Watch Jeff Landfield take a 500-mile ride up the Dalton Highway from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay with Senator Robb Myers (R - North Pole).
When Robb is not working as a state senator in Juneau during the legislative session, he can be found driving a big rig up and down the Dalton Highway for the trucking company Black Gold Express.
On this trip he was hauling an 80-foot long piling for ConocoPhillips' Willow project. Because the load was so long, two pilot cars were required (after Coldfoot it went down to one).
We left Fairbanks at 9 am and were supposed to arrive in Prudhoe Bay around 12 hours later. But due to an accident involving a tanker 20 miles north of Atigun Pass, the road was closed for nearly 24 hours.
A rescue tanker that was sent to drain the fuel from the stranded tanker got stuck in Atigun Pass to due weather. Once the weather cleared, the rescue tanker was pulled out and was able to reach the stranded tanker.
We overnighted in Coldfoot and headed out late the next morning. We were able to make it to Prudhoe Bay late that evening. Once we arrived in Prudhoe Bay, it was very windy! But it was determined that Robb could make it to Kuparuk to deliver the piling.
After we dropped off the load at Kuprauk (a little more than an hour drive from Deadhorse), Robb dropped Jeff off at the Aurora Hotel in Deadhorse. Robb then drove back to Coldfoot and overnighted there. He drove back to Fairbanks the next day. And then headed back to Prudhoe the day after with anther load!
Jeff stayed at the Aurora Hotel in Deadhorse for two nights as there are no flights to Anchorage on Sundays. He flew back to Anchorage on Monday morning. As Robb told Jeff, "You asked for the full experience and you got it!"
A big thanks to Senator Robb Myers, Black Gold Express, Coldfoot Camp, and the Aurora Hotel for making this trip possible.
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