Some people have asked us Why the Artic Circle. Well we don’t have any exotic answer for that question except it sounded like a Fun & Adventures outing. Maybe the answer would be because it was there. Now that being said Steve couldn’t be talked into taking the MH up so it was just a long day trip in the Tahoe. And we took a picnic lunch.
Black Gold (oil) discovered in 1968 @ Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope of Alaska. After all the permits & Safeguards were met the “Haul Road” was built (415 Miles). Called that because almost everything supporting oil development was “hauled” on tractor-trailer to it’s final destination of Prudhoe Bay. The Trans-Alaska pipeline was run like a wartime project –Money was no object. The Haul Road was completed in 5 months and the Pipeline in 3 yrs. (1974-1977) In 1981 the Hwy renamed the Dalton Hwy. after James B. Dalton.
The Hwy was only open to Commercial traffic until 1981, When the public was allowed as far as Disaster Creek MP 211. In 1994 the public was allowed as far as Deadhorse MP 414. Services are Very Limited. Before going you need to ck on the Road & Weather conditions, & wild fires.There is no Phone or Internet & you need to bring Drinking water with you.
WE left about 9 in the morning and there was a little fog to start but soon cleared.
There were several areas of construction along the Hwy. And because of that there’s a lot of mud. So much you can’t see the license plate on the work trucks. It hasn’t been raining They wet down toe road in the construction area’s for dust & with this type of dirt it helps to pack it.
I had to post the 2 mileage sign’s It took an hr. to travel the 27 miles.
Steve out looking @ the pipeline. And an area where there had been a fire. This area of Alaska can have a lot of fires. Summer in northern Alaska brings frequent thunderstorms, formed as continuous sunlight heats the moisture into the air. Lightning generated within thunderstorms sparks over 200 wildfires in Alaska each year. The pipeline engineers anticipated wildfire and wrapped the trans-Alaska oil pipeline in both glass insulation & galvanized steel so it can withstand flame & heat. Firefighters further reduce the risk posed by wildfires by removing fuel sources, such as dry vegetation, near sensitive pipeline equipment. Between 2003 & 2005 fires along the Dalton Hwy. burned over 1.2 million acres of land.
We finally come to the Yukon River again. Back in June 23 we were in Dawson City, Yukon Territory and crossed the Yukon River in a small ferry boat. The Yukon River winds nearly 2,000 miles from Canada to the Bering Sea. This wood-decked bridge, completed in 1975 (upgraded in 1999) is 2,290 ft. long and has a 6% grade. This is the largest privately funded construction project in U.S. history.
On the other side of the bridge is the visitor center & the Yukon River Camp. It’s the first place you can get gas @ & the next gas is 119 miles up the road. There was a group of old classic cars that were making the drive all the way to Deadhorse They had reservations for overnight accommodations @ Deadhorse.
Finger mountain is another stop along the way @ MP 98. And we finally made it to The Artic Circle (MP 115). The Artic Circle is an imaginary line @ latitude 66 deg.33’ North. where the sun stays above the horizon for one full day on summer solstice (June21) and below the horizon for one full day on winter solstice (Dec. 21) And the Tahoe didn’t do too bad till we returned.
WE did drive to the next stop Gobblers Knob (MP 132) Steve, Mike & Sandy B. @ Gobblers Knob. And on our return the old cars were still heading up.
Back @ the MH in Fairbanks the Tahoe before & then after it’s $20 bath. The whole trip took us about 13 hrs. That included stopping for gas twice & a picnic lunch.
It was a great trip with great sunny weather. Maybe next time we’ll have to start earlier & go a little farther up. But unless we would stay the nite don’t think we would go all the way to Deadhorse.
Contact info www.blm.gov/ak/dalton
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