Barrow Alaska - Now We Did Run Out of Land.

June 27 (Barrow, AK)

We waited for the weather to clear this morning and checked out of our hotel in Deadhorse by 11 this morning, fueled, and after eating one last big lunch in the mess hall and checking the weather in Barrow one more time, we took off, heading to Barrow.  The clouds are pretty well always sort of there, and often quite low here along the coast.  Fog also comes in off the water, so Roger kept checking all morning when the clouds would lift a bit and we could go.  The sun doesn’t set, but you don’t really see it directly very much either because of the cloud cover – it’s just sort of gray all the time.  Anyway, we stayed pretty low the whole almost two hours of flight.  By low, I mean between 200 & 800 feet!  Frankly, I feel more comfortable higher than that, but when the ceilings are low you’ve got to stay low!  The visibility underneath the clouds was usually very good.  Also, of course, it’s better to be low if you’re looking for animals, and we saw some caribou again, but no more bear.  It was all tundra, which is very flat and isn’t really solid ground, but has a lot of water all around.  If we went down in it, it would most likely be ‘survivable’, but the plane might flip over, according to Roger  (isn’t that nice to know??).  We saw all the oil wells scattered all over the area for about the first 50 miles.  We did not go over the ocean at all, but are assuming they are also out there.   It sure is a large oil field. 

Here in Barrow we tied the plane down, fueled and got a taxi to the place we’re staying at tonight – the Ukpig Nest..  It’s ok, nothing special except the price.  When we drove up to it, it looked like a pretty run down place, but inside the room is ok, at least it’s clean.  Barrow is actually bigger than I expected it to be, but seems a bit run down – buildings need paint, etc.  Most buildings are also built up off the ground a couple of feet and Roger asked someone why.  She said because of the permafrost and also because of water flooding in buildings when the ice melts in the spring.  There are a lot more native Alaskans living here than the last place, which was built only because of the oil fields.  

We’re both pretty tired tonight, and they even have really dark curtains at the windows here, so it should be easier to go to bed when it’s time.  JOLENE

We found out we missed the celebrations last night.  The last night of celebrations is Friday night, but we don’t want to wait around two more days.  They do Eskimo Blanket Tosses and other cultural games and activities.  It would have been fun to be here.  ROGER

The Portable Houses Seen at all the Well Sites in the North Slope

Our "Hotel" in Deadhorse - an Oil Workers Hall

Many Oil Wells Throughout the North Slope

Lodging Rooms On all the Sites

Barrow, Alaska

A Beaver That Has Been Following Us Around.  He Was Behind us and Got Stuck at the Pass for a Day.

Don't Know What is Showing Tonight?

The Ice Fields Still Breaking Up at Barrow, Alaska

Too Cold to Camp, so Here is Our Room - Not Much for $150/Night.

 

Up Close and Personal With The Arctic Ocean!

June 25 (Dead Horse, AK)

Dead Horse is right on the Arctic Ocean and there are huge oil fields here, and this hotel is where some of the local workers stay.  Roger talked to someone that said there are 5000-6000 people working in the oil fields up here (they don’t all stay here!), and there are huge dorms on some of the large outstations. We decided to stay here another day and we took a side trip to the east (instead of west to Barrow), to Demarcation Bay, which is right at the Canada/Alaska border and is about an hour and a half flight from here.  On the way there we landed at an airstrip where there is an early warning system that was put there during the cold war.  It was right at the Arctic Ocean so we walked from the airstrip to the ocean and stuck our hands in – it was cold!  We messed around there a bit, picked up a few neat pieces of driftwood and rocks from the Arctic Ocean.   We were hoping to see polar bears when we were flying, and we were not disappointed!  We saw two, at different places.  The first one we really spooked with the plane and he was running all over.  We made several fairly low passes hoping to get some decent pictures, but it was still pretty far away.  The second one looked maybe a bit bigger, and he rose up on his hind legs at one point which was pretty cool to see.  We also saw HUGE herds of caribou at various places – thousands and thousands of caribou.  We were flying fairly low, and it was all tundra.  The coastline is very beautiful and there is still quite a bit of ice out there.  The water was very blue and clear.  Honestly, I never thought I’d see the Arctic Ocean!

We got back then in time for supper here.  It is cafeteria style, and all you can eat.  Certain times there is hot food, but all the time there is plenty of other food to eat there.  The guys that work here work long, hard hours, but they feed them well.  It’s mostly men, with just a few women.  There is a no drinking/drugs rule, and it’s surprisingly pretty quiet around here.   They’re probably too tired to do much other than go to bed after a day in the oil fields.  The food was really pretty amazing – very good and a huge selection.  It is hard to believe one can eat like this on the North Slope – Roger even had chocolate covered strawberries this evening.  JOLENE

Checking Out The Arctic Ocean

Hoping She Will Decide to Start When We Want to Leave!

Large Ice Packs in The Water

We Saw Thousands and Thousands of Caribou

The First Polar Bear We Saw - The Next One Stood on His Hind Legs

The Village on Barter Island on the Way to Demarcation Point

One of the Many Oil Fields on the North Slope - All Built on Man-Made Islands of Stone

Up to the North Slope

June 25 (Dead Horse, AK)

We did some computer work, Roger did some flight planning and figuring things out, and we left the hotel at noon and headed to the airport to fly on to Dead Horse today.  We were going to go to Barrow, but since there were no direct roads there, we decided to follow roads instead of deadheading out over the mountains and tundra and end up at Dead Horse.  It was quite an interesting ride!  We flew a couple hours and stopped for fuel in Bettles which was kind of an amazing little place.  Very small, but had two places with fuel, a little café where we could get hoagies, WIFI, and lodging.  We had a sandwich there and then took off.  We were following the road through some pretty high mountains and got to a pass where the clouds were closing in, and we couldn’t get through the pass.  Thankfully there was a little airstrip right before the pass at Chandalar Shelf, so we landed there to wait it out.  If that airstrip wouldn’t have been there we could have gone further back to another airstrip cause there were several along the route, but then we may have needed to return to Bettles for more fuel.  We built a little fire (it was cold and the mosquitoes were bad), and thought we’d just wait to see what was going to happen.  Across the road was a road maintenance facility and a guy from there came over to see what was up, and drove us up over the pass so we could see what the weather was like on the other side.  We went back to the plane and waited a bit more and the sky seemed to be getting lighter and clouds thinning out, so Roger thought if he could circle up high enough we could get above the clouds and get over, which is what we did then.  I was just a tad freaked out, but tried to keep my cool!  The highest peak was 8100, and we were up to 9500, so we knew we weren’t going to hit any mountains!  This IPad we bought for the trip has saved the day and paid for itself many times over on this trip.  It shows exactly where we are in relation to a road, shows exactly where the peaks are, how high, etc, etc.   Roger picked his way through the clouds and was talking to FSS giving pilot reports etc.  

We got to Dead Horse about 10 – 10:30 pm, not knowing where we were going to pitch up for the night.  It was pretty cold (high 30’s), and windy, so were hoping for a bed instead of a tent, but weren’t sure.  We knew there was a hotel here, and Roger had talked to someone about it, but they didn’t have the number for him to call to check it out.   Anyway, there was a semi-trailer we parked next to with the back door open we thought we could sleep in if it came to that!  J  Thankfully, there was ONE room left at the hotel, and it was ours.  $220/night for both of us, but all food included and laundry facilities etc. and everything one needed. JOLENE

After a Long Flight

After a Very Long Flight

I Guess It's Good We Woke Up!

  

A Phone Booth in Bettles?

Fueling At Bettles, AK - the Last Chance on the Way to North Slope

Heading Up To The Pass

The Pass We Could Not Get Through

Sitting By The Fire Waiting For The Pass To Open

Arriving at Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope

On To Fairbanks

JUNE 24 (Fairbanks, AK)

We flew into Dawson City for fuel, and we thought we might go into town, but since the taxi was going to cost $64 round trip, we decided to skip that and just keep going on to Fairbanks instead.  It was close to 90 degrees there, and the plane had a hard time climbing.  We hit quite a long down draft from the mountain nearby soon after take-off and Roger later said he was a bit worried for a bit.  We followed the road to Fairbanks, where we got our first hotel.   Some of these flights take a long longer than if we would go direct, but Roger usually wants to stay over the only highway available when there is not good place to make an emergency landing in case of an engine failure.  A taxi picked us up from the airport and took us to the hotel.  This past week was the summer solstice, so they were having celebrations and the street the hotel was on, and two others were blocked off and it was like a street fair with food booths, people selling things, games, etc.  So we walked around there and ate (we hadn’t really eaten since breakfast except a couple snacks and were hungry!)  JOLENE

Miles and Miles of Old Gold Dredge Mounds in Dawson City

Old Gold Dredge Hills in Dawson City

Dawson City, Yukon

Following the Road To Fairbanks

Arriving at Fairbanks International

Parked With Hundreds of Bush Planes on The Field At Fairbanks International

A Real Homestead!

June 23 (McQuesten, YT)

Things were a bit more laid back today and we only are flying about two hours.  We ate breakfast at the ‘Airport Chalet’ across the road from the airport, and since they had wi-fi we did some computer work and charged up our phones, etc.  The waitress wasn’t too happy about us doing that I don’t think, and then when we shared a breakfast and didn’t each get our own, she was quite unfriendly!  Maybe she was just having a bad day.  Anyway, we were going to walk into town, but weren’t sure how far away it was, and there was a hotel bus in front of the terminal so we asked about getting a ride into town, and he was very kind and gave us a ride, dropped us off in town where we wanted to be and told us where to meet him a few hours later and he would give us a ride back again.  Now we are on the way to McQuesten which is just about two hours north of White Horse, to see Buerge’s - relatives of my niece Emily Hershberger’s husband, Isaac Hooley!  We met them at Emily & Isaac’s wedding last summer and Roger talked to them about possibly doing this trip, and they were happy for us to stop in.  

Mike Buerge had told us to buzz the farm when we got there, and then land and he would come pick us up.  We weren’t sure how we were going to know which farm to buzz, thinking they were at a small town.  Turns out, they were the ONLY farm, so it wasn’t too hard to figure out!  There was no town at all.  Mike’s parents – Del & Virginia – had moved to the area in 1986 and ‘homesteaded’ there with their five children.  It was a just bush and they had to get rid of trees, etc, and start totally from scratch.  They had a generator, but only six years ago got hooked up to the grid for electricity.  It’s quite a story they tell, and the various things they have tried over the years.  Del & Virginia’s two boys have stayed there also – both are married, four children each – but the 3 girls have gone elsewhere.  Roger can write more about the projects they’ve done over the years trying to make a living.  

They basically live off the land – have large gardens, a green house, raise their own animals for meat, milk a cow and have chickens for eggs.  The nearest town they go to for things is four hours away (White Horse), and of course they homeschool their kids.  They’ve built beautiful houses and seem quite happy there.  The view they have is amazing, and they see moose and bear pretty regularly.  We saw a  porcupine when we went for a walk.  

Basically they felt ‘called’ to this place and that is why they settled there.  They are part of a fellowship called ‘The Move’ for short – meaning the move of the Spirit.  We stayed for their service on Sunday.  It was the families that lived there and two other older couples that live in the area (no idea how far they had to come).  It was interesting, with lively singing, whoever felt ‘called’ to say something spoke, and then over an hour long ‘sermon’.  They were going to have a meal together after the service, but we got a ride back to the airplane and took off.

It’s hard to go to bed when it never gets dark, and we’re missing a lot of sleep because of it – at least I am.  Roger never needs much sleep, but I’m feeling the effects of not enough sleep! JOLENE

Inside the Buerge Home They Built

Horse/Cattle Barn

Mike and Clara's First Home

Garden With Greenhouse in Back

Vegetable Garden

Green House for "Hot Plants"

 

Sunday Morning Church Service

Amazing Scenery Today in the Alaskan Intercoastal Waterways

Flying Down the Canyon Into Skagway, Alaska

The Airstrip at Skagway Comes Into View

Fueling At Skagway

Departing Skagway for Haines, Alaska

Flying the Intercoastal Waterways from Skagway and Haines, AK

Airport Tug at Whitehorse

SVS on the IPAD

June 22 (Whitehorse)

Got up this morning and took off for Watson Lake, following the highway again.  We fueled there and Roger did some flight planning.  We are so glad we got this IPad – it’s amazing and does wonders for navigation and planning.  We weren’t there long, and took off for Skagway, Alaska, just as a bit of a side trip.  Wow, the scenery was amazing in the mountains, and coming into the airstrip was a bit scary for me, but Roger loved it.  You come down this canyon, straight onto the airstrip at the bottom at sea level.  It’s a seacoast town, and there was a cruise ship parked there and the people were in town for the day.  We had to clear customs which went pretty smoothly.  We got fuel there too, and that was an experience.  They didn’t have a truck or anything to come do it, but you told them how many gallons you thought you needed and they brought it out in a barrel on a skid loader and hand pumped it into the tanks.  Roger didn’t think too much of that system!  It took quite some time, because they couldn’t prime the hand pump and it didn’t work very well.

We had just snacked so far today, so finally about 4 pm we had a real meal at a restaurant along the water.  We walked around town a bit, then took off again, this time for Haines and followed another road back to the Alaskan Highway where we caught it again at Haines Junction, and then back to Whitehorse, the capitol of the Yukon.  Amazing scenery again – lots of snow-capped mountains on both sides of us, just peak upon peak.  

When we landed in Whitehorse we had to clear customs again, but CanPass did it over the phone again.  At Whitehorse they also had a camping area – this one had high grass and only a porta-potty, but it also had a shelter place with picnic tables, and firewood if you wanted to make a fire (we didn’t).  This, at an international airport!  We went into the terminal restrooms and did a bit of a wash-up shower.  We only arrived there about 9:30, so didn’t go into town tonight anymore.  Hit the sack about 11 (sun still pretty bright) and even Roger went to bed and slept pretty good!  JOLENE