Trans-Alaska pipeline
Well, two actually, as it’s our second time here, but now we’re on the way home.
It rained about three o’clock, but the fact that it was cloudy also meant that it was fairly warm all night. It stopped raining before we rose, and the sun was out enough to make things reasonably dry. We drove to Delta, and stopped along the way at the Trans-Alaska pipeline. It is interesting construction, since almost all of it is above ground, and it zig-zags to allow for thermal expansion and contraction.
We stopped at Delta Junction to see if we could get our tire repaired. However the service station said they wouldn’t do it until two pm, so we left and drove in to Tok. There is a service station on the outskirts of the west end of town, and we stopped there to get the tire fixed. However, the winch that lowers the spare was jammed, and it would only come down about six inches. The repairman tried and tried to get it down, and eventually gave up. I decided to try again, so I raised and lowered it a few times and gave it some pretty intense kicks, and finally it broke free. We were then able to get the tire mounted on the other rim. The old tire was ruined. It had a big bulge in it where the plies were broken, and so we just left it there. We will probably buy two new tires in Whitehorse.
Speaking of Whitehorse, that’s where we’ll be tomorrow. We plan to stop somewhere in Canada tonight, and then will go in tomorrow to re-stock with groceries.