Dalton Highway - July, 2010
The Dalton Highway (also known as the Haul Road) in Alaska is the ultimate road trip! It's a 414-mile road that roughly parallels the Alaskan Pipeline north of Fairbanks. Now, if you do some research about this road, you'll find all sorts of gnarly scare stories. I think all those are to keep the Arctic free of minivans. In reality, it was the smoothest dirt road I'd ever driven on, and the truckers were very considerate about slowing down (to keep from throwing rocks into the windshields of oncoming vehicles).
My original plan, as recommended by a good friend, was to just make it past the Brooks Range and come back the next day. However, the road was so smooth, and the weather was so great, I just couldn't help but roll all the way to the end and see the Arctic Ocean! The Arctic Ocean really isn't that spectacular since tourist access is limited to a little spot among the oil fields. I could see the pack ice off in the distance, though. You can see it as a thin white line on the horizon in that picture of me standing in the water. Oh, and the water really wasn't that cold. In fact, the air temperature was quite warm, but I had to wear long sleeves and pants to keep the mosquitoes off my skin!
All was not trouble-free, though. Three warning lights illuminated on Franrea's dashboard about half way up the road. I kept going and tried not to look at them. Then I got something stuck in one of my tires and had to repair the tire as it quickly lost air since it was not safe to jack the car up where I had stopped. The services are VERY limited along the Haul Road, so it's good to be prepared when taking on this adventure.
So what's it like up in the Arctic? Well, the trees get smaller and smaller as one travels north toward the Brooks Range, where they disappear altogether. After that, the tundra gets shorter and shorter. Wildflowers were quite plentiful on the Arctic Plains during the few weeks of "Spring" they have. The mosquitoes are definitely as bad as everyone says. They made it quite challenging to do anything. And the sun doesn't set for a few months, so I felt jet-lagged as midnight approached in broad daylight. It's a neat place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there, even in the Summer.
This was a road trip adventure that will be tough to top!
My original plan, as recommended by a good friend, was to just make it past the Brooks Range and come back the next day. However, the road was so smooth, and the weather was so great, I just couldn't help but roll all the way to the end and see the Arctic Ocean! The Arctic Ocean really isn't that spectacular since tourist access is limited to a little spot among the oil fields. I could see the pack ice off in the distance, though. You can see it as a thin white line on the horizon in that picture of me standing in the water. Oh, and the water really wasn't that cold. In fact, the air temperature was quite warm, but I had to wear long sleeves and pants to keep the mosquitoes off my skin!
All was not trouble-free, though. Three warning lights illuminated on Franrea's dashboard about half way up the road. I kept going and tried not to look at them. Then I got something stuck in one of my tires and had to repair the tire as it quickly lost air since it was not safe to jack the car up where I had stopped. The services are VERY limited along the Haul Road, so it's good to be prepared when taking on this adventure.
So what's it like up in the Arctic? Well, the trees get smaller and smaller as one travels north toward the Brooks Range, where they disappear altogether. After that, the tundra gets shorter and shorter. Wildflowers were quite plentiful on the Arctic Plains during the few weeks of "Spring" they have. The mosquitoes are definitely as bad as everyone says. They made it quite challenging to do anything. And the sun doesn't set for a few months, so I felt jet-lagged as midnight approached in broad daylight. It's a neat place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there, even in the Summer.
This was a road trip adventure that will be tough to top!