I am sitting in our Tiger in the parking lot of the Caribou Inn, a motel, in Deadhorse Alaska and behind me a guy in a huge CAT front end loader, is clearing snow from the car park as if he is in a race, and while he is doing this workers in pickup trucks are entering and leaving the lot as if an earth moving machine is just another normal vehicle on the roadway; which come to think of it in this part of the world, it is. This seems like an entirely appropriate way to end what has been another exciting and some what surreal day.

We started this morning from the chain-up pullout near the last spruce tree. As we got ready to leave for our days drive two 18-wheelers came down from the north, pulled in where we were parked and started removing their chains. This suggested that conditions up the road might be just a little bit difficult. A conversation with one of the truckers confirmed that Atigun Pass - a few miles up the road - had deep snow drifts and that much of the roadway was covered in snow that had been compressed into ice. He made two suggestions - put on chains, and call on the CB radio before heading up the hill to let others know we were coming.

At this point I was thankful for all that snow, in Gig Harbor earlier in the year and the opportunity I had to practice putting on chains. Although to be fair in Gig Harbor I did not have to lye down in a parking lot that was a gruesome mix of mud, ice and flowing water. Never the less the chains went on without a hitch and we were off. The first obstacle was a climb called Chandalar Shelf which was mostly mud. A few miles further on we started up the 2 mile climb to infamous Atigun Pass which is a crossing of the continental divide. A call on the CB of camper northbound starting Atigun got an immediate response. one truck south bound, blower in middle of road at the top, single lane, stop at the top and wait. As we later discovered it was the driver of the snow blower that replied to us.

No sooner had we started up the climb than visibility dropped to maybe 40 ft, and we could only find the road because of the snow poles and the dirty snow on the ground from the previous trucks. About half way up the climb that one truck south bound appeared out of the mist and passed without incident. Another mile and we pulled up behind a huge machine, as promised, parked in the middle of the road. This was the snow blower. A big CAT tractor with a snow thrower on the front.

We sat behind the blower for some time while he inched towards the parking lot at the top of the pass. There he and we waited while a number of south bound trucks climbed to the pass from the north side. They were being led by a road grader that was clearing the snow off the road for them. Eventually one of the trucks could not proceed so the grader had to descend and tow the troubled truck up to the pass.

Eventually all the trucks were up and we could descend, led by the grader who now cleared the snow out of the way for us. After about 1 mile of the descent visibility improved and the snow lessened. The grader pulled off and we were on our own. A few miles later we were sufficiently out of the snow to remove the chains so once again I got to lye down in the mud, snow, ice, and cold water.

On the north side of Atigun Pass the road travels through the valley of the Atigun River with peaks of the Brooks Range on both sides of the road. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is to the east. The weather cleared somewhat and we had great views both north and south, although the southerly view still had cloud around the peaks flanking Atigun Pass.

After maybe 50 miles the road left the Atigun Valley and crossed into the valley of the Sagavanirktok River and thereafter followed this river until about 40 miles from Deadhorse.

The Sagavanirktok valley progressively widened and the mountains on each side diminished as we travelled north with increasingly frequent glimpses of the vast expanse of the Arctic plain and the Sagavanirktok delta which is where Deadhorse is located.

With about 60 miles to go the road finally dropped onto the plain and, as the guide book says, started a long straight stretch north. Boy is it flat, and white. With the light cloud and pale blue sky, and white ground it is difficult to see where the sky stops and the other ground starts.

We arrived in Deadhorse about 17:30. Our first chore was to get fuel at the Tesoro station. The filling facilities are a bit unusual, but we had been warned by the guide book. The filling nozzles are on the outside of the building but inside are the pumps in metal boxes to protect them from the cold and wind. The reader for the credit cards and the meters that show the cost and the amount of fuel pumped are inside the building. The door to the building is spring loaded, with a very strong spring, so that it cannot be blown open by the winter wind. As we discovered it cannot be opened by Nina either. The price $4.65 a gallon.

So far we have visited the general store and post office for stamps and souvenirs, and the Caribou Inn to arrange to stay in their parking lot, and plug into their electricity for the night. It quickly became obvious that Deadhorse is not so much a town as a work camp. There are industrial facilities everywhere, the accommodation that is available is more like bunk house than hotel/motel, and there is only one store that seems to sell everything. Just to add emphasis to this observation the permanent population is 25, but there can be anywhere from 3000 to 5000 workers in the town.

So what did we think of the road?

I am a little nervous to tempt fate by speaking before we have made the return journey. But; so far I would say that it is not as bad as I had feared. There certainly are patches that are rough, and there are patches that are very wet and sloppy. But generally we found we could travel at 40-45 mph most of the time. But that required good concentration to keep picking the best line. Also to our surprise there were some long sealed sections of road.

As we approached Deadhorse this afternoon we saw a very large tractor with rubber tracks instead of wheels pulling a number of large sleds loaded with equipment. The reason I am commenting on this is because the same tractor and sled just drove through the car park behind where we are.

Today has been warm with temperatures never getting below freezing. Even at the top of Atigun Pass the temperature was only down to 35°F.

Yesterday our windshield had a few chips from stones thrown up by trucks, today they turned into long cracks. At some point we will be up for a new windshield.

It's now 23:00 it is still quite light outside and the lights on the oil facilities across the lake are twinkling in the cold night air.