Day 19 July 20, 2024 Deadhorse Alaska 34 miles
After breakfast we drove into town to fill the car and jerry cans with fuel. Not really sure that Deadhorse is a town. Rather it is a group of companies located somewhat close together. There is a gas station, general store and hardware store. There is no grocery store nor are there any restaurants. Two thousand people work here in the summer and three thousand in the winter. They rely on ice roads to get to their work sites in the winter.
A caribou was grazing in a patch of land in the middle of all this. First one we have seen.
We filled with gas which sells for $7.089 per gallon. The total bill was a little over $100.00. Several people stopped to look at and take a picture of the car. We learned of a vintage car museum in Fairbanks that we should visit. We found the location of the general store and headed there.
Well we really caused further excitement there. One lady ran out to get our picture to put on the trucker’s facebook page. Two other guys said we made their day. You will be talked about for a long time.
A rusty sign is on the front of the building that says Deadhorse and has a picture of a dead horse. We got a picture of the car near the sign. Then we went into the general store. 50% of their space is clothing.they have lots of canned drinks and candy. The rest of the store is odds and ends of merchandise. We bought two t-shirts, two patches and a magnet. We asked the price of a package of cigarettes. They cost between $13-$17 depending on the brand. Sure glad we don’t have that habit.
We ate lunch in our room rather than in the dining hall. Not so much food that way.
In the late afternoon we took the Arctic Ocean Shuttle tour to the Arctic Ocean. There were about ten of us on this trip. This whole operation is much larger than I expected. Various company complexes are located all over. The general public isn’t allowed in except with the tour. We had to give ID to our driver who gave them to the security guard. We couldn’t pass until those were checked. Wow even more complexes.
We saw more wildlife on this tour than we have seen on our entire trip to date. We saw caribou, a red fox and several different kinds of birds. Many of the birds will be migrating south in a few weeks. Summer is nearly over here.
We made it to the Arctic Ocean. Four or so folks and the driver went for a dip in the water. Today was a warm day. The water was about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. A few others waded in. We got our fingers wet. The shoreline is mostly small gravel with some sand and driftwood. The driftwood comes downstream in the river.
We ate the buffet dinner at Deadhorse Camp and visited with a very nice Canadian couple. No horse meat was on the menu.
Spoffords Travel 