Continue on to Deadhorse.

Day 3

We were up early for our day 3 start and after breakfast we started rolling north. We decided to push past Wiseman and do a visit on our way back. The road had recently been paved and was very nice, but didn't last long. The road quickly turned to dirt and a little muddy. Scenery started immediately.
(Note: Any picture can be clicked on to see larger version.)

A couple hours of picture taking and we started up the bottom of Atigun Pass. Atigun Pass is a 4739 foot pass across the Brooks Range around mile 244. Clouds had moved in and a light rain kept us from seeing to far up the mountain. There are several pull outs on the way up to the top, and the road is fairly wide. It seemed a little more ominous on Ice Road truckers, although they were doing it in the winter. 

View looking toward the pass.

 View looking south as we headed up the pass. My Aunt loved the valley below the pass and kept telling us that someday she was going to move up here and build her a nice little cabin.  We told her to have fun with that as the snow in the winter would bury her and her cabin. :) She decided that maybe she would build it and only come up in the summer, she is a wise woman.  

Starting up the pass.  This is where the CB can come in handy to let trucks know you are coming up as they tend to take up pretty much the whole road as they come down.

 The truck at the top of Atigun pass.

The north side of the pass drops quickly in just a few turns, seemed to be much more impressive than the south side. A stop at Galbraith Lake around mile 274 was cut short as I believe another few minutes and I would have been packed off by mosquitoes. I could seriously almost cut a path with a knife! This is why we suggested the bug net on the "Things to bring" section in the first chapter. 

More Scenery shots.

Around 2 pm we rolled into Deadhorse and checked in for our 5:30 pm tour and dip in the Arctic Ocean. You can't drive to the Arctic Ocean in a privately owned vehicle, there are security checkpoints that only badged personnel are able to go through. The tours are run by the oil field security personnel and they show you a short video before the tour, that is actually pretty neat.  The tour guys are pretty funny and they will stop and let you take pictures and point out wildlife.

While waiting for our tour we decided to fuel up and take a few pictures. Fuel was $5.19 a gallon. All the pumps are inside the building and with no attendant it took a few moments to figure it all out.

Here is the fueling station, notice the yellow plastic square you are required to put under your vehicle by your fuel door.  This catches any possible drips.  The oil companies are very strict about following environmental safety procedures and will fine you if you are caught not using one of these, and the penalties are pretty steep.

 These are Rolligon's, they have very large tires to spread the surface pressure out over a large area and are used to move equipment for the oil riggs across the tundra.  The wheels are specially designed so that driving over the tundra doesn't damage the tundra environment.

Our tour of the oil field and ultimately a dip in the Arctic Ocean left on time. The tour cost $45.00 per person but was well worth it. The driver was very knowledgeable and the video before the bus ride was very informative. By the time we got to the ocean the wind was blowing and the temperature was 32 degrees. I was thinking maybe a dip in the ocean was not the smartest thing to do, but my Uncle was determined to do it. When we got off the bus I knew it was going to be cold, but when I stepped in the water it wasn't that bad. It was getting out that was cold. Quick toweling off and back on the bus. Well worth the bragging rights that I took a dip in the Arctic Ocean.

Here are a few pictures of around Deadhorse.

Caribou feeding right in Deadhorse. There are several different herds of caribou that roam across the tundra; at times they can number in the thousands.  Up on the north slope the oil companies have a no harassment policy for all the wildlife up here, so what does this mean, this means that if you have a heard of caribou that decide to lay down on the road, you wait until they decide to move.  The only acception to this rule is if they have a grizzly or a polar bear that has decided to stick around and hunt a few humans, then there are trained personnel that have training from the wildlife troopers and they use non lethal ways to help the bears move on their way.

These are the only trees north of the Brooks Range. This may explain why the permanent population of Deadhorse is up to 50 residents, with the temporary residents who work the oil fields and staff the services, as high as 3000 people at any given time of the year. With only 4 fake trees I wouldn't want to live here either.

After the tour we decided a shower would be nice so for $10.00 at the Prudhoe Bay Hotel you can take a nice hot shower. After our nice hot shower we went to get a bite to eat at the hotel, but didn't realize that it was well after 10pm as the sun is up 24 hours a day in the summer.  When the sun rises on May 20th it doesn't set again until July 22nd, so it is light all summer long.  On the flip side when the sun sets on November 24th it doesn't rise again until January 18th so you have 24 hours of darkness. 

We decided to park at the Deadhorse General store for the night as we had the camper and the hotel rooms are a bit spendy and need to be booked well in advance.

Day 4

Morning 4 was a cloudy morning in Deadhorse, but you could visibly see where the sun was in the sky even at 5 am. At some point between 2 and 3 am the clouds had cleared up for a short time because the sun shot through the shades right onto my face. I had to hang a shirt over the shades to get back to sleep. While living in Barrow I just put aluminum foil on the bedroom windows, but at 2 am that wasn't an option. It was a cool morning with the temperature around 26 degrees.

After breakfast we spent a little time in the general store shopping for some souvenirs, my aunt had to get everyone back in the lower 48 something, this took awhile but very enjoyable. The store has a very good selection of souvenirs, from shirts to ivory and native baskets. 

Took some time to drive around the area to take some pictures and we actually ran into a friend and neighbor that works for the FAA who happened to be working up there during the time we visited.  It was pretty ironic that you can travel so far and still run into your neighbors.

This is called a bull bar (not sure why), but they use it in the winter time to plug all the vehicle in as the temperatures in the winter can get down to -50 degrees fahrenheit.  The vehicles are plugged in to keep the engine block warm so the oil and diesel in the vehicles won't freeze.  They actually have an entire crew in the winter that their entire job is to drive around and fuel vehicles and equipment that are plugged into the bull bars.

Carlile yard which is featured on Ice Road Truckers. My Uncle is a HUGE fan of this show and we were hoping to catch a glimpse of his favorite trucker Lisa, but no such luck.

Era Airlines terminal.

A couple of motorcycles that made the trip up the haul road.  There is actually a bike shop in Anchorage that rent the enduro bikes and will take you on tours up to Deadhorse and Chicken, yes I said Chicken, Alaska.  We actually made it over to chicken and I will have a post about this later in a different entry.

We were amazed at all the different kinds of equipment around the area. Here is a sled on top of some kind of tracked trailer.

A Snowy Owl also known as an Arctic Owl.

Some caribou hanging out near the pipeline.

A fox looking a little skinny.

 Some Muskox hanging out, this is where a telephoto lens would've come in handy.

We ran into a few areas of rain on the way back, kind of a cold dreary day. We still were able to get lots of pictures and enjoy the scenery. The rain made the road muddy in several places, but nothing to have any concern over.

After going over Atigun Pass we found a small area of snow along side the road. I just had to have my picture taken with snow in the month of July.

Next stop was Wiseman. Wiseman Alaska is a small community started by miners in 1919 and is just a few miles from Coldfoot. I had heard they had a few attractions worth taking a few pictures.

 Phone booth in Wiseman.

 The sign says "white mans totem pole". My Aunt is into recycling, and all she kept asking is how many pounds of aluminum we thought that was.  We had to watch her as we thought she might be skeeming on how she could fit all of them in the camper, lets just say if she could've taken them, she would've.

Wiseman post office that is sinking into the ground due to reclining permafrost.

Back at the Marion Creek Campground (Just out side of Coldfoot) for some dinner and more Smore's. Notice the truck and camper are just a bit muddy.

Day 5

Heading back to Fairbanks today. Took a short hike while waiting for everyone to get up this morning. Here is a picture of a tree that caught my eye. The main tree is bent all the way over so the top is touching the ground and a branch is shooting straight out of it. I assume the branch is becoming the main tree. Interesting to see how this looks in a few years.

 We got a kick out of this road sign, enough said.

 Second bear of the trip, but could only get a picture of him going away.

 A couple of moose.

Back in Fairbanks by 4pm. We had to restock the grocery's, fuel and propane to head to our next adventure of Chicken Alaska and Dawson City Yukon. We spent $427.58 on fuel for the 1320 miles and $12.87 on propane for the camper. It seems to be a lot for fuel, but when you consider the camper saved us 4 nights of hotel fees then the savings is well worth it. We used the heater at night and let the refrigerator run on propane the entire trip. We also spent almost $30 at the local car wash getting the mud off the truck and camper.

This was an amazing trip and I would recommend it to anyone even remotely considering it. Doing this trip in a cab over camper with 4 adults may get a bit crowded, but we spend most of our time outside and didn't notice any problems.

Next adventure of Fairbanks to Chicken and Dawson and back to Palmer coming soon.

Driving the Haul road

Trip was made July 13-17 2011.

The wife and I have wanted to make the drive up the Haul road, also known as the James W. Dalton highway, for quite some time now. After talking about it for a few years, and watching "Ice Road Truckers",  we finally decided to make the trip. We spent a lot of time doing research on the wonderful web. I had read stories about needing several spare tires, lots of extra fuel and to expect several windshield chips. I decided that I would take an extra 10 gallons of diesel and since I would be making the trip in a Ford F-350 with dual rear wheels that was capable of driving with one tire off of each side I didn't need to take any extra spare tires. After months of planning I wasn't sure I wanted to take my new truck and our camper up what sounded like such a terrible road. My aunt, uncle and my wife had been looking forward to this trip for over a year so I couldn't back out now. It was 824 miles one way from our house in Palmer to Prudhoe Bay (Deadhorse). We decided to take several days and enjoy the trip. Here is a map of the trip from Palmer, Alaska to Prudhoe Bay(Deadhorse) and back to Fairbanks, Alaska.

Map of out route, all 1320 miles.

** Note if you fly up and are planning on renting a vehicle and want to make this drive you will want to check with the rental company as often they do NOT allow the rental vehicles to make this trip.  There are some rental companies that will allow it, but you need to ask as there are often very hefty fines if they need to come rescue you from the haul road**

Some handy things to bring on the trip: 
CB Radio: not a must but was nice to have when we got chirped and asked to hold up for the very large load coming around the bend.
Mosquito Spray: Something with lots of DEET in it as the mosquitos are about the size of a 50 cent piece, not kidding.
Bug Net: You will need this if at any time up on the haul road you need to be outside for an extended period of time as the mosquitos and tiny flies can be a bit annoying.
Binoculars: These come in handy when you spot things that you can't get very close to and are nice for spotting the babies in the foxes dens and wolf dens.
Camera: Make sure you invest in a really good digital camera or video camera as the scenery as you will see is VERY worth the money for the good camera.
A good attitude: This is important as there are times when there are delays and understand in Alaska you are on "Alaska Time" which means that things aren't always as speedy or as technologically advanced as the lower 48. :)
Cash: Bring cash to use as at times, out in the bush (remote areas), there is not always an ATM, credit card machine or a bank.

Handy Terms you may hear:
Lower 48: Here in Alaska you will often here this term, it applies to anyone not from the state of alaska and who typically live in the continental 48 states.
Sourdough: This is a lifetime resident of Alaska.
Ulu: This is a knife that a lot of Alaskans use and there is a factory in Anchorage that you can take a tour.  The knives are great for everyday use and camping.
The Bush: This means you are somewhere that is not easy to get to, and typically can be only easily accessed by plane or by boat.
On the Road system: Alaska is a HUGE state and less than 1/2 of it is populated, let alone accessible by roads.  When you hear this term it means these are places that you can drive to and don't need a plane or a boat to get to them.
Off the Road System: Like above Alaska is huge and there are tons of villages and towns that are not accessible by roads, hence they are called "The Bush" or "Off the Road System" you will need a plane or a boat to access them.
BLM: This stands for Bureau of Land Management and they are in charge of all the state land and the up keep and permits for land use.
Prudhoe Bay/DeadHorse/North Slope: These are all the same place, just the locals tend to refer to this area with all of these different terms often in the same sentence or conversation.
Denali: Alaskans call it Denali, some refer to this as Mt. McKinley, it is the same mountain like above we tend to use them interchangeably :)


Day 1.

We left in the afternoon on July 13th 2011. The four of us in our cab over camper, hoping that we all return. We enjoyed a wonderful drive up the parks highway past Denali, that happened to be covered in clouds.

We stopped at Hurricane Gulch bridge to take a few pictures.The bridge is only 551 feet long but it is 258 feet above the water and opened to traffic in 1971.

Since we left in the afternoon we decided to stop along the side of the highway just south of Nenana to enjoy the sunset, well more accurately the sun "dip" as the sun never really sets in the summer,  and have some dinner.  Nothing like a couple of nice Bratz on the grill and a cold beer to wash it down.

Day 2.

We were up early and on the road to Fairbanks before 7 am. Once in Fairbanks we topped off with fuel and a couple extra bags of ice and on the road by 9 am. It is 498 miles from Fairbanks to Deadhorse and we had no specific plan on how long it would take. Leaving Fairbanks you have to take the Elliot Highway 84 miles to the start of the Haul rd. (Dalton Highway). The scenery was spectacular as expected. We stopped and took lots of pictures. 

Around mile 56 of the Dalton Highway you cross the Yukon River on a wooden decked bridge that is 2290 feet long and has a 6% grade. Doesn't sound like fun in the winter time. The bridge also carries the pipeline across the river.

 View from the bridge.

 Just after getting off the bridge you can drive under the pipeline and visit a small park that has some great views of the bridge and loads of information.

View of the bridge from below, notice the 6% grade. The picture does not do this justice as the expanse of this river is huge.

Along the way there was some amazing areas of the fireweed that we just had to take a few pictures of and were lucky enough to see some black bear, my wife didn't get the camera out in time to capture the bear.

At mile 98 there is the Finger Mountain BLM(Bureau of Land Management) Wayside that is a great place to take a rest and enjoy the views. 

For you Ice Road Trucker fans below is Finger Rock out in the distance.

Shorty after getting back on the road we came to the "Beaver Slide". This is around mile 109 and is a 2 mile 9% drop heading north. Again this looks like a lot of fun in the winter. I really felt bad when I saw a bicyclist coming up the hill about halfway down, he was really pushing it.

We borrowed a handheld CB from a friend of our so we could listen to the truck traffic. We were hailed on the radio and asked to wait in a wide spot while an over-sized load made it through an area that wasn't quite as wide. Here is a picture of a Carlile truck headed south.

Here are few pictures of the scenery and the pipeline.The Trans Alaska pipeline is 800 miles long and 48 inches in diameter. It crosses 3 mountain ranges and more than 30 major rivers.It transport oil from the North Slope of Alaska to the Port of Valdez to be loaded onto tankers. The pipeline was started in 1975 and finished in 1977.

 Notice the pipeline on the right side.

 Another pipeline picture.

At mile 115 is the long awaited Arctic Circle, now I have actually lived north of the Arctic Circle, as I lived in Barrow for two years,  but everyone else was really excited to actually drive north of it.

Back on the road again and it didn't take long for more excitement. There is an old saying "Does a bear go in the woods". Well we don't think so, we managed to catch a blurry picture of a bear just leaving the outhouse. So I think that old saying may be incorrect.

At mile 174 is Coldfoot. We had a half a tank of fuel so we topped it off at the price of $5.29 a gallon. There is a restaurant and hotel with a nice little gift shop. On the other side of the road is the Arctic Inter-agency visitors center, which is well worth the time to visit. After spending some time in Coldfoot we pushed down the road another whole 5 miles to the Marion Creek BLM campground. The campground is very nice with several restrooms throughout the 26 sites. There is a hiking trail that starts at the campground and takes you to Marion Creek Falls. We decided to stop for the night and had a wonderful meal of Pork loin on the grill with some pasta salad and potatoes, followed by a few smores.

Stay tuned for the rest of this trip. Day 3 through 5 will be posted soon along with the total cost of the trip.

Camping at Slipper Lake near Sutton

We decided to take a short camping trip about 15 miles from home, even though I have a ton of projects to do. I have to take advantage of the weekends that I get off with the family. Krista was able to get the weekend off from Subway also. We left Friday night and came home Sunday when Krista started having chest pains and couldn't breathe. We had a visit to the emergency room, and now a Dr appointment Wednesday. We think she may have been having some severe indigestion, but not sure. Jen made some awesome meals while we were out, have to say she can cook for sure. We took some photos, but I didn't get one of Jen stuck in the mud. Darn! Oh well.

The area we like to go is near Sutton, Alaska. Just up the road we camp near slipper lake. There are a lot of trails to ride from going to Eska falls to a trail that will reach the Buffalo mine road. I wouldn't recommend camping here around any of the holidays as this place can get full and a little rowdy.

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy.

Jen, Krista and Tracy

The spoiled mutt

Meeting of the minds.

Ok, now this is just a funny pic of someone.

oh yes it must be umpa loompa

Jen showing us how it is done.