Living the Dream with Joyce: July 10th to 13th

I made the 6 hour drive to Dawson over roads that were sometimes paved, sometimes gravel, sometimes under construction- stayed the night in an unserviced area of a campground just outside town - then went into town to spend the big bucks in a campground within walking distance of everything I want to see. Yesterday, I went to Robert Service's cabin and lucked into a tour in progress. The guide, Justin, recited some of Service's poetry and then led us through his tiny, two room cabin. Loved it!! I also walked to Pierre Berton's old home (still a private residence, so no look inside), toured the Musem, with a video on the gold rush, narrated by Berton and visited the Commissioner 's Residence, with its walking tour, complete with dramatic interjections. Love this town - it's so steeped in Canadian history - and obviously preserved to resemble the old gold rush town of the late 1800's.
Leaving Dawson, I drove the Top of the World Highway to Tok. Really not a terrible road on the Canadian side: gravel, dirt, some ruts and bumps and switchbacks, and a few corduroy moments, but seriously not that bad. Then American customs into Alaska, about 2 miles of lovely paved road and then . . . what all the books say about this highway: bumps, ruts, long, bone-jarring washboard stretches - definitely the crappiest road I've ever driven on! Chicken was pretty hilarious, with its three stores and an outhouse - oh and a fuel pump, too. There was construction happening on the roads around Chicken - had to follow a pilot car to get me around the tractors and trucks and god knows what else! I'll advise Rob NOT to make a side trip here!