We've done it!
Completed our Pan-Am Highway Journey!!
Ushuaia to Prudhoe Bay!!!
27,000 miles of drivin!!!!
Now we U-turn and head South.
Will our Adventure continue? Or does a damp squib lie ahead of us!? This is Alaska - The Last Frontier! Where Damp Squibs get eaten by Grizzlies!!
Dalton Highway just as dauntin headin South - David at the wheel - Supply Truck hoggin the dirt road - speedin too - Pablo cuts the revs and pulls over, but a shower of high speed gravel peppers the windshield and we have genuine scars of the Dalton!
Make it to Wiseman in good time, and the delights of Boreal Lodge - Polar Cabin, for 2 nights.
Enjoy a Cook-out with David, Suzie, Ben & Maddie night one - tales of the Dalton + stories of our Pan Am Travels - can't help noticin Ben's carryin a Glock G20 10mm 6 inch barrel. High firepower for country hikin! They're headin out next mornin, destination Fairbanks, and we're invited to a US Army 4th July Party. Turns out Ben is an Infantry Officer, based at Fort Wainwright. Awesome! (Glock G20 is in case of Bear attack along the Dalton!!)
3rd July = England vs Colombia - World Cup Round of 16 - join the action via theguardian.com live commentary - Cable TV here with >150 channels to choose from - but not one is showin the World Cup!! 'Who is America?' we hear you ask!? Penalties nailbitin nevertheless!! "It's coming home" is the chant around Moscow's Spartak Stadium - so says theguardian.com. A chant echoed in Wiseman, Alaska by two wannabee England fans a long way from home.
Wiseman (Population 22) has an airstrip. Overgrown, but still functionin. Bear tracks in the mud half way down the bumpy runway. David investigatin, hearin heavy steps in the woods he's takin no chances!!
That's Calcium Chloride BTW (a.k.a. Rock Salt). Road Surfacin is the second largest application of calcium chloride, exploitin its hygroscopic properties and the tackiness of its hydrates. A concentrated solution keeps a liquid layer on the surface of dirt roads, suppressin formation of dust. Keeps the finer dust particles on the road, providin a cushionin layer. Usin calcium chloride reduces the need for gradin by as much as 50% and the need for fill-in materials as much as 80%.
When wet it's like liquid concrete - Pablo was coated in the stuff - from below the windows to below the other windows. Think salt corrosion, think havin to chip the stuff off with a stone chisel, think better get a heavy duty car wash when back in Fairbanks.
4th July - Independence Day. "Join, or Die!" some of you may be sayin?
We trounce 455km of the Dalton, arrive Fairbanks, check-in at The Downtown Hideaway B&B with Allen and Verna, and hot foot it to the 4th July BBQ where we're special guestin. 10 US Army Infantry Officers and their wives are soooo welcomin. Fireworks, Corn-Hole, Bear Burgers, Fire-Pit chat, Cariboo Cocktails, Star Spangled Banners, SKS-45 holdin Gun Safe, Proper Beer (no Bud Light in sight!) - and the land of the Midnight Sun - where any of these photos could have been taken at 1:00am - no flash required!
