We are so sad for Steve’s wife Christy who he left behind when he died of cancer recently. It is a huge fear for all of us and Steve had to face it. He undoubtedly had other stresses when he was sick and we are sorry for that too.
Jack says Steve was a good driver and a good guy. We would like to extend our sympathies to his wife and family. Christy, hold on to your memories and know that you made his life worth living.
I snapped these on Friday when this truck was fueling up to head north.
Jack says they are used for crude oil and that they lay on their sides, not upright like on the truck. You can see the actual metal portion of the pipe that is colored green with anti-corrosion paint. The black is thinner metal and in between the two is foam insulation.
This load is obviously going to Deadhorse or Prudhoe Bay. (FYI: Deadhorse refers to the “town” where companies have their operations, and Prudhoe Bay refers to the actual oil fields and is a much larger area.)
Click on the photos for larger images.
More snow in the engine, but this time it’s from someone going in the ditch! It seems to happen to everyone eventually and it’s better to land in the cushy snow instead of just about anywhere else. After it got pulled out they cleaned the snow off and drove it away!
(Identifying marks have been removed for privacy.)
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.
Hard to believe this was 10 years ago, Jack says. This is a mod lift at the Alpine oil fields (mod is short for modular), back when he was doing heavy haul. Since it’s been so many years all he had to say about it was that he hauled this prefabricated unit to Alpine from Valdez and the workers there got busy lifting it off his truck. It took all day actually. That was one part of heavy haul he doesn’t miss.
A few months after Jack helped haul bridge beams to the Donjek River Bridge in Canada, he went back to haul the beams from the staging area off the road onto the ice where they were constructing the bridge. (Best viewed if you click on the first one and scroll to the right.) See captions for more info.
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.)
If only we were on the road again…
This is Kluane Lake, Yukon Territory, Canada, when we were coming back from our long 6 week trip to the states in 2012. Memories!
(Best viewed if you click on one and scroll to the side.)
Jack and I were so sad to hear about the passing of Jack McCahan. Jack “Cactus Jack” McCahan was a hard-working trucker with a great sense of humor. Jack says he told fantastic stories and would always win in a battle to keep a straight face. He told the best jokes. He was simply a joy to be around. Everybody loved Jack. Everybody loves Jack. It doesn’t change just because he is gone. He will be in our thoughts and so…still on the road…with us…
Even though it is a sad day for all the drivers on the Dalton, and everyone else who loved and knew Jack, enjoy your Thanksgiving especially if you get to spend it with your loved ones. And to all the truckers who are on the road instead of being home with their families, thank you for towing the line.
Our deepest sympathies to Jack McCahan’s family.
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