The Top of the World Highway

Posted by Van on Tuesday Jul 5, 2011 Under Travels

The road that connects Dawson City, Yukon with The neighboring mining towns in Alaska is called the Top of the World Highway, and for good reason. Across the Yukon River from Dawson, it climbs up and runs along a mountain ridge for 70 or 80 miles, then drops down into the mining valleys of Alaska. From atop the ridge, you see the pine forests and mountain valleys of the south on the left and the treeless mountains and open tundra of the north on the right. Ahead and behind, the road winds and rolls from one hill to the next.

Standing on top of the world with Luciana

On June 29, after several days of clouds and rain, the finally sun came out for our drive on the Top of the World. And the world did seem to stretch out forever in all directions. It was a beautiful drive, and a long drive because much of the road is packed gravel and dirt.

The highway rolls ahead along the mountain ridge

We did not see any critters along the road that day, but we did see some fellows panning for gold in the creeks on the Alaska side. Apparently there is a mini-goldrush going on right now, with the price of gold so high. Many people are staking claims again in the Klondike and using metal detectors to search along creekbeds for gold missed the first time around.

Amongst some flowers up on the ridge, the open tundra beyond

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