One year someone stole this sign at the Arctic Circle. The new one has been in place for some time, maybe being too big to unbolt and carry away.

Camping along the pipe can be in the wild or in a RV park. My highest price per night was $16.00 and that was with a free shower. My lowest price was free with no amenities but also no RV or trailer generators.

If you have to ask for the cost of a room here in Coldfoot you wont like the answer. It is the only place in town, so pull out the gold card, look away when you sign, and whence when you get home.

Looking for a cheap motel? Cheap in the 'Lower 48' and cheap in Alaska and along the pipe means at least double the price for the north.

At Delta Junction the Alaska Highway officially ends, not Fairbanks or Anchorage like many people believe. Here the pipe turns south so never really runs along the road formerly called the Al-Can Highway.

Some years ago an Alaska resident with a rifle shot the pipe several times. He looked through some thick windows and bars following his target practice.

At the beginning of the pipe, in Deadhorse, this is the 'most happening place' in town, the general store, post office and auto parts store. The whole town is dry so do not expect to buy a beer to celebrate reaching the end of the pipe. At the other end of the pipe, in Valdez, the opposite is true

How big is your gas tank? My KLR 650 made the next 244 miles with my reserve level to spare.

Some motorcyclists have passed through Coldfoot in the winter, others will in the future. The road is open all year as the pipe and pumping stations feed the ships at Valdez with oil to keep the USA running.

Well above the Arctic Circle and over some gravel and mud, this was as far as this touring rider wanted to go. You can leave the bike at Coldfoot and take a mini-van the rest of the 244 miles along the pipe to Prudhoe Bay.

Camping along the pipe above Coldfoot, at the Marian Creek Campground, had platforms built for your tent so you would not be sleeping on the permafrost.

There really are bears along the road in Alaska. This one was on a fishing expedition looking for lunch that swam, not rode a motorcycle.

Before leaving home for Alaska test yourself and your equipment. With great luck you will have no rain in June, July or August. With a little luck you can bet on the wet.

The motorcyclist has only a 20% chance of a perfectly clear day like this to see 20,320 foot high Mt. McKinley in the background, the highest mountain on the continent of North America.

The Dalton Highway, also known as the Haul Road, can be a dream ride or nightmare, as much depending on the weather as your choice of motorcycle.

If you or your motorcycle do not do well in the dirt or on gravel, this part of the pipe is best left seen in photographs.

Mud and dried dirt on the back of a riding suit sometimes comes from a rear tire, other times from making use of full body protection.

The pipe is inside an outer shell with insulation in between. Here it is on 'skids' as it passes over an earthquake prone area to let it slide or flex in case the earth shakes.

The oil inside the pipe is warmed and pumped along the way, here, as it has to go over the Brooks Mountain Range, where snow can be expected at any time of the year.

The skid marks in the mud tell the story of a bruised ego that slid south like the oil in the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.