Life on the Highway
Yesterday, after finishing 14 days of quarantine in beautiful, sunny, warm (well… 60ºF) Fairbanks, the current members of our team (Jeremy, Sarah, Steve, and myself) piled into a big F-350 and drove up the infamous Dalton Highway to get to Toolik.
It took us roughly 10 hours (including breaks at all of the important sightseeing stops), and I took so many pictures I don’t even know where to begin in finding the best ones and sharing them. But I will do my best!
The Dalton Highway
One of the most dangerous and most isolated roads in the entire world, the 414-mile road known as “The Dalton Highway” or sometimes “The Haul Road” is an experience. Truckers (aka “Big Rigs”) have the right of way, and even small cars and trucks (aka “Four wheelers” like our F-350) need CB radios in order for everyone to safely travel the road. High levels of anxiety–driving up the steep side of a mountain trapped in between two big rigs, noticing the signs reminding you that you’re in an avalanche zone, and seeing guard rails that have failed in the past and have yet to be fixed–are accompanied by the most fantastic views of snowy covered mountains and lead the way to beautiful valleys. I’ll limit the pictures I put in this section, but wow, it was a sight to see.
The Wildlife
The whole way up we were scouting for wildlife. Part of the joy of traveling on the Dalton is that it’s so remote there’s lots of wildlife to see. And while we did see some wildlife, I’m told the amount we saw was a little underwhelming compared to what the Dalton can ultimately provide. The most exciting animals seen were meese (moose). The first one crossed the highway so quickly no one could get a picture. The second time we saw one, he very kindly paused on the side of the road after crossing and turned his head around so I could get this lovely picture of both his behind and his face:
From Fairbanks all the way up to Toolik, our wildlife total counts were:
16 raven 3 bunnies 1 tree squirrel 4 group squirrels 1 bald eagle 2 moose
And several different types of birds (like the grey jay below).
The Rocks (My Favorite)
We stopped at many points along the way for sightseeing, but my favorite stops were the ones where I could look down at the ground and see uncovered rocks. You might think that this is common—rocks exist everywhere! Especially in Alaska with all of those mountains! (I thought this too.) But everywhere we went the rocks were covered in mosses and lichens, which made my inner geologist very frustrated!
However, there was one very fun stop for me: Finger Mountain.
Finger Mountain is not really a mountain, but a rock that looks like a finger (and is pointed southward towards Fairbanks). The rocks in that area were intrusive granitic rocks that formed ~110 million years ago. As water permeated the area, it broke away the softer sedimentary rocks surrounding the granitic rocks, leaving them behind for us to see in all their glory.
The granite itself was so interesting to see because it had very large plagioclase (I’m assuming) phenocrysts in it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a granite like this one before and I’m not entirely sure what causes it, so I’m going to rely on my fellow geologists to step up and help me out! What’s going on with this rock?
Toolik Field Station
We arrived in Toolik last night just in time for dinner to begin. After our bellies were full, we went through orientation, took a tour, and then settled in for the night. Today has been just as eventful as yesterday, but the day isn’t over yet, so I’ll wait to share about it until tomorrow morning!
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