We had to get to the airport for our fly/drive tour to and from the Arctic Circle. We flew from Fairbanks to Coldfoot in a 10-seat Piper Navajo. Since the plane was full, the pilot asked for a volunteer to ride shotgun. I immediately said I'd do it and pushed the four kids on the flight with us out of my way. I'm not sure if I stepped on any of them.
Coldfoot is a truckstop north of the Arctic Circle with an airstrip to bring in touristy types, like ourselves, and even some supplies. It was raining in Fairbanks as we left, so it took some time to get above the clouds and then into semi-clear skies at which point the flight rocked it. A few times, it felt like we were going to fly into the top of a ridge, but apparently the pilot knew what he was doing. Within 3 miles of the airstrip, it was raining like a gaggle of banshees and I couldn't see anything. Again, the pilot had apparently done this more than once and landed quite easily to much praise.
We were greeted by Ian, who would be our tour guide on the seven hour drive back down the Dalton Highway to Fairbanks. We learned that we were the only two scheduled for the drive today and knew that it would now, officially, rock. We went into the truckstop and grabbed some beverages. As an aside, the store clerk mocked my White Sox jacket since he was a Cubs fan. Thus, I mocked his Cubbery simply due to his Cubbery. Cubs suck. The Dalton Highway (aka, the Haul Road) was constructed prior to the Alaska oil pipeline so that they could get supplies up to build the pipeline. The road and the pipeline pretty much run parallel along the way.
A few words about Ian. Ian was much more than a tour guide. He was a genius and a god (small "g"). He knew everything about everything we saw and even things we didn't. He has lived in Alaska for nine years without a TV or running water and has camped, hiked, kayaked rivers - anything a human can do outdoors - in both summer and winter. In a word, he's nuts, but in the best of ways. The man should write a book about his experiences.
He drove us to the Arctic Circle and later gave us a hands on demo of the pipeline and dug through the tundra to the permafrost layer beneath it. He even stopped along the way to take us on a mile-long hike over the tundra to Finger Rock where we were accompanied by swarms of mosquitoes the size of cantaloupes attempting to drain us of several pints of blood. I will probably need a blood transfusion due to blood loss. In fact, I may bleed out before I'm finished typing.
I'll just stop babbling about how awesome the Dalton Highway, the Arctic Circle and Ian were and let you judge for yourself by viewing the photos from the day HERE. Enjoy.
Agenda for tomorrow (actually today): a 10 hour drive (the scenic route) back to Anchorage for our 1 a.m. flight to Seattle/California.
1 comment:
that made me laugh...I am sure you mamed one of those children to ride shotgun.
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