By Bob Van Leer

  (FAIRBANKS, ALASKA, Aug. 1, 1997) - The Dalton Highway from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay is 414 miles of dust - and spectacular scenery.

  We finished our trip on the highway today starting at Coldfoot, about half-way between Prudhoe Bay and Fairbanks. South of Coldfoot we crossed the Arctic Circle at 66 degrees, 33 minutes. Our bus driver gave us a certificate attesting to the crossing.

  Just when you begin to think some things are fixed, we find the Arctic Circle moves a little because of a wobbling of the earth. Right now it is moving north by about 38 feet per year. It will, in the future, turn south and be back where it is now in about 10,000 years.

   Mile 0 of the highway is at Livengood, the intersection with state Highway 2, the Elliott Highway. From there it is 81 more miles to Fairbanks. Of the 495 mile route, only the last 20 miles is paved. Deadhorse, just south of Prudhoe Bay, is mile 414. Our driver says there is no public access to the Arctic Ocean at Prudhoe Bay, and this is likely to be a problem in the future. Oregon knows better than most states that citizens want access to the ocean.

  Tony, our driver-guide, said permafrost heaving the roads makes maintaining paving more difficult than grading gravel.

  South of Coldfoot is more taiga, mostly black spruce trees, of which hundreds of acres are not more than six feet tall. But occasionally the heights will jump to 30 feet. Tony said this is because permafrost is "discontinuous" south of the Brooks Range. Sometimes it is right underground and a short distance away it is much deeper and trees grow better.

PIPELINE EVER PRESENT

  The pipeline is ever present. Occasionally the pipe may be a couple of miles from the road, but mostly it runs right alongside.

  The pipeline cost $8 billion to construct, the largest privately-financed project ever anywhere. But Tony said it opened in the middle of an oil boom after three years of construction and was paid for in 20 months.

  We saw an example of how motorists in trouble on the road get help. We came across a minivan broke down and took five of the seven passengers to the nearest town in our bus for help. We learned later they had been warned they were not properly equipped.

  There were seven Japanese passengers in the van with the top piled high with camping gear. And they only made it a few miles from the town where they were warned.

  While the highway is drivable with a decent rig, services are few and far between. Services such as lodging, telephone and tire repair are available only at: Yukon River crossing, mile 56; Coldfoot, mile 175; and Deadhorse, mile 414.

  The road is maintained by the State of Alaska, but much of it goes through land administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). BLM recommends to those driving the Dalton highway that you carry: two spare tires, jack and tool kit; emergency flares; extra gasoline, oil, wiper fluid; CB radio (monitor channel 19); drinking water, ready-to-eat food; camping gear, sleeping bag; and a first-aid kit.

  We stopped at the Joy general store, which is a homestead, and were told some of the problems of living here. Permafrost is only about 6 inches down and they hit permafrost tilling the garden. But we were told the permafrost seems to keep plants subirrigated. A 55 gallon oil drum is sunk in the ground in the permafrost and has racks that can be lowered in it. This is the refrigerator, and it works.

  There are only a few homesteads on the road, most close to Fairbanks, and they can only be described in appearance as "dismal". Generations of inoperable motor vehicles are parked around and little ever appear to be thrown away, just pushed aside.

YUKON BRIDGE

  The 2200 feet long bridge across the Yukon River is spectacular. Tony said this is the only bridge over the whole length of the river, which starts in Canada. From its size at the bridge, the river appears to be in the size class with the Columbia River.

  By now our 35 passengers are ready to leave the highway and get to Fairbanks and civilization. It has been an interesting and educational tour. None of us on the tour will ever forget driving for two days over vast, untouched territory.

  Tomorrow our cruise tour is over and we leave the hotel at 5:00 a.m. for the flight back to Portland and then home. It has been a good trip.