The beginning of our journey north coincided with the first clear morning we saw in Anchorage. We were on Highway 3 by 9:30 am, with Dima and I trading off time at the wheel. We made a brief pit stop in Wasilla, Alaska – the town formerly mayored by the famed one-time vice presidential candidate. Road construction and brief, intermittent showers served as our only obstacles on the journey. We passed through Denali National Park, although clouds obscured our view from Mt. McKinley itself. We arrived in Fairbanks at about 4 pm, just in time to pick up Drs. Anna Klene (University of Montana) and Cathy Seybold (USDA) from the airport.
After dinner, the crew headed to the goliath grocer, Fred Meyers, for some last minute supplies. Tomorrow morning, Anna, Kathy, Kelsey, Elliot and myself will begin the 500-mile drive along the Dalton Highway to Prudhoe Bay. Dima will fly from Fairbanks and meet us on the North Slope.
Anna and Kelsey choose tape to attach data loggers to poles.
An F-350 diesel truck: our pegasus to Prudhoe.
More from the road tomorrow,
Josh