New website!

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Driving the Dalton Highway, part II....

The last 100 miles or so, heading north across the North Slope arctic plains:



Looking back south towards the Brooks Range from the North Slope:



Stopped in the middle of Atigun Pass; good thing it's just a rental car:



Atigun Pass; even in the middle of July there is still some snow here:

Driving the Dalton Highway

My brother came to visit in July... we took a few days and a rental Ford Excursion (I don't think that car will ever be the same :-) and drove from Anchorage to Fairbanks, and then all the way north to Deadhorse. Amazing scenery...

This first few photos are of the Dalton Highway, driving through a burned-out area overgrown with fireweed:






The famous Arctic Circle sign; hard to believe we went another 300 miles NORTH of this point!


Below is a view of the middle of the Brooks Range, looking south from the top of Atigun Pass:

Driving to Alaska, Part V con't

And finally! Crossing into Alaska on Day 7. Not sure if I looked a little dodgy after 7 days on the road, or if it was just random, but I was lucky enough to have my car searched by Customs entering Alaska (which funny enough, was before you hit this sign). But overall, it was fine - they didn't seem to mess anything up that was packed, and it was good to stretch my legs for a few minutes. Next and final stop before the last leg of the drive was Tok, Alaska. Tok is a small town a few hours inside the border - it's only another 5 or 6 hours to Anchorage, but by this time I'd been in the car enough...

Driving to Alaska, Part V con't

Getting closer to Alaska...

Driving to Alaska, Part V con't

More Day 7

Driving to Alaska, Part V con't

I'm really glad I bought the Land Rover

Driving to Alaska, Part V con't

Day 7: Awesome views.....

Driving to Alaska, Part V

Day 7: Another great day of driving... from Whitehorse, Yukon Territory to Tok, Alaska... finally found some wild buffalo

Driving to Alaska, Part IV con't

Still more Day 6...

Driving to Alaska, Part IV con't

More Day 6... don't see too many signs like this! Yes... buffalo shots to follow...

Driving to Alaska, Part IV con't

More Day 6...

Driving to Alaska, Part IV con't

If you haven't guessed already, Day 6 was one of the best in terms of scenery

Driving to Alaska, Part IV con't

Still heading towards Whitehorse...

Driving to Alaska, Part IV con't

Still Day 6...

Driving to Alaska, Part IV con't

Also on Day 6 of the drive... the scenery starts to get really good

Driving to Alaska, Part IV con't

More day 6: a few moose...

Driving to Alaska, Part IV con't

More Day 6: back into the mountains, and starting to run into wildlife... this group of caribou wasn't in a hurry to get off the road...

Driving to Alaska, Part IV

Day 6: October 8th, driving across the Alaska Highway through British Columbia and into the Yukon Territory... I passed through just a few more plains areas...

Driving to Alaska, Part III

Day 5: The scenery starts to get interesting... crossing the Canadian Rockies across Alberta and into British Columbia. This is the first time that it feels like I'm getting into some remote areas - not many people on the road, not many places to stop for fuel. This is where I really started reading The Milepost to find out how far to the next gas station. Alberta was mostly flat farmland; B.C. really began to look like northern wilderness. I overnighted somewhere in British Columbia; the name escapes me at the moment. But I did pass one heck of a Beaver...

Driving to Alaska, Part II

Day 3 was fairly uneventful; driving from the Boulder area to Helena, Montana was OK - territory I've been through before so no surprises. Day 4 would see me cross into Canada. Passed through some mountains in southern and mid-Montana; as I approached the Canadian border the landscape changed to fields and praire. I snapped a few early morning photos on October 6th, about 100 miles south of the border. I drove straight on through Calgary and Edmonton, and overnighted in the worst dive of the trip, somewhere northwest of Edmunton, where unfortunately there was no such thing as a "non-smoking room"...

Driving to Alaska, Part I

After finding my apartment in perfect shape, one of the few in my entire complex to survive without any damage at all, I spent 3 days cleaning and getting packed for the drive. I think David and I may have squeezed in a beer or two as well, in New Orleans style... My car was fine, and my motorcycle was even still upright.

I left New Orleans on October 3rd; day one took me across Louisiana and into Texas. I overnighted in a suburb somewhere west of Dallas. A fairly uneventful day, with the exception of little petrol available in Louisisana, and what was there was rather expensive. Day 2, October 4th, I came across huge wind farms and ended up overnighting just north of Boulder, Colorado.

Return to New Orleans, October 2005

After 18 months of living in New Orleans, I was ready for a change... the city is great, I met some fantastic people and have made some life-long friends, and I'll visit as often as I can; but the heat and humidity were a bit much for me. When an opening in Alaska came up, I jumped at the chance. I arrived in Alaska on August 17th, 2005 for what was supposed to be a 30 day temporary assignment; if they liked me, and I liked Alaska, I had a chance at the permanent position and relocation. Two weeks into my stay here, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. I had already decided to move to Alaska, and had received the job offer; now I just had to wait until I had a chance to get back into New Orleans to see what, if anything, was left, and to get my apartment ready for the movers. I finally made it back on October 1st; my friends David and Amanda were already back in the their Westbank house and graciously not only gave me a place to stay, but really took care of me for the 3 days I was there.

For those that have been to my New Orleans apartment, you should remember the market across the street; by October 1st, the looters had been there...

Better late than never...

It's hard to believe it's been 1 year and two days since I first set foot in Alaska... it's been a busy but great year. I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures - for all of you who have been asking, sorry for the delay - but you really need to come see the sights for yourself! :-) The photo at the left was taken on October 9th, 2005. After leaving New Orleans on October 3rd, I was finally crossing into Alaska after six long days of driving; three of those days through stunning scenery. Good thing I bought a Land Rover, afterall...