing any monuments or anything. I even Googled it and nothing came up, guess I could have asked about it!
And that was Chicken, AK! It was a good little pit stop before heading out on the second part of the Taylor (Hwy 5) 🙂
