All the Way to the ARCTIC OCEAN and MORE

WOW, what an exciting week it has been. We left Tok on Wednesday, June 11th, and drove the last 112 miles of the Alaska Highway, which officially ends in Delta Junction. We will now be traveling on Alaska state routes. We traversed the entire ALCAN and had a few exciting times, as our previous Posts have mentioned. It will now be interesting to see what lies ahead of us.

In Delta Junction we had our first glimpse of the 800+ mile long Alaska Pipeline. We have included three pictures of the Pipeline, the first was taken in Delta Junction where it crosses the Tanana River on it's own suspension bridge; the second is an aerial view taken on our flight to Prudhoe Bay; and the third is taken at a viewpoint north of Fairbanks where you can actually "touch" the 4-foot in diameter Pipeline. We'll include more info on the Pipeline the end of July when we head to Valdez, the termination of it's path.

While in Delta Junction we visited a couple Roadhouses, drove the Agricultural Loop and attended a local Farmer's Market.

On Thursday we drove 97 miles and arrived in Fairbanks where we are spending a week. We have visited Pioneer Park, gone to another local Farmer's Market and taken a trip to North Pole, Alaska. While there we made sure that the "Big Guy" (AKA "Santa") knew that we were being good ;))

On Sunday we took an Alaska Air flight from Fairbanks, via Prudhoe Bay (the origination point of the Alaska Pipeline, on the North Slope) and on to Barrow, Alaska.

Barrow is the northernmost settlement on the North American mainland. The population of 4,500+ is comprised of primarily Inupiat who rely heavily on hunting and fishing, including whaling for their subsistence. The capture of a whale benefits each member of the community, as the animal is butchered and its meat and blubber allocated according to a traditional formula. Even city-dwelling relatives thousands of miles away are entitled to a share of each whale killed by the hunters of their ancestral village. Climactic changes, causing thin ice, erosion, and flooding, have affected their livelihood in recent years. Even though they are "allowed" 22 whales a year, this past year they only captured 9 as the ice melt occurred early and drove them from their hunting grounds.

In recent years the exploitation of oil and other resources has, fortunately, been an alternative and important revenue source for the Inupiat.

We toured the villages and went to Nuuvik, the northernmost Point Barrow land mass. As the photos show it is a COLD and desolate place where survival is certainly a test of man's fortitude. The Inupiat's, however, are a sturdy and proud lot. We were treated to a show at the Heritage Center which included traditional dancing, singing, demonstrations and the blanket (or more correctly whale-skin) toss. We also went in search of a Polar Bear that had been spotted earlier in the day on an ice floe near town but he alluded us. It was a fascinating day and one that certainly provided insight into a culture very different from our own.

During our remaining time in Fairbanks we will be taking a Riverboat ride, going on a Gold Train Tour, visiting a gold dredge, hiking around the Migratory Bird Refuge and spending time at the University of Alaska Museum of the North and Musk Ox Research Center.

SO. Lot's more to do here before we drive on to Denali on Friday. Keep "Posted" as we continue our travels.

Here's the link for some photos from Delta Junction, Barrow and Fairbanks;

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Sbs27hoxZMI8&emid=sharshar&linkid=link4

Take care,

P&J