Arctic Ocean

Arctic Ocean

07/05/2013, temperature : unknown

Here we are on the third day of this awesome journey, today you realize that you are the handful of few adventurers who will venture to this place. Wait i mean drive and not fly over the arctic.

My time schedule has changed, i woke up at 5:00 AM and could not fall asleep. this is normal in Alaska where the sun just does not set. The best time to use the restrooms and get ready.Since i had  an awesome connectivity i made the best use of it by calling everyone i thought would be excited that i made it to Deadhorse.

Let me tell you a bit more about Deadhorse so that you are clear on how serious i am when i say that its not a city or a town or a village. Its an oil exploration site with oil workers, truckers and lot of huge machines. You almost feel that in a split second suddenly the machines will transform into huge robots. I would not be surprised if  that happens to be true as what a better place for alien landing than in the north slope borough.

Make the best use of the restrooms as after you leave the camp you will be travelling for next 2 days without any hot water shower. Unless, you want to spend $200 a night in Coldfoot.

I loved Deadhorse, even with all the huge machines around you the sound of trucks and heavy machinery moving is just muted by the surrounding and you will still hear the wind blowing.I would love to work here in the oil rigs but the biggest limitation is being away from family. But i am kind of doing a similar thing by working in USA.

The camp serves breakfast at 6:00 AM and so i started my day with a huge serving of eggs, bread and

coffee. The lady serving at the kitchen told me that the temperatures can go down to -40 degrees Fahrenheit, and i believe the propane freezes at this temperature. My trip to the arctic ocean  was at 9:00 AM and so i thought of capturing some early morning pics. I met an Indian guy from San Francisco, he drove all the way from Anchorage to Deadhorse. He was somehow unprepared and  expected to see Eskimo villages and lot more in Deadhorse. I was prepared and expected what i saw, with some surprises.

I visit the Arctic Ocean and on the way the guide who also happens to be our driver explained how the companies drill oils and showed us some Live sites. From what i remember Deadhorse has 4 oil companies drilling oil of which BP is one. The shuttle does not take you really close to the site but you can see sites from a distance.Our next stop is the arctic ocean and i am really excited to finally make it here. The shuttle has                                                                                    

some dry towels for those of you, including me, who want to dip their feet in the Arctic Ocean. The guide also tells us that sometimes polar bears comes up to the shore as during summer chunks of ice melt and they float to the shore.The site also allows oil companies to drill oil in winter in the arctic ocean. To mitigate the environmental damage the government  permission is only for a short period.

I finally find gift shop to mail some postcards from deadhorse camp and fill gas for the journey back to Fairbanks. I decide i will make the journey more interesting by stopping at every possible view and capture every moment. It was cloudy but i felt i was going to a have wonderful journey back to Coldfoot.

 As promised my first stop after filling up gas is at mountain ranges called Franklin Bluffs.I must have stopped every few miles, as it was raining initially but somehow the clouds cleared and i had a better view of the brooks range. I tried to take some videos of me driving on the slopes of brooks range and i will try to upload them on this blog.

 After leaving Deadhorse at abot 12: 00 AM i reach Wiseman ( 13 miles from Coldfoot). I was surprised to see a closed US Postal service in this small community.I believe this is one of the good places to see Northern lights in winter. I eat a huge dinner in Coldfoot drive to my camping site(Marion Creek). I must have been really tiered or really excited or really adjusted but i sleep in the car was really comfortable this time. No back aches, No waking up , not twisting. ONE STRAIGHT 5 HR SLEEP.

US Post, Wiseman, AK.