Sourdough Mining Co Anchorage Alaska

Journey from Anchorage to Yukon offers grand scenery, history

Alaska draws visitors for a myriad of reasons: fishing, amazing landscapes and wildlife watching.

And now, gold panning can be added to the list.

Maybe because of gold now hitting $1,500 an ounce or the growing popularity of the Discovery Channel's "Gold Rush: Alaska" reality show, people are drawn to this vast state for the chance -- slim as it may be -- to strike it rich.

A trip for the true adventurers, they are interested in gold mining or not, the car is the largest city in Alaska, Anchorage to Dawson City, Canada - via a stopover in the chicken with the name of humor, Alaska, one of the only gold panning camps left.

Opinions on this disc roughly 511-mile are nothing short of spectacular, and offer incredible views ranging from bright ice blue SWIFT-flowing rivers of endless, rolling mountain ranges of emerald.

And along the way, one just might spot a moose with her calf, or a black bear scurrying across the road.

A town called Chicken

Located off the Taylor Highway about eight hours from Anchorage, Chicken is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, and the state's largest and only organized mining district.

Officially incorporated in 1902 some years after the original gold rush, Chicken features turn-of-the-century buildings, which are now tourist attractions.

For the few who call it home, "it's a whole different way of life," said Nate Becker, a tour guide.

More than a few large nuggets have been found in creeks, where guides take up would-be "sourdough" panners, some of whom travel all the way from Europe.

For a fee, gold panners can purchase a claim and are transported up by knowledgeable guides to a creek.

Things NOT to See and Do in Anchorage, Alaska - Sourdough Mining ...

The restaurant’s free transportation, a converted school bus, transported us from our accommodations to the “gold mine” site, not all that far from the airport. There was a log building, rather quaint, on one side and the Alaska Wild Berry Store on the other. As we entered the restaurant, we weren’t quite sure what was in store for us. Soon we found out. As the waiter came around taking drink orders, we noticed the lack of wine list or drink menu and prices. As the waiter had a strong need for efficiency, we ordered our chosen beverages and immediately returned to passing huge plates of steaming foods… ribs, salmon and chicken. All meats seemed to be baked or steamed vs. bar-b-qued. One of our group inquired about sourdough bread (namesake of the restaurant) and was told they didn’t serve sourdough bread. We sipped, chomped and passed the plates, some of which never emptied. Our waiter announced that we could move on across the street to the Alaska Wild Berry Store where we could shop until the show started in “tent city.” We hadn’t yet finished our wine and beer, so we felt a bit pushed and opted for a brief “sit down strike” in order to finish our meal and drinks. Diners lined up for the “sundae-bar.” Since across the street was a wild berry store I had been secretly hoping the restaurant would serve a berry pie or cobbler. No such luck. I swigged down my wine and joined my group in line for the ice cream. I had heard there would be ice cream and a wide range of toppings. Actually there was a soft-serve ice cream machine (self serve) with a variety of toppings to choose from. The ice cream was heavy on the ice and weak on the cream. I did get my chocolate fix. The waiter promptly brought us our drink bills. OMG! Each drink was double what we usually paid for a beer or house wine PLUS they added $1.50 service charge AND 18% gratuity.

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