Alaska Adventure

Delta Junction - Alaska Memorial Day Weekend 2017

2017-06-11T21:51:00.001-07:00

Ever wonder what Alaska is like in the early spring? How about the end of May? Well take a look at our adventure and you will see.

This trip was taken over Memorial Day Weekend 2017. We picked Delta Junction. This is an area close to Ft. Greely Army base and about 100 miles south of Fairbanks. There are a few really good camping areas and if you want some good old fashioned mud bogging for your Jeep, ATV or UTV there is even a Mud Rally held every year at this time. There are a lot of great activities and many friendly people to meet. Just pack for the conditions, meaning pack both winter and summer gear as this time of year the weather can go from 70 deg's to snow in the same day.

Below are the pictures we took of our journey and the 4wheeling adventures we had.

May 25, 2017 -These pictures are of the road leading to Delta Junction as you venture north from Palmer, Alaska

As you can see we encountered some snow.

We set up camp and hit the trail. A lot less snow at the final destination yet not exactly warm at 45 deg's and the wind was blowing, but in true Alaskan style we set up camp, pulled on our t-shirts and sweatshirts and headed out to see the trails. The views are amazing and with the wind and cooler temperatures the skies are crisp which makes for better distance views of the surrounding mountains.

This is a public use cabin. We are planning a trip back in the winter on snowmachines for some northern lights viewing. These cabins are set up with an outhouse, wood stove, platform bed areas and a table. These are FREE you just need to reserve them through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). You can either hike or drive into them. They sometimes have boats or canoes that go along with the cabin and firewood is provided. They have cooking pots and utensils and games in the cabins. You will need to bring a sleeping mat, sleeping bag and bathroom essentials (Toilet Paper). Also be aware you bring it in with you, then you are responsible for packing it back out.

This cabin happened to be right on the lake and there was a canoe

Below are some pictures of other areas around our camp area we explored.

Here is a beaver pond. There are many of these scattered all over Alaska

If you're lucky you can even find a matching moose shed.

This is actually a Mining claim marker. It will tell you the location of the active mining claim, when it was founded and who owns it along with what the mine was named.

This is what we call a "dead glacier" It is the remnants of an old glacier bed that has only silt remaining. You can still see portions of the live glacier and glacier lakes in the below pictures.

This is the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline. It spans an impressive 800 miles from Prudhoe Bay Alaska, which is above the Arctic Circle all the way to Valdez, Alaska. The oil is then transported by tanker to Oil Refineries in Washington State and California, just to name a few.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures. Come see us sometime.

Snow Machining - Valdez Alaska

2017-03-26T20:49:00.001-07:00

Have you ever thought of Snow Machining in Valdez, Alaska? No, well you should. 2017 was a lower than normal snow year so the snow looks a bit sparse in the pictures. Normal snow years the snow is still very good, even in late spring the snow is ridable and the scenery can't be beaten. The temps hover around 20 plus degrees and the sun rises at 7:30 am and sets around 8:30 pm this time of year. It's a great time of year to get out and do some backcountry riding. These pictures are of Solomon Lake in Valdez, Alaska and a ridge knows as the "Hogsback".

Always make sure you ride with someone who is experienced as this area is not for novice riders. Also, it is always a good idea to bring a locator beacon or the Garmin inReach Explorer+ or Garmin inReach SE+ both have locator capabilities and allow you to broadcast your location and signal an SOS if needed or send a text asking for help.

If you are lucky this time of year you will run across animal tracks like, bear, wolf, moose and other small animals as they also inhabit the high country and are active in the spring.

Solomon Lake, AK

Solomon Lake is a Reservoir in Valdez-Cordova, Alaska. It has an elevation of 709 meters or 2,326 feet.

Degrees Minutes Seconds:
Latitude: 61-04'24'' N Longitude: 146-18'06'' W

Decimal Degrees:
Latitude: 61.0733333 Longitude: -146.3016667

Above Valdez looking across the lake

Along the Hogsback

A couple of pictures from the area.

2014-03-15T03:50:00.000-07:00

Here is just a quick post to share a couple of pictures from just down the road from our house. We take it for granted sometimes of what a beautiful place we live in.

Snowmaching near Eureka Alaska

2014-03-04T21:04:00.002-08:00

What wonderful day to go for a snowmachine ride. Yes I called it a snowmachine. That is what they are called up here in Alaska, if you say snowmobile you might hear a few snickers and people calling you a cheechako (new comer to Alaska).

We started off down in the heavy fog off the Glenn Highway, within minutes the fog created a heavy layer of frost on the goggles and made it almost impossible to see. It took about 4 miles hunkered down behind the windshield just peeking over, with no goggles to get out of the fog. My eyebrows had about a half an inch of frost when we finally stopped. We had decided to go into the Bellanger Pass area that we had explored this summer on the ATV's (see previous post). Wow what a difference a few months and 4-6 feet of snow make. Totally a different place! The best part is with a snowmachine you can go almost any place you want and maybe a few you shouldn't. I guess it depends on what you call safe.

We rode around 45 miles in about 6 hours, snow was a little bare for this time of year but enough to enjoy the ride. We even saw an igloo someone made.

After the photos is a short video before the camera battery died. The good snow was of course after the battery died on my camera.

Igloo - Yes we do live in them :o)

Fog down in a valley

Fog down in the valley we rode up from.

Brian doing a little showing off

Brian doing a little more showing off.

Beautiful views

Love the views

A video of the day before the camera battery ran out.

Eklutna Trailrace

2014-03-01T21:01:00.001-08:00

A short afternoon drive over to the Eklutna Trailrace gave us an opportunity for some nice pictures.

Here is a map of the location.

https://www.google.com/maps?ll=61.476361,-149.15855&spn=0.011845,0.042272&t=h&z=15

The Eklutna Hydroelectric Project tailrace is located approximately 34 miles northeast of Anchorage near Mile 3.5 of the Old Glenn Highway. The site provides a recreational fishery that was originally supported by coho, sockeye, and chum salmon returning to the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association's (CIAA) hatchery located at the head of the tailrace. The private nonprofit hatchery was operational from 1981 through 1998. The sport fishery is confined to the approximately one-half mile long tailrace which extends from the Old Glenn Highway downstream to its confluence with the Knik River. Currently, the fishery is supported by hatchery coho and chinook salmon that are reared at the ADF&G Fort Richardson Hatchery and released into the tailrace. Coho salmon smolts have been stocked into the tailrace annually since 1998. Chinook salmon smolts were first stocked in May 2002, which has provided a chinook salmon fishery that began in the spring of 2004. Salmon originating from the drainages of the Knik and Matanuska rivers are also harvested at the confluence of the tailrace and the Knik River.

The first Eklutna hydroelectric power plant began servicing Anchorage in 1929. Today, the Eklutna
Power Plant provides approximately three percent of the area’s energy requirements.

Here are some pictures of the area.

Eureka, Alaska Bellanger Pass ATV/UTV Ride and Hunt

2013-09-23T22:04:00.001-07:00

Dave and I took the ATV's and the Toy Hauler and headed up to Eureka, Alaska out to Bellanger Pass area it is about 2 hours NE of Palmer (80 miles) and on your way to Glennallen (due west about 60 miles). It has some beautiful scenery and 100's of trails to explore on an ATV/UTV or Moose buggy. In the winter it is awesome snow machining/snowmobiling but in the fall the colors are breath taking.

We went out with friends and brought the gun along since Moose, Bear, Caribou and Wolf hunting was open. There are some nice moose, black bear, grizzly bear, caribou and wolves out there if you have the patience and time to hunt them. You can road hunt some of them but the best hunting is to use the ATV/UTV to get back in there and then take a walk and bring the spotting scope. If you wait you can see the whole Alaska animal kingdom go bye, it is truly amazing.

We headed out with some friends to find some adventure, did some mudding, some rock climbing, fossil hunting, and yep a little pushing of the ATV's. We went on some trails that I would NEVER recommend to a novice and would only recommend to some experienced ATV'ers and make sure you have a buddy. You may need a push or a pull at times. There are some great trails for kids and adults alike it just depends on what kind of ATVing you want to do. If you like mud and creek crossings and like to ride the ridge lines this is definitely the place for you. It was myself, my husband and a couple of his buddies, and let me tell you ladies, don't ever let a man tell you it is too difficult, it just depends on your determination. If your a mud loving woman, who is tough as nails then you will be fine. If you think shopping at the mall and getting a pedi is a rough day then you had best just stay back at camp lol.

So off we went, I think the guys were rather impressed that I didn't wimp out and even though I needed a little nudge every now and then, I didn't give up and kept up with them. The only reason I needed help was because I am on a 2000 Arctic Cat and the clearance is not nearly as high as their 2007 Arctic Cat, 2010 Polaris and even the 2003 Suzuki King Quad. I have the sport suspension so the ride is softer but it also makes me drag bottom in some of the more rutted out areas.

We explored an old mining site, saw some pretty interesting relics of the past and just some beautiful scenery. You can find some pretty neat fossils in some of the areas, which always manages to amaze me that life must have been so different here in Alaska 1000's of years ago.

We went about 18 miles and that is when we ran into a minor problem or major problem depending on how you look at it. We had stopped at the top of a hill over looking a valley deciding which trail to choose, we picked one and headed out. About half way into the trail I started to notice this little line in the dirt. I started looking ahead and noticed some liquid coming out of the 2007 Arctic Cat, it took me a few minutes to realize "holy crap" that is OIL, not water !! We caught up to our buddy, he shut off the machine and then WHAM all the oil came out, NOT GOOD! We discovered that he lost his oil plug. After cleaning up the oil from the ground with a portable spill kit, we thought, hmmm I wonder if we can find that plug. So as you could imagine it would be like looking for a needle in a hay stack, but with a little luck we found it. We discovered that the threads on the oil pan itself was stripped and we were amazed that it hadn't come out sooner. So we let the machine cool down and with a little suggestion from the "woman" of the group we used a zip lock bag, wrapped it around the plug and put the plug back in there and it held tight. We didn't have enough oil on us so we had to tow our buddy back. Now here is the funny part.... earlier in the adventure the Arctic Cat owners were joking we better bring a tow strap with a Polaris in the party as we would probably have to tow him home. So the jokes on us, the Arctic Cat was pulled 18 miles home through hills, valleys, streams and mud by, yep the Polaris lol. Here are some pictures from the trip. Even with the minor incident we still had a good time.

Hint, click on the pictures they are much better in a larger view. :o)

Mushrooms galore

2013-09-03T04:07:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would try the mobile app for blogger. Here is a picture of a neat looking mushroom I saw today.

Anniversary camping trip near Lake Leila

2013-08-10T02:28:00.000-07:00

Jen and I finally got a chance for a camping trip. It worked out nicely with our anniversary. I am lucky to have such a great wife, that likes to go camping on our anniversary!

We only had a couple of nights so we headed out Friday evening and made it to our spot by 9:30 pm. We just pick a spot to boondoc, as we are not much for campgrounds. It had been raining back in Palmer so we were delighted to see the partly cloudy skies. No aurora, but still a nice evening.

Overnight a few rain showers moved in and made for some nice sleeping conditions. Saturday morning we awoke to a little light drizzle and some fog. It wasn't too bad so we took a small atv ride to explore some new country. Here is a map and some pictures of the loop we rode.

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=2262564

There was an abandon mining sled along the trail. I can only can imagine where it has been. The area has a lot of old mining trails to explore. It is very easy from here to access the Belanger Pass, Squaw Lake and the Alfred creek trail.

By afternoon the fog lifted and the rain had stopped. We gathered some firewood for a fire and headed back to camp.

The old faithful suzuki 300 with over 5k miles ran well. I was worried as it has been through a few tough times here lately. Last fall it ran well over 20 miles on little to no oil mixed with water. Tough little machines.

The blue berries were out in full force. Everywhere you looked there were plenty of berries. Lots of people pick blue berries in Alaska, and this weekend was no different. We saw a lot picking berries close to the road.

I threw some steaks on the grill. Jen made a few items to go with them. As you can see by the picture she overloaded our plates (no complaints here). Not sure either one of us was able to finish a quarter of our meal. The Henry Weinhards went down smooth though.

Sunday morning was another beautiful morning in this great state of Alaska. We hiked up to take a few pictures of the scenery. It's always hard to believe that so many people spend so much money to visit Alaska, and I live here everyday.

Riding the motorcycle and spyder in Alaska

2012-06-16T07:13:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since the last post. Lots of adventures and pictures to catch up on, and still adventures from last year to still publish.

We took the last 2 days to enjoy the good weather and do some site seeing on the bikes. Saturday we joined the Goldwing club for a ride from Anchorage to Girdwood.

Parking lot where we had breakfast.

With this being such a short ride we broke away from the group and headed farther south to Portage Glacier. Three Can-am Spyders and on Harley along for the ride. the ride along Turnagain Arm was spectacular, with just some high thin clouds and plenty of blue sky.

Portage Lake below the Glacier, still some ice.

Turnagain Arm waters were very calm.

On Sunday we headed out the Glenn Highway to have some blueberry pie at the Eureka Lodge.
Skies weren't as cooperative as on Saturday but still made for a nice ride. Stopped about 5 miles short of the lodge as a very large thunderstorm was putting down some serious rain with what looked like some possible hail. We turned around and had an awesome lunch at the Grand View Lodge. If you want an awesome lunch around mile 110 of the Glenn Highway then stop at the Grand View. The Jalapeno Burger with homemade jalapeno mayonnaise is to die for. The mixed berry pie was also very well worth the stop. We hit the lodge just as the rain started.

The spyder.

Matanuska Glacier

The Harley in front of the glacier.

Jen and her spyder.

The ride back to Palmer had a few raindrops here and there but was an awesome ride.

Here is a picture from a previous ride.

Eska Falls

2012-06-09T09:02:00.000-07:00

We have seen pictures of Eska Falls, but have failed on two previous attempts to actually see the falls in person. A couple weeks ago we decided to give it another try. This was the first 4 wheeler ride of the year, all winter maintenance was done and a fresh oil change.

Eska Falls is located north of Sutton. We camped at slipper lake. In the previous attempts we got lost and stuck, but after looking at some maps, we felt that getting lost shouldn't be a problem. Getting stuck is another question. The lower part of the trail is rather tame and just an enjoyable ride. Once we crested over the lower ridge we immediately dropped into an area of mud. A side by side was stuck and being winched out, but we were able to pick a reasonable path and continue on. There were only a few more areas of mud and a couple of steep climbs before we crested the upper ridge and the falls were visible in the distance.

Here are some pictures of the weekend.

The dog ready to!

The campsite.

Eska Falls.

View of the valley below the falls.

Aurora Borealis gone wild!

2012-03-21T00:33:00.000-07:00

March 15th and 16th were very good nights for the northern lights here in Palmer. We were able to take several pictures from the house and Hatchers Pass. The northern lights are caused by solar flares from the sun, and when the radiation hits the earths atmosphere it produces the northern lights. You can typically only see these in the winter as it is the only time that it really gets dark enough to see them.

There are websites you can visit that will forecast the chance to see the lights, here is one we use. http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast

There are many Native legends about the lights, below is one of them;

Legends and Folklore of the Northern Lights

The aurora borealis has intrigued people from ancient times, and still does today. The Eskimos and Indians of North America have many stories to explain these northern lights.

One story is reported by the explorer Ernest W. Hawkes in his book, The Labrador Eskimo:

The ends of the land and sea are bounded by an immense abyss,
over which a narrow and dangerous pathway leads to the
heavenly regions. The sky is a great dome of hard material
arched over the Earth. There is a hole in it through which the
spirits pass to the true heavens. Only the spirits of those who
have died a voluntary or violent death, and the Raven, have been
over this pathway. The spirits who live there light torches to
guide the feet of new arrivals. This is the light of the aurora.
They can be seen there feasting and playing football with a
walrus skull.
The whistling crackling noise which sometimes accompanies the
aurora is the voices of these spirits trying to communicate
with the people of the Earth. They should always be answered
in a whispering voice. Youths dance to the aurora. The
heavenly spirits are called selamiut, "sky-dwellers," those who
live in the sky.

Picture from the house here in Palmer.

Shooting star in the middle of the picture.

Valdez Alaska

2012-03-11T17:50:00.002-07:00

Took the time to drive to Valdez this weekend. We have been there in the summer, but never a winter visit. I noticed that Valdez had 92 inches of snow on the ground and over 424 inches so far this year. The record for Valdez is 550.7 inches of snow in one season. The season average is 276.6 inches, so we had to check it out. Valdez known for being the end of the oil pipeline that comes from the North Slope (Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse) and also holds the record for the snowiest sea level town getting on average 276.6 inches a season. Valdez is located about 129 miles east of Anchorage with a population of around 4000.

In March of 1964 Valdez was hit with the largest earthquake in North America. The earthquake shook for 5 minutes and damaged streets and buildings and triggered a huge slide of earth and rocks into Valdez Bay; this sent waves into the city which caused even more damage. The entire city was rebuilt in a new location shortly after the earthquake. They have a marker of where the old city used to be and you can still see some of the old foundations that were not washed away. It gives a rather awe inspired view of the power of an earthquake.

This town is really a fishing town and they have great fishing charters at a pretty reasonable price. The only draw back is if you have a weak stomach like my wife, know that they do not bring you back in if you get sea sick, so take your dramamine and you will be fine. They have some great fishing derbies and the salmon and halibut fishing can't be beat. If whale watching and seeing wildlife is more your style then the charters to see whales and sea life are also pretty reasonable. They also offer heli-skiing which is a pretty awesome adventure for those who enjoy great powder in the back country on snow that is any skier or boarders dream.

We left early Saturday morning from our house in Palmer so we could stop and watch the Valdez Mayors Cup. It's a 200 mile cross country snow machine race. The Roads were good until we reached Thompson Pass which is a 2800 foot pass in the Chugach Mountains with the only road access to Valdez. Now 2800 foot doesn't sound all that impressive for someone like me being from the Idaho and Montana area, but it can have blizzard conditions almost all winter long.

This was our view heading over the pass.

Notice the speed limit sign on the right. (You may have to click on the picture to zoom in)

After making it down the pass we drove through Keystone canyon which was very beautiful in the summer time with Bridal Falls and Horse Tails falls. The winter drive was no different. The falls were all frozen and even got to spend some time watching some ice climbers on Bridal Falls. Below are the summer pictures of each and then a winter picture.

Horse Tail Falls Summer and winter.

Here are a couple more pictures taken in the Keystone canyon area. The rock wall with all of the ice coating on it was spectacular and couldn't be caught with the camera.

Just an awesome site!

Just outside of Valdez I had to stop and take a picture of this opening in the water.

Once in Valdez we had lunch and took a few pictures around town and the Harbor. The Harbor had a lot of ice in it, much more than I expected.

Notice the snow is a couple feet above the guardrail.

Not sure that boat is going anywhere soon.

Nice view of the Harbor.

View looking out in the open bay.

This picture was taken from the same position as the picture above. Picture taken June of 2009.

An awesome trip and very happy to finally see what Valdez was like in the winter. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

The Northern Lights

2012-03-09T18:00:00.001-08:00

What an awesome morning to wake up to some amazing northern lights. I wasn't prepared with the camera and only had about 10 minutes to get a few shots before heading to work. We have several adventures we are working on and will hopefully have them posted soon.

Monument

2012-03-01T08:23:00.002-08:00

Here is a panoramic shot from Monument out by GlenAllen and Eureka, Alaska. This is a dual picture of both summer and winter views from the same spot. This is a great place to camp, go ATV'ing (four wheeling), hunting, and snow machining (also known as "snow mobiling" for those in the lower 48). The scenery is great and it is a great place to relax and have fun with the entire family.

We hope you enjoy reading our blog and hope to see you in Alaska!

Road to McCarthy and Kennecott Mine

2011-07-25T04:55:00.000-07:00

We decided to do a 3 day trip to McCarthy and the Kennecott Mine. With 4 adults and a dog in a Eagle Cap cab over camper. The camper does have one slide out, so there is a little extra room.

The road to McCarthy from Chitina is 60 miles long and gravel. The road used to be a the old rail road track, so there may be a left over rail road spike to jump up and attack your tires. Although we didn't get a flat tire on the road we did manage a flat tire on a sharp rock at the campground. The problem with the road is some people tend to drive like they are on pavement. Several vehicles went by very fast and kicked rocks up.

Here is a link for the map of the route. Palmer to McCarthy

In the early 1900’s prospectors discovered a rich deposit of copper ore near what is now the town of Kennecott. Mines, a concentration mill, and a company town were quickly established to support the extraction of the valuable metal. The management of the mine decided that a railroad would provide the much needed transportation and the 196 mile Copper River and Northwestern Railroad was constructed between 1907 and 1911. Beginning at the coast in Cordova, the railroad was a monumental feat of engineering as it crossed raging rivers, active glaciers, bogs, and impenetrable forests on its way to Kennecott. However, once completed, the railroad provided the much needed transportation and was vital for the success of the mines in Kennecott. The railroad operated for 27 years until the mines closed in 1938. Over 200 million dollars worth of copper was removed from the area. Eventually, the rails and ties were removed from the road bed and the road was first graded for vehicles in the 1960’s.

A picture just getting on to the Edgerton Highway. The Edgerton Highway is 33 miles long that goes from the Richardson Highway to Chitina. The McCarthy road starts at Chitina and ends at McCarthy.

Looking into the Copper River from the Edgerton Highway.

Liberty Falls is a small campground a few miles before you reach Chitina. It is very well hidden on the side of the road.

Leaving Chitina going through a single lane hole in the rocks. This was originally just for railroad tracks.

Where the Chitina River flows into the Copper River.

The Kuskulana Bridge, built in 1910, is 525 feet long and 238 feet above the Kuskulana River. Before 1988, vehicles had to pass over wide open gaps on the wooden decking of the bridge with only 18-inch safety rails on either side. Now, this 3-span steel bridge has solid wooden decking and sturdy safety rails, along with gorgeous views of a deep river canyon.

Looking down into the Kuskulana River from the bridge.

The Gilahina trestle, which is 880 feet long and 90 feet high, was built in 1911 with a half million board feet of timber.

A great view of Root Glacier.

McCarthy sprang up partly because alcoholic beverages and prostitution were forbidden in Kennecott, McCarthy grew as an area to provide illicit services not available in the company town. By 1938 the population of McCarthy and Kennecott fell to almost zero until the 1970s. In 1980 the area was designated Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.

I think this plane has seen better days.

Continue on to Deadhorse.

2011-07-19T21:19:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-18T21:26:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-13T06:33:00.000-07:00

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.

Hiking the Butte

2011-06-06T06:30:00.000-07:00

Krista and I decided to hike the butte today since Jen had to work. The Butte is a small hill near palmer. The trail isn't very long, but is steep and you can get some really good views of the valley. It was a nice little hike. Afterwards I showed Krista how to change her brake pads and rotors on the drivers side of her car. Then I made her change the passenger side of the car. She did well. Here are some pictures.

Looking out towards cook inlet

Looking north

Krista and Kodiak with Pioneer peak in the background

Pioneer Peak

Camping on the Denali Highway

2011-06-01T06:20:00.000-07:00

We went camping on the Denali Highway for 4 nights over the Memorial Day weekend. We left Thursday night and came back Monday. We didn't get to do any fishing since the water was so high, but we did a lot of 4 wheeling.

The Denali Highway is about 135 miles long with almost 100 miles of gravel road. The highway goes from Paxson to Cantwell. This used to be how visitors reached Denali Park until the Parks highway was built in the early 70's. The highway is closed in the winter and usually reopens by the middle of may. This is a great trip to take and spend a few days fishing and wildlife viewing. There are Princes lodges buses that make the trip and a lot of motor-homes. There are a couple of lodges to spend the night, but very limited services.

Here are some caribou that Jen took a picture of.

I was able to catch this one up on the ridge checking me out.

Seattle Creek flowing very high.

A place Mike has named "Land Before Time"

Jen doing a little water crossing.

Wood for a few fires.

A couple of caribou that tried to run me over.

Catch!

Ahh I found snow, this is how summer should always be.

Kodiak and I.

The compound from above.

The spoiled mutt. Glad she is using that packers blanket and not a Broncos one.... lol

Alyeska Hill climb

2011-05-03T06:09:00.000-07:00

A little late on this update but things have been moving so fast lately. Back in the last weekend of April we went to the Alyeska Motor Madness. I went down Thursday night after work with the company of Kodiak, and our friend Mike and his dog Sadie. We left after work and headed down Turnagain Arm to Girdwood. Jen and Krista came down Friday night. On the way I took this picture of a boat in the inlet.

This became home for the next 3 nights. I know it is a parking lot, but we still had a good time. The first night there were people arriving all night long.

Can you tell these two are food motivated?

The next morning we went up to check out the finish line of the hill climb, pretty steep at the top. I was second guessing my decision to enter at this point.

Ok so I give it a try and end up a little out of control, no damage that the chiropractor can't solve.

It was a little cold and rained all day Saturday, but we did manage to get around the fire just a bit. Here is a good picture of Krista sporting her new Summer Sucks Racing hoodie.

On Sunday we woke up to some nice blue sky with the Vintage snocross race scheduled for the afternoon.

Enjoying the sun while watching the Extreme sports show. Notice the awesome attire we all have on.

Here I am doing a little vintage racing on the sno-jet.

We had a good time, wished the rain would have stopped a little earlier. So far to this point we have spent 4 nights in the camper and everything seems to work well. Really enjoying it.

Here are a couple of helmet cam videos of the hill climb and the vintage snow cross race.

Hope you all enjoy, take care.

Northern lights

2011-03-10T06:07:00.000-08:00

Ok so here is a few pics of the northern lights. I am still trying to get this new camera settings so they aren't the best. It sure was an awesome night. Don't forget to click on each picture to get a bigger view.

Driving the Denali Highway

2010-08-16T07:11:00.000-07:00

Jen and I decided to drive from Palmer up to Paxson and across the Denali Highway to Cantwell and then back to Palmer. This trip was just over 500 miles. We took the tent and sleeping bags with the intention of stopping and sitting up camp for the night. We had never made the drive, but heard it was an awesome trip.

We got up at 5 am and hit the road. Here is a link to a map of the trip. Map of trip

The Denali Highway is about 135 miles long with almost 100 miles of gravel road. The highway goes from Paxson to Cantwell. This used to be how visitors reached Denali Park until the Parks highway was built in the early 70's. The highway is closed in the winter and usually reopens by the middle of may. This is a great trip to take and spend a few days fishing and wildlife viewing. There are Princes lodges buses that make the trip and a lot of motor-homes. There are a couple of lodges to spend the night, but very limited services.

This is a photo of the highway just a few miles outside of Paxson. Paxson has a small lodge and sometimes has gasoline. Don't always count on them having diesel or gasoline.

Photo looking down into the Mclaren river valley.

The Mclaren Glacier

Took most of the trip to finally find some Caribou.

This lake is was just absolutely beautiful!

Jen and I kept driving all day in the August light, which in Alaska is close to 15 hours. We ended up getting to the end of the Highway before the end of the day, so we just pushed on home. Made for a long day, but such an awesome trip.

Hatchers Pass Hike to Summit Lake

2010-07-22T20:36:00.000-07:00

Summit Lake state recreation area is at about mile 19 of the Hatchers Pass road. If coming up from the Palmer side you turn off the pavement just before reaching the Independence mine recreation area.

There is a trail around Summit Lake, and along the bluff above, and west, of the lake. The views from the bluff viewpoint are outstanding, including the Willow Creek Drainage, the Susitna Valley, and the western arc of the Alaska Range.

Summit Lake is a small cirque lake, or tarn, reaching a depth of 20 feet. This cirque was the beginning of a long-gone, alpine glacier. The surrounding terrain is all glacially carved.

Arctic Man

2010-04-15T05:42:00.000-07:00

Okay for those of you who don't know what Arctic Man is, it is like Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, just with snow machines. All of the weeks festivities lead up to race on Friday (weather permitting). This race is where a skier or snowboarder takes off at about 5800 feet and drops to 1700 feet in less than 2 miles and then meets up with a snowmachine and a tow rope. The snowmachione pulls the skier up a hill about 2 more miles at speeds of around 90 mph. The skier then lets go of the rope and drops another 1200 feet to the finish. It is a must see.

There is an old saying that it takes all kinds to make the world go round, well we definitely found the "all kinds". I think next year we will get a bit better spot than where we were located this year, down 6 spots from the bar and right next to the main road leading from the camps to the bar, lets just say we didn't get much sleep LOL.

Neither one of us knew just quite what to expect, until we saw motor home and tent city come into view, then visions of Woodstock rolled into our head...... As you can see by the first picture people didn't have much faith in the bathroom facilities and brought their own ;o)

Necessities.. snowmachine and porta potty.

The sunsets where gorgeous, and the nights were cold

Our trailer, is the black one in the picture, the bar was right across from the the blue tent and the sign you see in the distance.

One of my favorite pictures.

Us by the Alaska pipeline.

Maybe this should be a new races at arctic man (falls under the all kinds category), this was on top of the mountain and apparently the guy in the chair rode like that all the way up there, insane!

Too many snow machiners, in one place you know there is trouble, quick call out the national guard!!

There were fireworks battles almost every night we were there

Apparently anyone can do this event even a 6'4" Ewalk

They are traveling at roughly 80 miles an hour, can you believe it?

Pick up spot, the skier comes from one valley and the snow machiner comes from the other, the snow machier, throws the skier a tow rope and off they go, 80 plus miles and hour, until they hit the drop off point.

Our camp is down in the middle.

I did take my vintage 1977 Kawasaki Sno-jet to compete in the vintage hill climb. Unfortunately the jet was too rich and I had a hard time keeping it running. I did make the race but just a bit too boggy to finish well.

The inside of our trailer worked out pretty nice with the help of a Mr buddy heater.