Ravens on the Dalton

Mar7

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!

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.

What a work of art!

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!

Old blind dog found after 2 weeks in the cold

Mar4

Upside Down Truck

Feb28

Here’s a short video Jack took the other day at about mile 86 of the Dalton. The truck got too close to the edge when it met another truck and went off the side and rolled over. A tree trunk punctured the tanker and according to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation about 3,000 gallons of ultra low sulfur diesel spilled onto the ground. Here is a link to the local newspaper’s article about it.

Jack carries approximately 9,200 gallons in the tanker he uses. Other tankers are larger or smaller. All or most tankers have different compartments though so when one has a spill most likely it’s only that compartment that empties. Having different compartments enables truckers to carry different types of liquids and/or put weight at different places in the load.

(YouTube has a bad habit of giving you the lowest resolution so if you want to see more detail try clicking one of the HD choices under settings in the lower right hand corner of the video screen.)

Snow-filled engine compartment

Jan24

Jack snapped these shots after going through numerous snow drifts before he got into Prudhoe Bay. The engine is operating fine and he didn’t need to do anything, but it’s interesting to see how the snow gets into all the available spaces. The keypad looking thing is actually the air intake for the cab and the vent above it is the intake for the motor. Even though the engine is 200 degrees plus it’s still not enough to melt the snow at these temperatures, about 20 or 30 below.

Memory Foam Clouds

Jan19

Jack took these photos a couple of days ago. The clouds have a really weird consistency to them, like there are air pockets underneath that are pushing them up in patches.

It’s kind of hard to make it out but the clouds are indented from the bottom.

It almost looks like there are mountains in the distance but it’s all clouds.

The clouds look like a layer of memory foam being pressed on from below.

Hauling Pipe Rack Units to Prudhoe

Jan4

A few years ago Jack and some other truckers took these pipe rack units from Fairbanks to Alpine, an area of Prudhoe Bay owned by Conoco-Phillips. You’ll see the units being loaded, then Jack driving behind other units. You can see the pipes in the middle of the structure as well as the valve controls on the top. These units are lined up next to each other and connected as part of the process of extracting oil and getting it into the pipeline to go south. In one of the ice road photos you can see a pipeline on the right.

They drive through tundra, over mountains, and finally on the ice roads of Prudhoe Bay. The last couple of photos, the ones where the road doesn’t look particularly icy, they are passing over a river. If you are also rather astute (and here I am giving you a clue) you can also see Jack’s reflection in the mirror, as well as a reflection of the small fan that he had mounted on the dash that could turn toward the windshield to defrost it or toward him on hot days.

(The best way to view the photos is to click on the first one and then click on the right arrow.)

Driving the Dalton

Jan2

Jack finally took a video of driving down the road. It seems like a silly thing to do but people have requested more videos and this one shows what most of his job is like, on the good days. 🙂

(If these appear blurry change your resolution settings on the bottom right side of the player.)