Following The Pipeline

Our plan -- insofar as we have one -- is to follow the Alaska pipeline along its entire route, from Valdez all the way to Prudhoe Bay. The first, relatively easy leg of this journey is from Valdez to Fairbanks on the Richardson highway. I've driven much of this route many, many times, but only in winter. So, once again it was fun to see the scenery in broad daylight and not covered with snow.

It was also fun to stop at some of my "old haunts" -- such as the lovely Paxson Inn shown here -- and see what they're like in "the other season" as well. We made another important stop at a pipeline viewing area along the way, where Rob got his first "up close" look at the thing. I didn't tell him that the "562" sign meant we still had 562 miles to go to Prudhoe Bay, nor that most of them would be along the famous -- infamous! -- "Haul Road."