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On the Road: Celebrate Summer in America’s Arctic

Program Number: 1015RJ
Start and End Dates:
6/8/2013 - 6/15/2013;
Duration: 7 nights
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
Price starting at: $2,098.00 - Price may vary based on date, departure city
Program Type: On the Road Activity Level: t (see description)
Meals: 20; 7 Breakfasts, 6 Lunches, 7 Dinners    
Meal Options: Vegetarian    

Living near the top of the world enhances awareness of the vast celestial rhythm of our planet's yearly journey around the sun. Begin your northern studies at the University of Alaska Fairbanks International Arctic Research Center, one of the world’s premier Arctic research institutions. Presentations and field trips introduce our most northern state. Then take a journey north as far as you can go on land. Cross the legendary Yukon River, summit the magnificent Brooks Range and stand on the shore of the Arctic Ocean. Meet the people, hike the tundra, and observe the wildlife as you drive, fly and walk over this awesome, primal landscape.




Highlights

• Traverse America's Arctic as you cross the Yukon River, summit Atigun Pass in the magnificent Brooks Range and stand on the shore of the Arctic Ocean.
• At the side of the people of Interior Alaska, enjoy summer festivals — the Summer Solstice celebrations in June and the World Eskimo Indian Olympics in July.
• Visit and meet scientists at the world-renowned International Arctic Research Center.



Activity Particulars

Walking up to a half-mile. Stairs in lodging. Elevations up to 4,800 feet. Drive from Fairbanks to Prudhoe is 500 miles over two days, 12 hours per day over rough gravel roads. Frequent breaks, no more than two hours between outhouse stops.




Date Specific Information

6-8-2013

Spend one night at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Toolik Research Station learning about ongoing scientific studies. Toolik attracts scientists from all over the world to come do field research in America`s Arctic.



Itinerary Summary

JUNE: Arrival Fairbanks, 2 nights; fly in small planes to Prudhoe, 1 night, van to Toolik, 1 night, van to Coldfoot, 1 night, van to Fairbanks, 2 nights; departure.



Coordinated by Denakkanaaga.




Fairbanks

The indigenous Athabaskan tribe had fished in the local area for centuries before it was settled in 1903 as a trading post for riverboats and gold prospectors. Fairbanks today is an important player in interior Alaska’s oil fields and pipelines.



Coldfoot

Coldfoot is a place to find warm hospitality north of the Arctic Circle. At this spot near the midpoint of the Dalton Highway, Iditarod champion Dick Mackey established a truck stop where he sold hamburgers out of a converted school bus. Coldfoot welcomes a stream of visitors who pass through as they explore Alaska’s remote Brooks mountain range.



Prudhoe Bay

 A destination for the true adventurer. At seventy degrees latitude Prudhoe Bay is one of the most northerly locations in the United States. Stand on the shore of this old-field boom town and look across the Artic Ocean to watch the midnight sun skip across the horizon.
Accommodations
University of Alaska, Fairbanks campus apartments; double occupancy bedrooms and full bath shared by up to four on second floor. Some apartments have two flights of stairs. Arctic housing in small rooms in rustic former pipeline camps; single rooms and/or private baths may not be available in Arctic.
Meals and Lodgings
   Cutler Student Apartment Complex (SAC) at University of Alaska Fairbanks
  Fairbanks Alaska 2 nights
   Deadhorse Camp
  Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse 1 night
   Toolik Lake Field Station
  Toolik Lake 1 night
   Slate Creek Inn
  Coldfoot, Alaska 1 night
   Cutler Student Apartment Complex (SAC) at University of Alaska Fairbanks
  Fairbanks Alaska 2 nights
 Cutler Student Apartment Complex (SAC) at University of Alaska Fairbanks
Type: Other
  Description: Check in at SAC in coordinator's room at noon, but participant rooms will not be ready for occupancy until after 3 pm. Luggage may be left with coordinator until then. The Student Apartment Complex (SAC) is a condo type two story apartment, not a dorm room. The kitchen, dining area and living room are downstairs. Living room has couch and chairs. There are two bedrooms and a full bathroom upstairs. Four people share a unit. Single rooms apply only to bedroom, bathroom may still be shared with one or two other people in the unit. All units require climbing one flight of stairs, some require two.
  Contact info: Upper Campus
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, AK 99775 USA
phone: 907-474-6769
web: www.uaf.edu
  Room amenities: Refrigerators, microwave and telephone in each apartment. Small coffee pot, coordinator will give you coffee supplies. No television in apartments but TV may be watched in coordinator's living room. No elevators in units.
  Facility amenities: Swimming pool and recreation center with weight lifting apparatus and running/walking area on lower campus. $7 per day for use. ATMs in dining hall. Sundries and snacks may be purchased in campus book store and dining hall. Free laundry in housing unit. 24 hour computer access in nearby dorm. Campus dining outside of program meals not always available--try to have lunch before you arrive on campus on your first day. Some fast food restaurants nearby, but it's a bit of a hike.
  Smoking allowed: No
  Bathroom: Two bedroom suites, up to four people share a full bathroom. Single rooms apply only to bedroom, bathroom may still be shared by one or two other people in the unit.
  Additional nights prior: About $50 per room per night Call the University of Alaska Fairbanks Summer Housing at 907-474-6769 and check availability. Housing in regular dorm rooms bathroom/shower down the hall. SAC only available for Road Scholar Program use. Dorms with more than two floors have elevators.
  Additional nights after: About $50 per room per night Call the University of Alaska Fairbanks Summer Housing at 907-474-6769 and check availability. Housing in regular dorm rooms bathroom/shower down the hall. SAC only available for Road Scholar Program use. Dorms with more than two floors have elevators.
  Check out time: 11:00 AM

 Deadhorse Camp
Type: Field Station
  Description: We are staying in a contractor's field camp at Prudhoe, giving us a unique opportunity to experience the "industrial heritage" of this section of the Arctic Ocean The Deadhorse camp has a permanent building, called the Base Camp Building. This building has a kitchen and dining room where we will eat. It also has two bathroom facilities one for women and one for men, that are shared among all workers and guests. The bathrooms have commodes and shower stalls. These bathrooms are the only bathrooms in camp. IMPORTANT NOTE: Both bathrooms are on the second floor of the base camp, accessed by a staircase only. There is no elevator. Our bedrooms are in the Seismic Explorer Wing. These are small modular one room units that are parked about 100 yards from the base camp building. They are sleeping quarters only and do not have bathrooms in them. But don't forget-the endless summer daylight means you don't have to worry about carrying a flashlight even if you need to go to the other building to use the facilities in the wee hours of the morning. That building and the bathrooms are accessible 24 hours a day. These rooms are actually winter housing for workers at Prudhoe. They are on skids and can be hooked together to make up a work train that is pulled by a large tracked vehicle, called a snow cat, over ice roads that the oil companies rebuild every year. Winter work in Prudhoe is mostly exploration and some maintenance. It is actually very rare that "civilians" get to experience staying in a work camp in workers' quarters on an operating oil field.
  Contact info: Mile 415 Dalton Highway
Prudhoe Bay, AK 99734 USA
phone: 907-659-3088
web: deadhorsecamp.com
  Room amenities: Very simple, very basic accommodations. Each room has three beds, one twin bed and a bunk bed. We will only have two people in each room or one single person, if they have elected to pay the extra program fee for a single room. No phones, no televisions nor alarm clocks. These rooms are small but we we are only in them for one night. IMPORTANT NOTE: There are no bathrooms in the rooms-the bathrooms are in the base camp building about 100 yards away. But don't forget-the endless summer daylight means you don't have to worry about carrying a flashlight if you need to go to the other building to use the facilities at night. That building and the bathrooms are accessible 24 hours a day.
  Facility amenities: Dining room. Conference room with cable TV and large plasma television. Bathrooms in main base camp building only. There are office phones that may be used in an emergency only. Some cell phone carriers do work in Prudhoe. No internet access. Outdoor shoes/boots must be removed when inside the base camp building.
  Smoking allowed: No
  Bathroom: No bathrooms in the rooms. They are in a building about 100 yards away. Separate facilities for women and men. IMPORTANT NOTE: Both bathrooms are on the second floor and are accessed by a staircase only. There is no elevator.

 Toolik Lake Field Station
Type: Tents
  Description: The field station is in a very remote area in a beautiful setting in the northern foothills of the Brooks Range. Breathtaking scenery. This is a rare opportunity to live in a researcher's camp while research is ongoing. Learn first hand about the logistics of supporting scientists and their work in such an isolated corner of the world.
  Contact info: Mile 300 Dalton Highway
Toolik Lake, AK 99775-7000 USA
phone: 907-474-7641
web: www.uaf.edu/toolik/
  Room amenities: A bed. Electricity. Wastebasket. Sometimes a table. No bureaus or closets.
  Facility amenities: Housing in large quonset huts with beds and platform floors. Four to eight people per hut possible, but so far on all trips, we have been able to house four people in the smaller quonset huts which are divided into two "rooms" by a fixed curtain so that each section has only two people staying in it. WE CANNOT GUARANTEE THIS VARIATION. Participants must provide their own sleeping bag/bed rolls, towels and wash clothes. (Sleeping bags may be rented in Fairbanks and we are able to provide towels and wash clothes for you to take to the Arctic if you would rather not pack them.) Permanent structure outhouses. Wash up pavilions with sinks and showers. The camp is VERY careful with its water use-since we are there only one night, it would be courteous of us to not take a shower. Phone available in camp. Cell phones do not usually get a signal.
  Smoking allowed: No
  Bathroom: Wash up pavilion used by all residents of the camp.

 Slate Creek Inn
Type: Motel
  Description: Coldfoot Alaska is not much more than a wide spot in the road, a small oasis of basic accommodations in the remote Arctic wilderness. Located in the Brooks Range in a gorgeous setting. We are staying at Slate Creek Inn, in small rooms that are clean and neat but extremely rustic by urban standards. The rooms have two single beds. We will try to get rooms with private baths, but this is not always possible if those rooms fill up before we get there. (We are guaranteed rooms, just not those rooms.) We may be housed in rooms without bathrooms, with showers and commodes down the hall located in separate men’s and women's bathrooms that are shared among guests on each floor. The dining hall is across a gravel road from the motel. Van transportation between buildings available if requested.
  Contact info: None
Coldfoot, AK 99701 USA
phone: 907-678-5201
web: www.coldfootcamp.com/index.cfm
  Room amenities: Very small rooms, no television, no alarm clocks. If we get rooms with private bathrooms, they have a commode and shower. Expect to live out of your suitcase.
  Facility amenities: Telephones in restaurant across the road.
  Smoking allowed: No
  Bathroom: We usually get rooms with private baths, but this is not always possible if motel is full. We may be housed in rooms without bathrooms, with showers and commodes down the hall located in separate men’s and women's bathrooms that are shared among guests.


Travel Details
  Start of Program:
Registration starts at 12 Noon. Rooms available after 3 PM. Luggage may be left in coordinator's apartment between Noon and 3 PM. You will be staying at Cutler Student Apartment Complex (SAC) at University of Alaska Fairbanks that night.
  End of Program:
Ends after breakfast which lasts until about 10 AM. Check out is at 11 AM. You will be staying at Cutler Student Apartment Complex (SAC) at University of Alaska Fairbanks the night before.
  Required documents:
The Road Scholar Health & Safety Form is required. To access the Arctic Ocean, a state issued picture Identification document (driver's license, state ID or passport, for example) is required.
  Parking availability:
Fees charged for parking. Parking in apartment complex parking lot, vehicles accessible.
Transportation
To Start of Program
  Location:  Fairbanks Alaska
  Nearest city or town:  Anchorage, Alaska (365 miles south)
  Nearest highway: Parks Highway
  Nearest airport:  Fairbanks International
  From End of Program
  Location: Fairbanks Alaska
    (Additional transportation information same as above)
Travel Details
 

University of Alaska

 

From Airport

 
 

Service:

 

Taxi

 

Per Person/One Way:

 

Approximately $20
Prices are subject to change.
 

Travel Time:

 

15 minutes 
 

Distance:

 

4 miles
 
Driving Directions
  Fairbanks International Airport Drive east out of the airport unto Airport Road. Continue east on Airport Road about a mile and a half to the corner of Airport Road and University Avenue. (Large Fred Meyer store and Safeway store on right.) Turn left unto University Avenue. At the next light, turn left unto Geist Road. At the second light, make a right unto the campus. Take the first right out of the roundabout then follow the road straight ahead. The road bears left to circle around to upper campus. Cutler Student Apartments are on the right. They are west of and slightly behind the Moore/Bartlett/Skarland dorm complex. (Detailed map will be included in the information letter.)
Elevation Note: Only crossing Atigun Pass in the Brooks Range with a stop for a lovely view. Atigun is at 4800 feet.

Equipment Requirements: For the one overnight at the Toolik Lake Field Station, you need to have a sleeping bag. We can provide a sleeping bag for you or you may bring your own. You also need a towel and wash cloth, but we are able to provide those also if you prefer not to pack them. In order to access the Arctic Ocean, participants must have some kind of eye protection. Regular glasses or sunglasses are acceptable.
The prices listed for commercial services and facilities that are not included in the program cost, such as airport shuttles or extra nights lodging, are subject to change without notice. Since Road Scholar cannot guarantee the accuracy of these prices, we strongly suggest contacting the companies directly for the most up-to-date information.


Daily Schedule

Day 1: Registration/Orientation
(Saturday, June 8)
   
 Arrive To: Registration at coordinator's apartment starts at noon. Participant rooms available after 3 PM. Luggage may be left in coordinator's apartment between noon and 3 PM.
 Dinner: Dinner at 5 PM in campus dining hall.
 Evening: Orientation after dinner.
   
Accommodations: Cutler Student Apartment Complex (SAC) at University of Alaska Fairbanks
Meals Included: Dinner

Day 2: Field trip to Museum of the North/Field trip to Large Animal Research Station
(Sunday, June 9)
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast included.
 Morning: Class: History of Fairbanks. Field trip to the University of Alaska museum of the North.
 Lunch: Lunch
 Afternoon: Class: Broad overview of Native Nations of Alaska with emphasis on Indigenous Northern Peoples and their adaptations to the Arctic/Sub-Arctic. Field trip to the Large Animal Research Station, a branch of the Institute of Arctic Biology. Researchers and/or guides will lecture on the large ungulate mammals of the North-musk-oxen, caribou and reindeer, that live at the station.
 Dinner: Dinner
   
Accommodations: Cutler Student Apartment Complex (SAC) at University of Alaska Fairbanks
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 3: Flight to Prudhoe Bay/Tour of the Prudhoe Bay oil fields.
(Monday, June 10)

Note: Flight to Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast included.
 Morning: Details on our flight to Prudhoe will be finalized shortly before our program starts. The time frame for taking off is anywhere from about 6:00am to 9:00am. The schedule depends upon transportation needs and requests that our arctic vendor has to schedule for us and their other customers. We expect to be in Prudhoe in time for lunch.
 Lunch: Lunch
 Afternoon: Arrive at Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope of Alaska. Called the North Slope because it is a vast plain that slopes "down" to the north; its rivers empty into the Arctic Ocean. We fly in small airplanes, from four seaters up to 8 seat planes. The planes we use depend upon the load we have to carry. The flight takes about 2 hours and if the weather is clear, we fly low enough to see the land we will spend the next three days driving over.
 Dinner: Dinner included.
 Evening: Take a guided bus tour of the Prudhoe Bay oil fields and then stand on the shore of the Arctic Ocean. Optional dip in the ocean. (NOTE: THIS SEGMENT IS DEPENDENT UPON THE U.S. TERROR LEVEL WARNING IN PLACE AT THE TIME OF OUR TRIP.) Spend the night in Deadhorse, the small private "community" in the Prudhoe Bay oilfields that consists of two hotels, one store, and one post office.
   
Accommodations: Deadhorse Camp
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 4: Drive the Dalton Highway/Continue driving to Toolik Field Station
(Tuesday, June 11)
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast included.
 Morning: Drive south on the Dalton Highway, which was built to enable construction of the pipeline in the 1970?s. Today it is the access road for the pipeline maintenance camps and Prudhoe Bay. Learn about the technology and engineering of the pipeline and get some close up pictures of it. Commentary in the van by very experienced guides. Topics include the surrounding ecosystems, topography, history, geology, land use, the indigenous people of the area, etc.
 Lunch: Lunch
 Afternoon: Continue drive. Arrive at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Toolik Field Station.
 Dinner: Dinner in camp dining hall
   
Accommodations: Toolik Lake Field Station
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 5: Tour of Toolik field station and hike on the tundra/Continue drive south to Coldfoot through the magnificent Brooks Range/Evening lecture from Gates of the Arctic National Park Ranger
(Wednesday, June 12)
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast included.
 Morning: Tour of the Toolik facility with information on ongoing research, collection strategies and methodology. Take a short walk on the Arctic tundra with knowledgeable guides who will identify animals, flowers, trees, geologic formations, etc.
 Lunch: Lunch
 Afternoon: Continue south on the Dalton. Drive the boundary area between Gates of the Arctic National Park and The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (Politicians refer to The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as "ANWR" when they battle over whether to open this area for oil exploration or to leave it as undisturbed wilderness.) The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge lies about 1/2 mile east of the highway and Gates of the Arctic lies about 3 miles west. Summit the magnificent Brooks Range as you drive through spectacular Atigun Pass. Continue to Coldfoot.
 Dinner: Dinner
 Evening: Field trip to Gates of the Arctic National Park Headquarters in Coldfoot for an evening lecture from a park ranger on the flora and fauna of the park.
   
Accommodations: Slate Creek Inn
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 6: Field trip to Wiseman/Continue drive south to Fairbanks
(Thursday, June 13)
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast included.
 Morning: Field trip to the former gold rush town of Wiseman, founded in the early 1900's. Wiseman had hundreds of residents in the early 20th century. Today it has a population of approximately 15 people. Visit with the locals who still live off the land and will discuss subsistence living in the Brooks Range with us.
 Lunch: Lunch
 Afternoon: Continue drive south to Fairbanks. Drive over the only bridge in Alaska that crosses the Yukon River. Stop on the north bank for a picnic lunch. Visit the Bureau of Land Managment visitor's center at the river. Cross the Arctic Circle and return to the Alaskan Interior. The Dalton Highway ends at Livengood about 70 miles north of Fairbanks where we switch to the Elliot Highway. The Elliot is one of the oldest highways in Alaska, built during the early 1900's to access the gold fields north of town. On the way back, we make a stop at a homestead/highway lodge and observe a small private gold mine visible from the road (just looking, no access). Arrive in Fairbanks.
 Dinner: Dinner in coordinator's apartment
   
Accommodations: Cutler Student Apartment Complex (SAC) at University of Alaska Fairbanks
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 7: Field trip to a dog musher's house and kennel/Class on birds of Alaska/Field trip to Botanical Garden
(Friday, June 14)
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast included.
 Morning: Free morning. Sleep in after our long return from the Arctic trip.
 Lunch: Lunch
 Afternoon: Dog mushing is Alaska's State Sport. Field trip to a dog musher's house and kennel. Learn about the ecology of the Arctic and the Alaskan Interior as seen from the back of a dog sled.
 Dinner: Dinner
 Evening: The University of Alaska Fairbanks was founded in 1917 as the School of Mines and Agriculture. It still does research on plants that will not only survive but thrive in a sub-arctic region. The university has developed hardy grain stock and still seeds grain fields down the hill from the garden. Migrating birds use these fields as a food source and a resting place, most heavily in May and September on their way in and out of the state. The gardens include vegetables, flowers and a water garden. The vegetables are huge and the flowers are both huge and extremely colorful, due to the almost 24 hours of possible sunlight we get from mid-May into mid-August.
   
Accommodations: Cutler Student Apartment Complex (SAC) at University of Alaska Fairbanks
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 8: Departure Day
(Saturday, June 15)
   
 Breakfast: Breakfast will be served in the coordinator's apartment, starting as early as necessary and lasting until about 10 AM. Check out is at 11 AM.
   
Meals Included: Breakfast
Important information about your itinerary: Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information featured on this website. Itineraries are based on our best information at this time. Circumstances beyond our control may require us to adjust itineraries or other details. We regret any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding. Information will be sent to you from your Program Provider approximately three weeks prior to the program start date. The prices listed for commercial services and facilities that are not included in the program cost, such as airport shuttles or extra nights lodging, are subject to change without notice. Since Road Scholar cannot guarantee the accuracy of these prices, we strongly suggest contacting the companies directly for the most up-to-date information.


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