A Moment Inside Chicken’s Post Office

Alongside the Taylor Highway, a gravel road with sweeping views coining it “The Top of the World Highway” sits a small town by the name of Chicken, Alaska.

Popular during the Goldrush, this town allegedly gets its name from the disagreeing town folk. Having wanted to name it after the state bird, the Willow Ptarmigan, but not being able to come to consensus on the correct spelling, they instead landed on the name of Chicken.

It was a fitting moment when a mama Ptarmigan was squeaking right down the middle of the gravel highway just a few miles before getting to the historic town. No cares in the world, even when a large hatchback nearly collides with the bird known for its stupidity. Sure enough, this bird skated close to its death, and never once fluttered away.

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Over the next days, I enjoyed the lack of phone service and escaped the world. Seeing sweeping views of the Top of the World Highway, enjoyingCanada Day in Dawson City after taking a ferry across the Yukon River, and even seeing some of the densest Caribou herd population in The North (Forty Mile Caribou Herd).

Of course, I bought some postcards while in Dawson City, hoping to write home to my family these cool snippets of adventure. However, Dawson City was closed for Canada Day, so I had intention of waiting until we went back through Chicken, to drop them off there.

Chicken’s Post Office

The one employee for the Chicken Post Office spends most of her days tending to the garden, and throwing the frisbee for her Australian Shepard Zeke who comes to work with her everyday.

I put the car in park, and Zeke runs up for some head scratches and quickly makes me an honorary frisbee thrower. The woman casually greets me outside, as if coming to her front door instead of her place of employment. After a 5 minute conversation, irrelevant to my postage needs, another vehicle pulls up to drop off a package. The woman helps her first, and chitchats about the 4th of July, and the Big Denali Fire currently happening (news to me??? Fire? In Denali??? As in where I work??? Hmmm…) anyway, needing to send my post cards.

The woman who dropped her package so kindly gave me some cash (should’ve known the small town didn’t accept card) which was “eh. About $2.12 to send,” according to the worker. Very official.

At this point it had been about 15 total minutes, very slow and easy going. In the middle of writing my postcards, she shouts in a panic, “DELIVERY PLANE IS HERE IF YOU WANT THE CARDS TO GO OUT TODAY YOU NEED TO BE DONE RIGHT NOW!”

You’re telling me, she knew the plane was on its way the whole time, and I needed to rush, but she couldn’t have mentioned that when I arrived? Maybe in between the frisbee throws? Or while she was talking about the towns Fourth of July bbq? No no, she waits until I’m trying to write my postcard. So, in a panic, instead of sharing my treasured moments with my family, my grandma is going to receive a postcard that reads in squiggly handwriting, “have to write quickly so this makes the delivery plane.”

Maybe grandma will get a giggle out of it.

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The last night was along the Richardson Highway. On my train route as a tour guide, I share with guests the wonder of the Susitna and Nenana River. Originating from the same glaciated area, but ending up hundreds of miles apart from each other due to a watershed divide- a point which we see from the tracks! The Nenana River flows north, eventually meeting with the Yukon River, to flow out into the Bering Sea. Whereas the Susitna River flows south all the way to the Cook Inlet in Anchorage. This fact fascinates me, and I’ve been eager to see this glaciated area for a long time! So it meant the world to me when I was able to find a windy campspot along the river, with sweeping views in every direction of the glaciated mountains.

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And then chaos ensued. Back to civilization, with service, to find out Denali National Park and lodges- where I take my guests- has been evacuated due to a fire!

Ah, to be without service for a few days away from the pandemonium.

As I’m writing this post a few days after my adventure, the fire is still smoldering but things are opening back up and getting under control. The cool, cloudy weather and rainfall in the park over the last days has really aided the fire team working hard to put the fire out.

Cheers,

Tay

(I do not speak on behalf of my employer and all above comments are personal. Please refer to HAP for official resources and updates.)