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Alaska is a HUGE state!
People cannot really fathom how BIG Alaska is when compared to the "lower 48 states." This graphic overlay says it all.Hi gang,
It seems like a shorter day today or maybe I am getting used to the routine...covered about 200 miles today after leaving Tok. I am currently staying for the next two days at Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks. Military members can stay at visitors quarters if available. Rate is $28 per night. Not bad when I have been paying up to $28 to pitch a tent at some of the campgrounds along the way.
However, the highlight for me today was officially finishing the Alaska Highway at Delta Junction, AK. Now I can get the t-shirt and the bumper sticker!
There seems to be some disparity in the actual mileage from Dawson Creek to Delta Junction...let me see if I can explain if from my research.
The pioneer road completed in 1942 was approximately 1,680 miles from Dawson Creek to Delta Junction, the northern terminus of the Alaska Highway. The U.S. Army then turned the road over to the Public Roads Administration of Washington, which then began putting out section contracts to private road contractors to upgrade selected sections of the road. These sections were upgraded, with removal of excess bends and steep grades.
Mile after mile of highway, forest and mountains
I never tired of driving the Highway...it is the journey, not the destination that taxed all my senses, from smelling the fresh rain, the cut of hay, a campfire aroma, a decomposing animal in the forest and the fresh air. When the Japanese invasion threat eased, the PRA stopped putting out new contracts. Upon hand-off to Canada in 1946, the route was 1,422 miles from Dawson Creek to Delta Junction. It is the only road link between Alaska and Canada and the lower 48 states. Many travelers are confused by claims that Fairbanks is Mile 1523 of the Alaska Highway. Fairbanks is actually the northern end of the historic Richardson Highway, which stretches from Valdez north through Delta junction and on to Fairbanks.
However many miles, I can say it was a very emotional ride crossing over some majestic mountain ranges, observing wildlife in their natural habitat and the thrill of accomplishing something that not many people have done in their lifetime, much less on two wheels. My faith in God who created this beautiful world is more grounded because it did not just happen...it was planned. There are not too many wilderness areas left and I can pass this experience along to my children and grandchildren by way of this travel blog, hundreds of photographs and the stories I will tell them of when their grandfather road 6,000 miles on his motorcycle to the great Northwest!
Along
I had the best seat in the house!
This has been my view for the past 9 days...sometimes it was clear and sometimes the rain was coming so fast that I had to almost stand up on my cycle to see over the windshield, which was covered with rain. Wouldn't you agree the view is worth it? the way you have many hours to think and reflect and I have been doing that...however, sometimes those crazy ideas come into your head about certain things. Like what is the difference between a reindeer and a caribou? So I looked it up. Essentially no difference, says Don Russell, manager of the Canadian Wildlife Service in the Yukon. "The reindeer is just an Old World caribou," he says. "They are the same species, Rangifer tarandus."
Or what is the difference between a grizzly and a brown bear? The grizzly bear, also known as the silvertip bear, is a subspecies of brown bear that lives in the uplands of western North America. They are normally a solitary active animal, but in coastal areas the grizzly congregates alongside streams, lakes, and rivers during the salmon spawn. Every other year, females (sows) produce one to four young (most commonly two) which are small and weigh only about one pound. A sow is very protective of her offspring and will attack if she thinks she is being threatened, hence the reason I keep my protective gear and helmet on when photographing them...as if that will help.....
Some of you remember when Johnny
Trans Alaska Pipeline near Delta Junction, AK
The 800 mile, $8B Trans Alaska Pipeline took two years to build and has pumped over 15 billion barrels to Valdez. This is 8 miles north of Delta Junction, AK. McCoy spoke to Evangel Assembly of God men's group. Several years ago, Johnny, a Baptist minister and former North Pole mayor, had his ear ripped off by an grizzly bear that attacked moose-hunting partner Gary Corle. Corle got a shot off at the bear with his rifle, but missed. The bear then turned on the 52-year-old McCoy, who needed surgery to reattach his ear and close large gashes in his forehead, arms and hands. He travels around the country telling this chilling story.
About 8 miles up the road from Delta Junction I came across another engineering feat...the Trans Alaska Pipeline. While I am not familiar with this feat here are some great facts.
TRANS ALASKA PIPELINE FACTS:
* The Trans Alaska Pipeline System was designed and constructed to move oil from the North Slope of Alaska to the northern most ice-free port in Valdez, Alaska.
* Length: 800 miles.
* Diameter: 48 inches.
* Crosses three mountain ranges and over 800 rivers and streams.
* Cost to build: $8 billion in 1977, largest privately funded construction project at that time.
* Construction began on March 27, 1975 and was completed on
Trans Alaska Pipeline 48" pipeline
This is a cross section of several pipelines used in the past. The top 3" pipeline was used to pump gas and diesel from 1943 to 1947. The middle 8" section was used by the US Army from 1955 to 1971 and the 48" pipe is currently being used in the Trans Alaska pipeline. May 31, 1977.
* First oil moved through the pipeline on June 20, 1977.
* Over 15 billion barrels have moved through the Trans Alaska Pipeline System.
* First tanker to carry crude oil from Valdez: ARCO Juneau, August 1, 1977.
* Tankers loaded at Valdez: 19,625 through April 30, 2008.
* Storage tanks in Valdez- 18 with total storage capacity of 9.1 million barrels total.
As long as we are into facts in this particular blog, here's more.
ALASKA FACTS
* 24 hours of daylight, 24 hours of night
* 3 million lakes
* 586,400 Square Miles
* 2 times the size of Texas
* 29 volcanoes
* 33,000 miles of coastline!
* 1,400 miles North to South
* 2,700 miles East to West
* Over 1/2 the world's Glaciers
* 55 miles east of Russia
* only state to have coastlines on three different seas. Arctic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea.
*Mount Denali: 20,320 feet (Tallest in North America)
*Purchased from Russia in 1867 for under 2 cents an acre.
Well, that about wraps up today.
Pig that traveled the Trans Alaska Pipeline
Over time, wax builds up on the pipeline's 48-inch diameter walls, slowing oil flow. Paraffin "pigs" are inserted - a sort of tube with fins inside the pipe - to scrape the walls of the pipe about every seven to 14 days.
Scraper pigs pushed along by the flow of oil are designed to come apart if they encounter obstacles so that the pipeline will not be plugged. Now that's encouraging. I wonder if they have ever lost a "pig"? I am going to try and get my bike serviced in Fairbanks and cleaned up as I head for Denali and Anchorage on Tuesday.
Until then, I trust you are enjoying this as much as I have enjoyed writing and sharing with you my experiences. You are never too old to have goals. Take those goals and turn them into reality.
Have a great day.
Rob
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Kevin Conklin
non-member comment
Congrats
Rob, Congrats.... very interesting ride. Enjoy Alaska, what a beautiful state. To bad our trips did not over lap more than what they did and we could have had dinner together. Kevin