May 20, 2017.   SundayWe leave Gold Rush RV park in Dawson City, YT with sunny skies and 43* with clouds lingering in the distance. We are up early to catch the ferry just across the Yukon River, maybe 200 or so yards. We were one of three on this ferry with no waiting. It is small.We are driving Rt. 9. The only place this goes is to the border of Alaska. Today is the first day the border will be open this year. We are behind 2 vehicles. We are driving along and are passed by only one car going fast. We head on down the road and come to a road closed sign. What to do? There is a dirt road open so we head on down. There is huge grizzly bear crossing the dirt road just before we started down. The garmin says we are on a mine road so I look it up. It says dead end on the map. Well the first two trucks went somewhere and there were tracks in the MUD and LARGE gravel on this narrow road. I kept saying well the other two are somewhere. On we go for much too long because we came upon a home and mining operation. The look on the Aussie owners face said you people are not supposed to be here. Ed spoke to the very nice man who said that we would not be getting to the border on this treacherous road! He helped us turn around and led us BACK over his small wooden bridge. We had to return to the sight of the closed road sign. NIGHTMARES ARE MADE OF THIS! We met two other RVs on our way back up the dirt mine road. We talked to each one and back we all go passing the closed road signs and head to the border. I am in a knot of nerves by now, so Ed had to man up and keep me from having the nervous breakdown I SO wanted to have. When we got to the area with the most incredible views there were just enough clouds that we did not get the best views. It was not raining and we could see a long way. Still on the closed road, we kept pushing on since the other two vehicles had gone on. There are two car that pass coming toward us at least. This is not a good road, or so we thought. The scenery is really breathtaking with wide views for long distances. Forest below the tree lines. There is still some snow lying along some areas of the road. It is closed all winter. When we finally made the border we pull up to the light that says wait for green light. One car pulls away and Mr Sunshine the border patrol agent makes us wait, maybe 10 minutes. Ed finally backed over the sensor again. Finally the green light came on and Mr Personality asked his guestions with no expression at all. This might be required for border agents in the US but the Canadians we encountered were not this bad. It is not like he is tired. It is probably 10:30 of his first day back at work that only started at 9 am. Things did not get worse but the roads on the US side are an embarrassment to this day and time. Horrendous for 27 miles. Somewhere along a steep down grade a gallon jug of water walked off its non slip pad where it had ridden for day and crashed on the floor giving it a bath. The water was running into the cab by the time I got unbuckled and got towels on it. No stopping on this washboard dirt road. This is the worst road of the 3900 miles. Really! We made to Chicken, Ak. This is a mining outpost that got its name because the miners could not spell the name of the local bird, ptarmigan, so they called it chicken. There is a store, food etc here. They have 2 flush toilets in the whole place. Only 7 people are permanent residents. They are making as much as they can out there name. We got two tshirts and a hat since if not something you can get just anywhere. There is a huge water way project here. The heavy equipment makes the roads even worse for the next few miles where we meet some payment, broken up by gravel, heaves, washboards, and potholes. There are lots of active mining operations continuing today. We pass mounds of tailings and several public gold panning areas. We finally reach the Tok turnoff road at 2:20 where we fill up with gas at $2.99 gal. We turn 4,000 miles shortly before. We decide to push pass our intended stop in Tok for a stop 60 miles further. It sounded interesting in the book, but alas the woman said her water was frozen, not open. The RV parks are few and far between so I found another 30 more miles. I called this one and she said frozen water but we have electricity. YEAH. We are at the Grizzly Lake Campground and RV park in Gakona, AK. It is on the border of the Wrangell-St Elias National Park. We are the only ones here in the RV area. We got a site right beside the lake and have trumpeter swans and a muskrat to watch out the window! Not so bad. There is a Great Pyrenees dog wandering around. Ed no longer does these long days as we once did, but he made it happen. It is after five by now. The rain has found us again. The clouds have socked in the views. It has been a very cold May here. We have seen more ice in the waters than we ever remember. We left the aspen forests of the past days for much more black pine. There are huge blackened areas from forest fires. The tall mountains of the Wrangell range are under the clouds. There has been NO traffic for obvious reasons, but even in the small town of Tok no one was about. Even with the low clouds it is still light out at 9:45. We are now on Alaska time, one more hour back. I can use my Verizon data, but do not have much signal. Our food supply is running low. That is good, since I bought too much in the states. We think we will never, ever, never be tempted to see the Top of the World Highway again. Miles: 275 HARD MILESSightings: porcupine, grizzly, ptarmigan, snow shoe rabbits and ground squirrels