We had a trio of activities planned for us today. First was a stop at the Alyeska (not a typo) pipeline, which runs 800 miles from Prudhoe Bay to the port of Valdez. Built from 1973-1977, the 4 foot diameter pipeline runs underground in flood zones, known caribou migration routes and river crossings. It's above ground where the ground is unstable such as in permafrost areas susceptible to frost heave (a phenomenon seen with thawing and freezing above the permafrost). The pipeline is designed to withstand earthquakes up to 8.5 on the Richter scale.
Alaska gets 65% of the state budget (education, infrastructure, salaries, etc) from pipeline revenues. Each Alaskan, man, woman and child, also receives an annual dividend from the invested pipeline fund. The payment has ranged from $300 to $2200.
From the pipeline we took a short rail ride to Gold Dredge 8. There were Disney-style demonstrations of dredging activities, ending with the rusty but still impressive dredge itself. The dredge was built by Bethlehem Steel in Pennsylvania and shipped in pieces up to Fairbanks. It was designed to separate the gold from tons of rock, in more or less an assembly line fashion.
We had a demonstration of how to pan for gold and then got to try our luck. Greg and I pooled our take and were told we'd collected $34 worth of gold, but that sounded like a stretch to me.
And lastly, we took a ride on the Chena River on the Steamboat Discovery. Mark and I did this 19 years ago and saw a demonstration by 4 timer Iditarod winner Susan Butcher at Trailbreaker Kennels, owned by Susan and her husband. Susan passed away in 2006, but the tradition continues. Today her daughter, Tekla Monson, talked about the dogs and did a brief training run with them.
These puppies were just starting their training, eagerly trying to climb over the log. They were so little and wagging so energetically that most of them needed help getting enough forward momentum.
Nine of the adult dogs were hitched to a ATV with the engine removed. As at the Denali kennels, the other dogs went wild with excitement. You can see one jumping high behind them.
Susan Butcher's lead dog for her Iditarod victories was named Granite. The runt of his litter and recommended to be given away to be a pet, he lived to 17 and ran over 41,000 miles during his lifetime.
There were also stops for a float plane demonstration and at a Athabascan fishing village.
They had a fish wheel which is used to catch salmon, and a fileting, drying and smoking fish demonstration.
And so ends our tour and almost our Alaskan adventure. One more self-scheduled activity tomorrow
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