Month: June 2019

by

Chatanika Lodge and Alaska Pipeline

We have a new realtor to sell the house in North Pole.   Most of the other business is finished.   Now we get to be tourists.   From Fairbanks we drive north toward Fox.   This is a great place to see the Alaska Pipeline, and maybe even touch it.   This sign tells about the pipeline.

Route of the Alaska Pipeline

As you can see, it is 800 miles long, transporting crude oil from Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean to Valdez Marine Terminal, eventally shipped from the Pacific Ocean to ports around the world.  I, Zeb the Duck, and mom have been here before, and so has Alaska native, Eider Duck.   This is the first time for Soapy Smith Duck, his mom and his dog, Chloe.

Soapy’s mom and dog, Chloe, and the Colorado Traveling Ducks under the pipeline.

Chloe and mom are under the pipeline, with we ducks.  The pipeline is tall enough for a large Alaskan moose to easily walk under it.   The moose and other large animals migrate through parts of Alaska that now have a pipeline.  Some times the pipeline is above ground and sometimes the pipeline is below ground.

Sometimes pipeline is underground

There were no other tourists here, so Chloe had a great time running and frolicking along the pipeline.

Chloe running along pipeline

The pipeline carries hot oil, about 100 degrees F at this location.   To keep the pipeline clean, pigs are put inside the pipe.

Old and newer pigs to clean inside the AlaskaPipeline.

At first they needed to scrape wax from the pipe.   Now there is less wax but they smooth the flow by reducing turbulence inside the pipeline.   The pipeline averages 1.5 million barrels of oil daily.   The entire trip for a barrel of oil takes 11.9 days, starting at Prudhoe Bay and ending in Valdez.   We drive to Chatanika Lodge.

Chatanika Lodge

This is a great place.   There are rooms to spend a few nights, a good restaurant and bar.   Ron and Shirley, the owners, also have great Alaskan decor with an additional room featuring an old classic car and an older Harley.

Vintage car and Harley

Ron and Shirley host great parties here.

One of the many parties held here

Eider and his dad came here for New Year’s Eve parties and for Chatanika Days, the first weekend in March.   Celebrating longer days and the promise of a warmer spring and summer is important.   Also popular is the Halloween party.   Eider’s dad loved this lodge and the great parties.   Everyone has fun here.   Eider’s dad was also a sportsman, so when he passed away, we asked Ron and Shirley to display some hunting and fishing trophies.   Here is his salmon.

Eider’s dad’s salmon

This buffalo or bison head was the result of a Colorado hunting trip.

Eider’s buffalo head

And our favorite.

Eider’s bear

This is an Alaska bear.   This bear stood in the living room of his house in North Pole, Alaska.   Soapy’s mom likes the bear.

Eider’s bear and Soapy’s mom

These mounts are enjoying the parties at Chatanika now.

Ron. Owner of Chatanika Lodge and our friend

Thanks for taking care of them Ron and Shirley.

 

by

Still Diving North. Still Daily Snow with the Colorado Traveling Ducks

Yesterday’s snow and icy roads, the worst of the trip has ended.  We arrived at Haines Junction, in the Canadian Yukon.

Haines Junction, Yukon. Love the sign

And yes, you can drive to the Alaskan port city of Haines from here.   But we did not.   We are trying to get to Fairbanks or North Pole, Alaska to hire a new realtor.   Our motel in Haines Junction was very comfortable and had a good bar and restaurant nearby.

Alcan Motel in Haines Junction, Yukon Territory, Canada

So we were all happy.   We ordered our dinner and ate in our rooms.   We were exhausted.    Refreshed after a good night’s sleep, driving north, we met a new friend.

Canadian grizzly bear

This Canadian grizzly bear was too busy grazing to pay much attention to us, but we sure admired him.   That bump on his back is typical of grizzly bears, or so says our guidebook.  They can be ferious, but he looks so sweet and hugable.   This partially frozen lake caught our attention.

A winter wonderland

We love to see the winter landscape.   We just don’t love the cold.   Driving past Canadian customs, we have arrived in Alaska, USA.   There are several monuments and signs here.   The Welcome to Alaska.   Looking the other direction, the Welcome to the Yukon, and this friendship bench.

Friendship bench

Canada and the United States have been friends for years, so this bench is a nice place to pause and enjoy the view.   The International Boundary Post shows the actual border, marked by the suveyors.  Before the Alaska Highway, the borders were not so clearly marked.  We quicky cleared US customs and we continued north toward Delta Junction.

Delta Junction, Alaska. Official end of he Alaska Highway

This milepost in Delta Junction marks the official end of the Alaska Highway.  From here there is a main road heading south to Anchorage and Valdez.  Valdez is the end of the Alaska Pipeline, which carries oil from the fields of Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean to Port Valdez on the east side of Prince William Sound.   Here ships wait to carry crude oil into the Pacific Ocean and to various world ports.   Also at Delta Junction, you can drive on the Richardson Highway and go north to Fairbanks.   That is the route we drove.   We were in Delta Junction the first week of May and the Visitor’s Center was not yet open.   Many businesses along our route are only open during the warmer months.   At the Delta Junction Visitor’s Center they have lots of information signs outside.   And this statue of a giant mosquito.   Alaska does have giant mosquitos.   But since the center is not yet open, this mosquito is not yet in its best form.   This photo from last year shows what the mosquito will look like soon.

Mosquitos.

Well, we are only hours away from our next hotel in Fairbanks.

Heading north to Fairbanks, Alaska

Heading down the road, we will reach our Fairbanks destination tonight.

by

Colorado Traveling Ducks in Canada’s Yukon Territory

Continuing northbound, we are enthralled with the winter scenery.

Frozen River

This frozen river is so beautful.   It is definitely winter weather, some snow each day, and frozen water everywhere, but the days are much longer this far north.   The sun rises before 5:00 a.m. each morning and doesn’t set until after 10:00 p.m.   A few more minutes of daylight is added every day.   And this fellow is always a treat to view.

Black bear

He is one of the first bears we saw.   Actually, the earlier bears appeared and walked into the woods before mom got her camera out.   No matter how many bears we see, we stop to admire each one.   We stop at another rest area.

Picnic area. Statue dedicated to surveyors

This one has a nice picnic area, for later in the summer, and a marker remembering the surveyors that made this road possible.   We enjoy another view of a frozen river.   Imagine this picnic area in the summer, watching the river flow.   So beautiful and peaceful.  Next we see the wild buffalo along the side of the Alaska Highway.

Baby buffalo in the spring

The precipation does not seem to bother mom and baby.   But, as usual, the rain and snow start and stop.

Buffalo along the road

There are several young buffalo with moms here.   A little distance from mom and baby, the dads remain watchful.    Further north we leave British Columbia and enter Canada’s Yukon territory.

Welcome to the Yukon

Chloe, Soapy’s mom and three Colorado Traveling Ducks are happy to see this sign, marking progress on our northern travel.   You may remember that we drove this route last year.   That trip was one way, heading south.   We bought this blue Jeep from the estate of mom’s brother.   Both this year and last year we spent the night in Watson Lake, Yukon.  This time, there is snow on the ground and it is rather cold.

Snow around church in Watson Lake

We liked the Liard Evangical Free Church in Watson Lake.   Originally built in 1942 near the airport, the building was moved here in 1963.  This church is open to all.  Leaving Watson Lake in the morning, we soon encountered snow and icy roads.

Spring time in the Yukon

Driving was trecherous.   But there is beauty with the snow also.

Snow makes trees beautiful

These trees are beautiful.   We pulled into a rest area after the snow stopped.   Our Chloe likes to get out of the car and have some exercie.   Really, we all enjoy the stops.

Snowy mountains from rest area

The mountains blurred by snow are breathtaking to us.   But it is May now and we are ready for some spring warmth and sunshine.   Soon, we think.