Rock Ends

This post will turn out to be rather long simply because there is so much to say about Deadhorse and Prudhoe Bay

Deadhorse is the name of the town in the Prudhoe Bay area. It was a fascinating place, much different than I expected. It isn’t actually a town, since few people live there continuously. Most come up and work for a few weeks and then return down south for a few weeks off.

Everything here is about producing oil and the facilities for tourists are minimal. Here is our first view after we got off the plane.

From the picture you can see the terrain is very flat and there are no trees and little other vegetation. Everything is built on gravel pads spread over the permafrost.

Here is a view of our “hotel” the Arctic Caribou Inn

Like nearly every structure here, it is a prefab building that was trucked up the Dalton Highway in pieces.

The accommodations were Spartan though we were pleased to find our room had its own bath and shower, something we had been told we wouldn’t have.

That afternoon ( 06/19) we took a guided tour of the oilfields with a stop at the shore of the Arctic Ocean. Security was quite strict. Everyone had to have scheduled the the tour prior to arriving and then verify their identity when they got on the bus. The only time we were allowed off the bus was at the “beach”

Here are a few pictures from that tour. Below is an unbelievably immense mobile drilling rig.

People up here don’t just work, they have a sense of humor too. Here is the Prudhoe Bay National Forest. Note the pink Flamingo in the foreground.

Nearly everywhere you looked were well-heads, each in its own cubical enclosure. We pulled up close to one and could see the “Christmas tree” inside and actually hear the oil and gas flowing into the pipes.

Here is a view of the Arctic Ocean. Probably as close to the North Pole as I’ll ever get. On the horizon at the left you can just see the sea ice which is a few hundred yards offshore.

This was the one place where we were allowed off the bus and many took the opportunity to wade or touch the 34°F water. Here is Jan putting her hand in.

While we were in Deadhorse there was a group of motorcyclists who were raising money for the Special Olympics. Their plan was to ride from Deadhorse, AK to Key West, FL We heard many tales of woe about the difficulty of riding the ~400 miles of gravel on the Dalton Highway. Many bikes were damaged and at least one totaled before they even got to Deadhorse to start their run. Here are some of their bikes in front of the Arctic Caribou Inn.