During the August Congressional Recess, I lived out a dream I have had for 30 years: To drive as far north in North America as possible. Much of my career has been spent advocating and securing financing for large infrastructure projects and I turned this journey into a survey of infrastructure in the West and Arctic regions of America and Canada. Highways, railroads, pipelines, ports, mines, bridges, and airports were all visited. My 11,600-mile round trip took me for a swim in the Arctic Ocean and a successful return in 32 days. Each day of the journey is summarized in the posts below.
| Prologue | Day 01 Calif. to Az. | Day 02 Az. to N.M. | Day 03 N.M. to Colo. | Day 04 Colo. | Day 05 Colo., Kan., Neb. | Day 06 Part 1 Neb. | Day 6 Part 2 Neb. to S.D. | Day 07 S.D., Wy., Mont. | Day 08 Mont. to Alta. | Day 09 Alta. (Banff) | Day 10 Alta. (Grande Cache) | Day 11 Alta. to B.C. | Day 12 B.C. to Yukon | Day 13 Yukon | Day 14 Yukon to Alaska | Day 15 Alaska (Coldfoot) | Day 16 Part 1 Alaska (Atigun Pass) | Day 16 Part 2 Alaska (Deadhorse) | Day 17 Alaska (Prudhoe Bay) | Day 18 Alaska (Fairbanks) | Day 19 Alaska (Anchorage) | Day 20 Alaska (Anchorage) | Day 21 Alaska (Tok) | Day 22 Alaska to Yukon | Day 23 Yukon | Day 24 Yukon to B.C. | Day 25 B.C. (Prince Rupert) | Day 26 B.C. (Prince George) | Day 27 B.C. (Vancouver) | Day 28 B.C. to Wash. | Day 29 Wash. to Or. | Day 30 Or. | Day 31 Or. to Calif. | Day 32 Calif. |
Prologue – Trip back ground and preparation
Day 01 – Los Alamitos, Calif. to Winslow, Az., via Desert Mountain, Calif. and The Mother Road through Ariz.
Day 02 – Winslow Az. to Albuquerque, N.M. via the Very Large Array
Day 03 – Albuquerque, N.M. to Colorado Springs, Colo. via “The Oldest Ditch”
Day 04 – Colorado Springs to Denver, Colo.
Day 05 – Denver, Colo. to North Platte, Neb. via lots of dirt roads
Day 06 Part 1 – North Platte, Neb. to Carhenge near Alliance, Neb. via Scotts Bluff and Chimney Rock, Neb.
Day 06 Part 2 – Carhenge near Alliance, Neb. to Lead, S.D. via Nature Loop, Needles Hwy., Mt. Rushmore, and Deadwood, S.D.
Day 07 – Lead, S.D. to Fort Benton, Mont., via Devils Tower, Wy. and Little Bighorn Battlefield in Mont.
Day 08 – Fort Benton, Mont. to Calgary, Alta.
Day 09 – Calgary to Banff, Alta. to Spiral Tunnels and back to Banff
Day 10 – Banff, Alta. to Grande Cache, Alta. via glaciers, a detour around Jasper fire, and a flat tire (someone else’s… this time…)
Day 11 – Grande Cache, Alta. to Ft. Nelson, B.C. via Dawson Creek and the start of the Alaska Highway (Huzzah!)
Day 12 – Ft. Nelson, B.C. to Watson Lake, Yukon (ho!)
Day 13 – Watson Lake to Whitehorse, Yukon, with a brief foray back into B.C.
Day 14 – Whitehorse, Yukon to Fairbanks, Alaska
Day 15 – Fairbanks to Coldfoot, Alaska
Day 16 Part 1 – Coldfoot to Deadhorse, Alaska (…way to sell the names, folks…)
Day 16 Part 2 – Coldfoot to Deadhorse, Alaska (… the penultimate leg…)
Day 17 – Deadhorse, Alaska to the Arctic Ocean shore… and beyond
Day 18 – A Day of Drama… the Day I Over-prepared For… Planned: Deadhorse to Coldfoot, Alaska… As Executed: Deadhorse to Fairbanks, Alaska by way of flat tire in Atigun and a patch in Coldfoot
Day 19 – Fairbanks to Anchorage, Alaska
Day 20 – A day, a dinner, and some shopping in Anchorage while War Bus is in the shop.
Day 21 – Anchorage to Tok, Alaska
Day 22 – Tok, Alaska to Dawson City, Yukon
Day 23 – Dawson City to Whitehorse, Yukon
Day 24 – Whitehorse, Yukon to Cassiar and then Dease Lake, B.C. by way of the Alaska and Cassiar Highways
Day 25 – Dease Lake to Prince Rupert, B.C.
Day 26 – Prince Rupert to Prince George, B.C.
Day 27 – Prince George to Vancouver, B.C.
Day 28 – Vancouver, B.C. to Point Roberts, Wash., to Abbotsford, B.C. to Mt. Rainier, Wash. to Morton, Wash.
Day 29 – Morton, Wash. to Mount St. Helens to PDX to Hillsboro, Or.
Day 30 – Hillsboro, to Troutdale to Multnomah Falls, Or. to Bridge of the Gods to Hood River Bridge through Washington to Mt. Hood, Bend and Klamath Falls, Or.
Day 31 – Klamath Falls, Or. to Crater Lake to Lassen National Park to Sacramento, Calif.
Day 32 – Sacramento to Orange County, Calif.
| Prologue | Day 01 Calif. to Az. | Day 02 Az. to N.M. | Day 03 N.M. to Colo. | Day 04 Colo. | Day 05 Colo., Kan., Neb. | Day 06 Part 1 Neb. | Day 6 Part 2 Neb. to S.D. | Day 07 S.D., Wy., Mont. | Day 08 Mont. to Alta. | Day 09 Alta. (Banff) | Day 10 Alta. (Grande Cache) | Day 11 Alta. to B.C. | Day 12 B.C. to Yukon | Day 13 Yukon | Day 14 Yukon to Alaska | Day 15 Alaska (Coldfoot) | Day 16 Part 1 Alaska (Atigun Pass) | Day 16 Part 2 Alaska (Deadhorse) | Day 17 Alaska (Prudhoe Bay) | Day 18 Alaska (Fairbanks) | Day 19 Alaska (Anchorage) | Day 20 Alaska (Anchorage) | Day 21 Alaska (Tok) | Day 22 Alaska to Yukon | Day 23 Yukon | Day 24 Yukon to B.C. | Day 25 B.C. (Prince Rupert) | Day 26 B.C. (Prince George) | Day 27 B.C. (Vancouver) | Day 28 B.C. to Wash. | Day 29 Wash. to Or. | Day 30 Or. | Day 31 Or. to Calif. | Day 32 Calif. |
