Tag Archives: highway

Pump stations, Brooks Range, & a raven

Days are getting longer and brighter around here now, but we’ve still got tons of great footage from the dimmer days of winter. Here’s our current favorite.

Over the course of about 2 hours after leaving Prudhoe Bay, Jack drives by Pump Station 3 on the Dalton Highway, then heads down into the foothills of the Brooks Range with Galbraith Airport and Pump 4 in the distance. After communing a few moments with a curious raven, he goes up and over Atigun Pass then down The Shelf, passing Chandalar state camp near the end.

The Dalton Highway in September

Last fall we took a camping/hunting trip up the Dalton.  We were lucky to get tons of beautiful weather.  Only a little rain.  Summer is almost here!

This old bridge had a few holes in it...
This old bridge had a few holes in it…
It's unbelievable how long this partially burnt/cured wood burned in the camp fire!
It’s unbelievable how long this partially burnt/cured wood burned in the camp fire!
Judy found some orange lichen.
Judy found some orange lichen.
There are tons of awesome trails along the pipeline.
There are tons of awesome trails along the pipeline.
Those are people over there!
Those are people over there!
Red-tipped lichen.
Red-tipped lichen.
Checking out rocks.
Checking out rocks.
That's the Dalton way over there.
That’s the Dalton way over there.
Zoomed in.
Zoomed in.
Weathered rocks.
Weathered rocks.
We heard a gun shot while we were here so someone must have gotten a moose.
We heard a gun shot while we were here so someone must have gotten a moose.
Cool old abandoned car.
Cool old abandoned car.
Owl pellet....?
Owl pellet….?
Gray Jay
Gray Jay
Bird of prey nest on pipeline machinery.
Bird of prey nest on pipeline machinery.
Jack's creative square fire.
Jack’s creative square fire.

Joy Wiebe Memorial Convoy “Joy Ride”

Jack participated in the Joy Wiebe Memorial Truck Convoy last Saturday that started at the Colville yard (Joy worked for Colville) on Van Horn Way and ended in Fox for a gathering.  There are 4 videos here with the 1st, 2nd and 4th being sped up versions of the convoy, as viewed from the dash cam in Jack’s truck.  The 3rd video in the sequence is “Joy’s Last Call” and comments from truckers over the radio, then the convoy goes by the pipeline viewing station where many onlookers are gathered and Jack lays on the horn like he was told to do.  There were 70-80 trucks in the convoy.

Below are the videos of the Memorial “Joy Ride” and here are a few photos Jack took of the procession and gathering.  If you aren’t interested in the sped up versions of the convoy and just want to see the real time comments on the radio just watch video #3.

From Brandilyn Mehrer/Facebook

 

Joy’s GoFundMe Page

 

 

 

Welcome to the Dalton

Jack welcomes you to the Dalton, but kind of in the wrong order.  Instead of just getting on the Dalton, he’s just leaving it.  At the very end you can see the Elliot Highway to the right where it continues on to Manley, and at that point he has left the Dalton and is on the Elliot.  It’s a lot simpler than it sounds.  The Elliot Highway was finished in 1959, goes north from Fairbanks and turns west toward Manley, a town a few miles from the Tanana River.  The Dalton Highway was built in the 1970s to supply and access the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and starts where the Elliot turns west to Manley.  If Jack could, he’d redo this video so it goes the right away, welcoming you to the Dalton at it’s beginning.  But it’s such a beautiful day!

Bizarre convoy of track rigs

Travel to another planet with Jack when he drives by one otherworldly track rig after another.  This might be the best video yet so don’t give up half way through when there’s a lull in the traffic…there are more of these crazy rigs coming!  (There’s music but it’s quiet at the beginning.)

Hilltop Truck Stop, before heading north

Jack takes a break at Hilltop before heading down the road.  This is sped up very fast so you can see the daylight fade.  At some point the camera’s time clock locks up.