To the Arctic Ice

        Abandoning Horny temporarily in Fairbanks, we flew to the continent's northernmost settlement, the Inupiag Eskimo community of Barrow.  After a frigid day of  chasing Arctic life-list birds in a rented truck, we enjoyed the comforts (and Mexican restaurant!) of the Top of the World Hotel.
 

Chukchi Sea ice pack

Birding truck

Goodbye Barrow

 

        The next morning we took a small plane east across the frozen tundra of the Arctic coast to Deadhorse, hub of the Prudhoe Bay oilfield.  Here we joined a ten-passenger tour van for local sightseeing (Spectacled Eider at last!) and Polar Bear initiations for the hardy (not us) in the icy waters of the Arctic Ocean.
 

Cozy Cape Smythe Air	North Slope tundra
Grizzlies roam Deadhorse	Polar Bear Marg Granger

 

        After a night in the comfortable hotel for oilfield workers, our tour group followed the Alaska Pipeline south on the unpaved Dalton Highway (Haul Road).  Traversing the coastal tundra and climbing over the Brooks Range, we overnighted at primitive truck stop Coldfoot, ceremonially passed the Arctic Circle, and crossed the mighty Yukon to rejoin Horny at Fairbanks.
 

Super tour  leader Samantha Wilson	Caribou	Lunch stop
Into the  Brooks Range	Overnight  luxury at Coldfoot	Carolyn crosses the Arctic Circle

 
 

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