After spending many, many hours in the truck traveling up and down the Dalton Highway over the last week, I've got mixed feelings – most of the time feeling it is a beautiful road and amazing way to see Alaska – a totally different lifestyle than I am used to (staying at the camps along the highway as a classified "worker," receiving room and board). But it is also a very, very long drive with anxiety provoking road conditions. I know how to change a flat tire, but I just never WANT to do it on the Dalton.
One way to pass the time was looking for wildlife. You really never knew what was around the corner. The thing is, with my point of reference being the city, I was always seeing "city things" instead of wildlife. So, based on extensive (four days) research, I've developed a City-Dwellers Field Guide to the North Slope, so other city dwellers can "translate" what they are seeing into Alaska speak. Things to look for:
City-Dwellers Field Guide to the North Slope
- White Trash Bags – could be a snowy owl!
Trash bag or snowy owl?
- Large Rocks – could be a bear!
Rock or bear?
- Sound of Pigs Oinking – could be a ptarmigan!
Pig or ptarmigan?
- Piles of Dirt – could be muskoxen!
Dirt or muskox?
In addition to these animals, we also saw lynx, caribou, and a moose butt along the highway. Cute Animal Alert: more on our adventures with muskoxen tomorrow!
Caribou on the horizon.
We couldn't resist... one last viewing of the baby foxes!
Notice the white boots the ptarmigan is developing for winter.
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