To cut to the chase... we made it! We're here at Toolik!!
The Dalton Highway/Haul Road
We left Fairbanks this morning, and about 9.5 hours later we arrived in Toolik, the end. Just kidding! However that is the idea of the story. The Dalton is the road that heads north. It is pretty impossible to get lost as there really aren't any turns to make.
The beginning of the Dalton Highway- 84 miles north of Fairbanks, 284 miles to go until we reach Toolik.
84 miles outside of Fairbanks the Dalton actually begins- there's a sign and everything. The road has sections of pavement, and some areas that are unpaved. Everything considered, it is in great shape! There's quite a bit of traffic, mostly large trucks hauling things (see where it gets one of its names?). We have a CB radio in our truck so that we can talk to the other traffic and give a heads up about passing or other obstacles to watch out for.
It was pretty rainy for the first 2/3 of our drive. When we came upon a truck we wanted to pass we would call on the radio and let them know we were coming.
Sights along the road
There aren't too many places to stop along the way, however here are a few highlights.
PolarTREC teachers Regina Brinker and Lauren Watel at the Yukon River crossing. This is one of the top 25 largest rivers in the world (by volume of water it moves). The bridge was completed in 1975- prior to the bridge trucks had to be ferried across.
The view from Finger Mountain. Finger Mountain is a granite rock outcropping that sticks out like a finger in the otherwise very rounded landscape.
Dr. Byron Crump, Lauren Watel and Sarah Nalven at the Arctic Circle. It was fairly mosquito infested, but Team Microbe crossed the Arctic Circle!
Some amazing scenery along the way.
Some of the beautiful scenery along the drive in the Brooks Range. The Alaska Pipeline was our constant companion throughout the journey.
More beautiful scenery in the Brooks Range on the way to Toolik.
Species Journal
Before I left I had my students create species journals about some of the larger (aka non-microbial) species I may encounter. Here is what we saw today:
While the moose we saw today was a male, it was also running away from us through a spruce grove, so I didn't capture a great picture. This photo was taken during our orientation in February by Zeb Polly.
No one did a species journal on a moose, but we did see one!
We saw this small herd of Dall Sheep along Atigun Pass in the Brooks Range.
This species journal is by Virdiana Bonilla. Check out a few interesting facts about Dall Sheep.
Sunlight Report
Due to crossing the Arctic Circle, the sun will no longer go below the horizon. From mid-May to early-August the sun doesn't dip below the horizon in this part of Alaska! Pretty crazy.
Comments