[twindman]

We also did a fly/drive from Fairbanks up to Coldfoot. It is about half way to Prudhoe Bay. Interesting drive back. Stopped to get a close up of the pipeline. Walked on the tundra - sort of. You can walk about 5 miles a day on Tundra. There are clumps of soil/vegetation about a foot wide and sticking up about 6-12 inches. These are spaced about 6-12 inches apart and are spongy. The surface is unfrozen for only about 6 inches. Our guide had a metal arrow and pushed it into the ground. Then when pulled out it was nice and icy! Also ate some wild blueberries that were growing there.

At the arctic circle there is a little stop over place. We have a picture of us straddling the line with a sign in the background. The road (which truckers drive and is on the tv show (Ice road truckers?) is actually really smooth. Just hard packed dirt. However, when you get about 15-20 miles from Fairbanks in to town, it is quite rough. I think they do this to discourage people from driving the road.