Days 7, 8 and 9 Prudoe Bay and Deadhorse



The Nelsons crossing over into the Artic Circle




This moose was really funny. Doesnt he look like an old man?




The last spruce tree on the journey North. It was killed by Vandals but they leave it there.




Baby Caribou



One of the Musk Oxen with a baby. These photos were taken at about 2 AM ~ Note the light



Scenery





Dall Sheep




Musk Oxen ~ They are beautiful, kind of like a small buffalo with a long skirt.





Musk Oxen with a baby. I am pretty sure it was a pretty new baby as it had a hard time getting up





Nelson family in front of the Brooks Mtn range. We were trying the timer on the camera so if we all look like we were ready to run that is why :)




One of the Mtns in the Brooks Range. Stunning to say the least




Brooks Mtn range



More Caribou

 Well, we made the trip to Deadhorse. Glamerous it was not, no polar bears & no Artic Ocean for us, but the drive was like nothing we have ever seen before. Tundra, the most amazing mountains, views and new animals. We left Fairbanks and headed out on our 500 mile journey to the most Northern spot in America. The drive at first was alot like the Black Hills but with Roads that you would not believe. The pot holes were literally able to swallow small cars. I saw more blown out tires along side the road than the entire town of Spearfish uses in a year I bet. So, slow going. But after you were to the Brooks Mtn range, everything changed. Mountains that were very bare and harsh looking. Mark has seen the TV show Ice Road truckers and apparently this is the road some of the truckers go on. Mtn passes named Roller Coaster, Atugan Pass and even a Hill with a sign that said "oh s*#t pass" I can not even imagine that they drive them in the winter. They were a bit nerve wracking completely dry. We continued on to come to the tundra. It looks very much like Wyoming to me, bare with brown ground cover - no trees at all. Lots and lots of little frozen ponds, with many types of ducks and birds. We saw herds of Caribou and Musk Oxen which were amazing. They had the cutest little babies! (I wanted to make sure to note that most of the photos of animals were taken between 1 and 3 in the morning. You will have a pretty good idea of what no darkness looks like!) We continued on to Deadhorse and arrived there in the middle of the night ~ 3 or so. The town looks nothing like a town but more a large work site or mining area. Truely not a vacation hot spot. Even the gas station was funny~ the pumps were inside boxes mounted on the building. It felt like you were driving around a mine site and by this time Mark and I were both exhausted so we couldnt figure out where exactly you were suppose to camp- the RV sites were definately not obvious. So we  just pulled over at the gas station where the "Mileposts Magazine" told us we could stay. Got in the camper and went to bed. The temp was 27 when we went to bed and the wind was blowing about 50 mph. Cold like you cant believe. Alex thought the cold was "unbearable"We had planned to take a tour and see the Artic Ocean but when we finally got rolling about 10 we decided we had seen enough and headed out. One quick stop to the store - which was the size of a mini mart and contained the store, post office and a Napa store - for a post card and we headed out. We had a fun ride back and stayed the night along the way.  We passed a prettty large fire and are anxious to see if it is even news worthy. We got back in time for our first run, fresh Halibut steaks Spike gave us (wow, and I dont like fish)  and a trip to the Fred Meyers store for Ice Cream where we ran into Peggy Klancnik who is also from Spearfish but now calls Fairbanks home. It  truely is a small little world we live in! We decide to take a day off, skip our reservations in Denali park for tonight and added one on to the end. We will be rested and ready to see and hike around the Mountain. Once we are in the campground it is completely primitive. No services at all so it will be a few days until we blog again. Cute saying of the day from a bumper sticker - There isnt a single mosquito here. They are all married and have very large families!