Monthly Archives: March 2015

Bulker goes off the road

The Dalton claims another truck!

Jack calls this kind of trailer a bulker.  It carries dry powders like concrete, sand, or ammonium nitrate.  This one probably carried concrete or sand.  He says they use air to transfer the product from one place to another.  Unloading a bulker is called “blowing it off” to the people who do it.  In Prudhoe they store the product in silos.

Don’t forget you can increase the resolution on a YouTube video by clicking on the settings symbol in the lower right hand corner and choosing a higher number than what YouTube picked for you.

 

Engine on fire

A few years ago a truck engine spontaneously caught fire.  It was an electrical issue with the truck.  It had popped a breaker and when the breaker was flipped back, the fire started.  That’s what is thought to have happened.  In the photos you can only see smoke, and the Fairbanks Fire Department working to put it out.  We can imagine it was some seriously toxic smoke, as it is anytime a vehicle catches fire.  The Carlile employees including Jack moved the vehicles that were next to it immediately but couldn’t do anything about the fire.

(For those of you lucky souls who don’t have to deal with the cold temperatures, trucks and all vehicles are plugged in before driving to heat up the oil and anti-freeze.)

Click a photo to see it full size, then scroll through.

Ravens on the Dalton

Jack and I found the most amazing sight back in 2006 when we pulled into Happy Valley along the Dalton Highway.  Happy Valley is a former pipeline camp at about mile 335 that now is a gravel pullout where various storage units are kept.  There’s an airstrip that hunters and Fish & Game use, and Jack has seen mushers there too.

A raven built a nest in a set of moose antlers on the side of a building and 2 young ravens were in it!

This raven nest, with 2 babies in it, is built in a set of moose antlers on the side of a building!

This raven nest, with 2 babies in it, is built in a set of moose antlers on the side of a building!

You can see how much of a mess the raven family has made with guano all over the steps, propane tanks and the side of the building.

Ravens nest in a set of moose antlersWhat a work of art!

Raven young in nest

The “babies” were absolutely quiet and watchful while I snapped photos and even climbed up on a nearby truck to get on the same level as them.  They did not seem traumatized. 🙂

Jack had a close encounter with a very friendly raven a few years ago too.

Raven sitting on Jack's truck hood and peering inside the windshield.

Raven sitting on Jack’s truck hood and peering inside the cab.

Don’t worry, I discussed with Jack how it’s not appropriate to feed wild animals and that it might even be against the law! 🙂

They are amazing creatures.  So smart!

Driver has a bad day

Another truck goes off the road!  This one is about 20 miles from Prudhoe.

Happy Sunday everyone!  We’re having a beautiful sunny day after some snow and a wind storm that cut out our electricity for a couple of hours last night.