Eagle, Alaska

Eagle, Alaska from Yukon River

Our first visit to Eagle, Alaska, was during last year’s (2014) trip.  This small town at the top of the world has become one of our favorite towns in Alaska.  The people are warm and friendly, the scenery picturesque, and it is far from the tourist crowd.  We stay at the BLM campground, nestled deep in the forest of pines and tundra.  The campground averages three campers per day this year, up from just two last year. 

Eagle now boasts a restaurant, compliments of the Eagle Trading Company’s new venture to add 48 motel rooms, a general store, and restaurant.  During the 2009 flood, the restaurant and original ten-room motel washed away.  Although the motel was not yet open, the restaurant served a fine breakfast with quality food and good prices for such a remote area.  The new motel will join the Falcon Inn B&B as places to stay in Eagle.

The town of Eagle rests at the end of the Taylor Highway, some 161 from the Alaska Highway and 94 miles north of Chicken, Alaska.  The road between Chicken and Eagle is entirely gravel, passable with two-wheel drive, and seems well maintained.  With beautiful scenery the entire route, the Taylor Highway winds through some high ridge roads and down through deep canyons.  Some areas have tight curves with steep cliffs on one side and drop offs on the other, which can be particularly intimidating to some, particularly those driving large rigs.  Between mid-October and April, the road to Eagle is closed and the town is accessible only by plane.

View from Taylor Highway, Alaska

Rim road on Taylor Highway, Alaska

Eagle includes about 100 residents, most of them full timers (those who stay all year long).  The new community school has 21 children enrolled this year.  The town is powered by a community generator.  It also has a community well where most folks fill great water holding tanks since few of the houses have running water. 

Courthouse, Eagle, Alaska

Restored church overlooking Yukon River, Eagle, Alaska

We arrived in Eagle on a Saturday so were able to join worship service at the Eagle Bible Chapel on Sunday morning.  We were so surprised to be greeted by their wonderful band playing praise music as folks mingled until service began.  The band included a flute, trumpet, mandolin, piano, bass guitar, and three acoustic guitars.  They played old hymns that I grew up with as a child.  I admit when they played In the Garden, it was hard to hold back tears.  We have sung that hymn at almost all of our immediate family funerals.

The church had about 30 worshipers this day.  After the service, many stopped to chat with us, including Steven, the gentleman who gave us our tour of Eagle’s museum and Fort Egbert last year.  It felt like we were coming home… the rare gift of a small town.  How wonderful!

After church, we visited the new Eagle Trading Company restaurant for breakfast and were allowed to peek into several of the yet unfinished motel rooms.  These rooms will probably be open to guests next year.  Then we drove out to the Han tribal community, several miles out of town.  The original tribal settlement had been demolished during the flood of May 2009.  It was completely rebuilt on higher ground with the help of both Mennonite and Billy Graham-backed relief efforts. 

Monday, after a visit to the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve Visitor Center and some pointers from Ranger Chris on gold panning, we decided to try our luck panning on Jack Wade Creek, just down the road from our campground.  This section of water is open to anyone to pan for gold (unless there is evidence of mining equipment in the area).  I decided quickly that I never would have made it during the gold rush… the water was too cold, quickly numbing fingers, and the pickings too slim.  We certainly didn’t find that life-changing nugget while sifting through the silt!

Last year the campground was covered in a wide variety of wild mushrooms that we had never before seen.  It had been drier this year, so the proliferation of mushrooms was much less.  The rain, however, caught up with us yet again.  By the time we departed, more mushrooms began to pop up in the moss-covered, spongy tundra, including the rare bleeding mushroom.

In the afternoon we took the Pipeline Trail, which meanders from the campground along Fort Egbert’s original water pipeline.  The pipeline provided water to the fort from a small stream near the creek.  A boiler house pumped the water uphill while warming houses kept the water from freezing. 

 The trail ended on top of the small, grass runway that overlooks the Visitor Center and the Yukon River.  We both looked up, laughing, remembering last year’s experience.  The runway landing is right over the road to the campground, complete with cautionary signs. 

View from end of Pipeline Trail, Eagle, Alaska

Last year as we were strolling along Fort Egbert’s historic grounds, we both instinctively ducked as a small blue plane came in low and sideways over the hill, attempting to make a landing amidst a fierce crosswind on this short field.  At first it seemed as if he wouldn’t make it.  The plane looked catywampus and in dire need of altitude.  His touchdown, however, was perfect… a testament to a true Alaskan bush pilot … his years of experience obvious.  We have since learned that the pilot is over 80 years old and has been flying since he could walk.  Here is a photo from last year’s adventure to give you an idea of his approach…

An Alaska bush pilot lands in Eagle... road to campground in extreme lower-right corner!

Fall colors have begun to bathe the mountainsides, becoming more and more brilliant each day.  We awoke to sunshine and bid a fond farewell to Eagle and its wonderful townspeople, vowing to return.  Today, however, the Dempster beckons, and we must go!

Taylor Highway, Alaska