North to Fairbanks

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There is only thing more painful than learning from experience, that is not learning.----Alex McGleish.

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July 28, 2005, Thursday. After leaving Denali we arrived in Fairbanks and picked up mail. This is an organization day.
July 29, 2005, Friday. Today is the Artic Circle trip. We flew up in a Navajo Chief, a small plane that seats 10. At the start of our flight it appeared foggy, we later learned this was smoke from a burn in the forest. When lightning strikes in the wilderness of Alaska, it is allowed to burn itself out; unless of course, houses or villages are endangered. Last year 6 ½ MILLION acres of forest burned, it was the worst year on record.
Lightning strikes are considered a natural occurrence and as such part of the ecosystem. We observed fields and fields of Fireweed, it is a lovely bright pink/purple wildflower and is the first vegetation to return after a fire. The Fireweed provides the nutrients to the soil to allow mosses to grow and eventually Willows and finally hearty Spruce trees start to grow again. Life goes on. At a farmer’s market we got some Fireweed jelly, made from the flowers, it was quite tasty.
Alaska is expansive and diverse. Its magnitude is difficult to comprehend. Seventeen National Park Systems Areas protect natural, cultural, and historical features of this immense landscape. Most National Parks in Alaska are not accessible by road. Alaska’s isolation and vastness can make travel to and through the state challenging, but thanks to Bob’s fine planning we are doing just fine.
Meanwhile back to the Artic Circle, we landed at a small airfield near Coldfoot, after seeing caribou and moose from the air. The roadhouse at Coldfoot was built cooperatively by workers on the pipeline, as well as the road crew. They were all in need of a place to “hang”, eat and enjoy the company of each other. There is a support pole in the middle of the entranceway which contains signatures of every worker.
The Gates of the Artic NP Visitor’s Center was staffed by National Park people, BLM people, and US Fishing and Wildlife people, and they all work together cooperatively! It was very elaborate for being in the middle of nowhere. Of course Bob got his passport stamped.
Transferring to a van, we began a trip on the Dalton Highway south to a Latitude of 66degrees 33feet. That Artic Circle is an imaginary line on our earth, at which there is no sunset on June 21, and conversely no sunrise on December 21.
The Dalton Highway was built for the construction of the Pipeline. I was surprised to see that the pipeline running parallel to the Hwy. was alternating from above ground to below ground. The reason for this is the permafrost. 82% of Alaska’s land is covered with permafrost.
If the hot oil was allowed to flow below the ground it would melt the permafrost and cause a chain reaction in the ecosystem that would not be good. It was more difficult to build it above ground and quite an engineering feat. The pipeline runs for 800 miles!
Our 262 mile trip back to Fairbanks on the Dalton Hwy was “bumpy” and long. This is as far north as we go. Since the forest fire had jumped the road, we got some pictures of the “burn” close up. The Spruce tree ignites like a torch and create quite a fireworks display.
July 30, 31, 2005 Saturday and Sunday. The University of Alaska has an interesting museum, and is currently expanding it considerably. If one uses the museum’s audio kit, you hear about the rocks from a professor of geology, and explanations on early artifacts are explained by a specialist from the anthropology department, and so on.
After some organizational “stuff” we stopped by the Beaver Sport, a large outdoor shop. Bob had his eye on a Fold-a-boat, but we managed to leave without a purchase.
On Sunday Bob did some computer work and I was off for a bike ride. That is one problem with all the miles we drive, we don’t get “regular” exercise and I miss it. Every choice in life is a trade-off.
We visited Pioneer Park. It is the first FREE thing we experienced in Alaska. It is a little village with the original loghouses, transformed into shops. Kids would enjoy going through the paddle wheel boat and the train, etc.

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Photos

Judge Wickersham house
He was a driving force in old Alaska