July 15
Dalton Highway
Comments?
email:jrseml@steinborn.org
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July 15 |
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Initially, we had planned to go up the Dalton Highway to Prudhoe Bay to see the oil field and the Arctic Ocean. After our drive up to Fort Liard in the Northwest Territories (when the back window was broken), we decided that going up the Dempster Highway to Inuvik, NT instead. So, during our stay in Fairbanks, we thought it would be interesting to drive up the Dalton Highway (aka The Haul Road) just to the Yukon River. The road crosses over the Yukon on a 2,500-foot bridge with a 6% gradient. The Yukon is about 2,000 feet wide here. The pipeline is carried on a shelf on the side of the bridge.
Much of the forests in Alaska are made up of stumpy trees. The term for this is a Russian word: 'taiga,' meaning 'land of little sticks.' We also saw the site of a forest fire about 15 years ago. It is apparent why the fireweed is so named - it is one of the first things to grow back after a forest fire. We saw this in Yellostone National Park a couple of years ago.
We also noticed some of the interesting signage along the road.
To the Alaska trip page.
To my homepage.
Comments?
email:jrseml@steinborn.org