Alaska Sunday XXI

Trip Log - Part V

June 26 - July 3

The fifth installment of the actual trip log of 'The Drive from Texas to Alaska and Back'.

As mentioned previously, this log does not contain too much commentary. It is mainly sequential locations, dates, mileage traveled, photographs showing the trip progress, and how the landscape changed. The Alaska Trip Log is divided into one to two week intervals (parts) and I am posting it on consecutive Sundays. Past and future posts of Alaska Sunday (apart from the trip log) will have more detailed information, and more photos of each specific area. Most of the photographs in this log section were previously posted when describing specific locations.

Click on the links for more photographs and detailed descriptions of this part of the trip.


Last week we arrived in Fairbanks. Today we will continue with mileage to Coldfoot, Deadhorse, and back to Fairbanks.

Be sure to click on the photographs for full screen views.

And so, on with the trip.


6/26 Fairbanks, Alaska to Coldfoot, AK 261 mi

Martha under the Pipeline

A lot of gravel road to go


Standing on the Arctic Circle looking NW
Just after the Summer Soltice

See AK Sunday V, click here.


Slate Creek Inn at Deadhorse
$149.oo per night for a box room


See AK Sunday VI, click here.


Martha caught me resting



Koyukuk River at Midnight
Photography after a little rest


See AK Sunday VII, click here.

6/27 Coldfoot, AK to Deadhorse, Ak 247 mi

Cirque in Atigun Pass
Brooks Range


Looking Back at the Brooks Range
Alaska Pipeline

See AK Sunday VIII, click here.

6/28 and 6/29 Around Deadhorse and Prudhoe Bay, AK 120 mi

Chasing butterflies (one in the net)
Near the Arctic Ocean

6/30 Deadhorse back to Coldfoot 240 mi

Racing ahead of a flash flood
Koyukuk River
In 1994 floods on the river swept away three villages,
forcing the wholesale relocation of the population.

See AK Sunday XI, click here, for more of this exciting part of the trip.

7/1 Coldfoot back to Fairbanks 245 mi

7/2 Fairbanks area 22 mi

Next week we will travel to Denali National Park with lots of Photos in that area.

Mileage for this section of the log ...........1135 mi
Mileage before 6/26 ................................7809 mi

Total miles for the trip to date ...............8944 mi

Comments are appreciated.
Let me know if you are keeping up with the trip,
or are just a onetime visitor.

Troy and Martha

Alaska Sunday XI

The Adventure Continues...... from last week

As you will remember, we were heading back to Coldfoot from Deadhorse. The morning started cloudy but with high hopes for the sun to burn off the clouds. That was not to happen, as the rain steadily increased as we headed out across the tundra. We reached the first steps of the Brooks Range and noticed a lot of small streams that were not there when we first arrived.

It had been unseasonably warm (~60 °F.) the 4 days we were there. There was a lot of the snow at the higher elevations that were rapidly melting and combining with above average rain, was producing a lot of water.

On the north side of the pass we saw a lot of streams (small waterfalls in the higher elevations no less) coming down.

Click on the photos for a better look at the adventure!

Snow Melt

Enough to make small waterfalls

We had read in the brochures that they had to constantly repair the guard rail due to landslides and falling rocks. Most of the rocks were small to baseball size with 1-2 foot boulders mixed in. there was a section taken out by boulders since our arrival a few days earlier. We could not stop on the blind curves, to take photos of the bad sections of the rail, and later on as you will see, I did not want to.

A "Good" section of the Guard Rail

We were in a narrow section of the pass when Martha said something to the effect that there was a small landslide coming down towards us. Now it wasn’t like an Earth trembling Hollywood blockbuster, but it was a respectable size and I can tell you that our 4Runner didn’t want a boulder in the side. Sassie (that’s our Toyota’s name) can move when she wants to. No, we didn’t stop to photograph this. I know, I know, camera always at the ready. I was a little busy driving and Martha was busy urging me on.

Safely through the pass, and about 50 miles down in the valley flats, between the mountain ranges, we discovered another interesting adventure. At least Martha did. I didn’t until I looked at the photos later on. If you remember, I mentioned several weeks ago, how several native villages were swept away by the river years ago. This was another case of the Koyukuk River flooding. The road was covered with sheets of water, hiding large, very large, potholes and I was try to avoid these. Martha kept mentioning that the water was rising and was pretty high. I took a quick glance and about my only comment was, “Yes Dear, that’s nice Dear, Why don’t you put the VR lens in active mode and shoot some photos. I’ll look later”.

The photo below shows how much the river was out of its banks. It was only about 6” below the roadway in places. Remember, we were in a valley with no place to go. Well, all’s well that ends well.

Koyukuk River Flooding

We arrived in Coldfoot late, grabbed a bite to eat in the trucker’s and oil field workers café, and straight to bed. Even though I hung over the end of the bed about six inches, it was a great night’s sleep.

Next week, I will show some photos from other parts of the trip.
Just some favorites along the way and in no particular chronological order.

Alaska Sunday is a collection of photographic remembrances of our driving trip from Texas to Alaska.
18,000 miles, 16 weeks, 16 western states including Alaska and four Canadian Provinces.
No chronological order, just anything of interest that got in front of our cameras.

Driving by Troy
Photography by Martha

Alaska Sunday VIII

Photos from Coldfoot to Deadhorse

Today’s Trip consists primarily of Photos along the Dalton Highway from Coldfoot to Deadhorse.

(Be sure to click on the photos for the full dramatic look)

At mile 179 from Deadhorse is the last Spruce tree on the Alaskan Pipeline Road.
Last Spruce Heading North

One of the most striking features as you cross Atigun Pass is the large cirque to the east. It is difficult to photograph due to the extremely dark rock, bright snow and shooting into the sun. We have left the trees far behind and at this altitude and latitude, the vegetation is scarce. We parked here for a while and enjoyed the view. Traffic is almost non-existent, and the only sound is the sound of the wind through the pass. It is a lonely feeling.

Cirque at Atigun Pass

After we crossed over Atigun Pass and dropped down onto the North shelf of the Brooks range, we stopped and talked to some oil field workers who were having a lunch break. They told us to watch for Dall sheep high on the mountains a couple of miles further on. He said they had only recently moved to the North side of the mountains as the days got warmer. They typically spend the winter on the South side. I used my a 300 mm lens to photograph them. With our good Swarovski Scope we got a pretty good look at them.

Dall Sheep

We noticed that the mountain erosion here did not look like the erosion in most of the mountains the lower 48 states. There is more rubble at the lower end of the canyons and they are not washed clean, leaving larger rocks and boulders, like you would see in the Rockies for instance. At this level as we dropped down off of the shelf, we began to see some shrubby plants, as well as the lichens, mosses, and tough grasses. It makes for some interesting colors on the mountains. In the lower 48 states we are used to seeing the dark greens of the cedars at the tops of the tree lines.

Mountains Slowly Wearing Down
Rain was immanent

Most days had some clouds at different times of the day (and night which was day!). the clouds never seemed to vary in altitude, except when we encountered some heavy rain on the day that we left the North Slope Tundra and headed back. Usually they were uniformly low as in the following photo. They were very striking, usually just brushing the mountain tops.

Low Clouds in the Mountains

Dropping further down towards the plains and eventually the tundra, we came in sight of the White Mountains. This is a beautiful range of mountains and requires a lot of stopping for photography. We have long since left the Boreal Forests of Northern Canada and Alaska. This is the last range of “mountains” with the exception of some lone bluffs. Here, these mountains and valleys are covered in browns, tans, yellows and soft greens.

White Mountains

Martha made one last photograph of the terrain before dropping down into the valley between the hills. It features marshland and Pump station #2. This is called Last Chance station and has a pullout for viewing the Coastal Plain. Migratory birds from around the world come here to nest. Porcupine and Central Arctic Caribou herds migrate through here, to and from the calving grounds.

Pump Station #2

Bird watchers come here to view King eiders, Spectacled eiders, Canada geese, Tundra swans, Jaegers, Snowy owls and other tundra species. Just a little ways down the road we saw our first Long-tailed Jaeger. Whoo-hoo.

Long-tailed Jaeger

To the east of the road is the Franklin Bluffs, a low range of bluffs from a worn-down range of hills. It was a welcome sight since it is only 50 miles from Deadhorse.

Franklin Bluffs

Check the May side bar for previous episodes of the Dalton Highway (Haul Road) Adventure.

Next week is Deadhorse, Prudhoe Bay, Arctic Ocean, and environs. The following week is the start of the trip back down the road through landslides and flash floods. Great fun.

We hope you have enjoyed this week’s episode of mostly Photography.

Photography by Troy and Martha

Alaska Sunday is a collection of photographic remembrances of our driving trip from Texas to Alaska.
18,000 miles, 16 weeks, 16 western states including Alaska and four Canadian Provinces.
No chronological order, just anything of interest that got in front of our cameras.

.