Fairbanks, AK - Gold Dredge 8 Tour

Thursday, July 6, 2017

We slept in this morning after an 11 hr driving day.  We decided today would be the day for us to strike it rich panning for gold. Hee Hee

We went on the Gold Dredge 8 Tour.  It started out just under the Alaska Pipeline known as TAPS (Trans Alaska Pipeline System).

The pipeline was built by Alyeska Pipeline Co which is an consortium the major oil companies that own and operate the pipeline.  The stuff inside the pipe you are looking at is called "the pig" which is used to clean out the deposits left by the oil as it passes through the pipe. At its peak in 1988, 11 pump stations helped move 2.1 million barrels of oil per DAY. However now due to decline in oil prices, 4 pump stations help move 517,868 barrels of oil per day.

Interestingly we learned that the preferred way to lay the pipeline was underground.  However the oil is very hot as it flows through the pipeline and puts off too much heat (even though the pipe is insulated) where there is permafrost. Permafrost is a thick subsurface layer of soil that remains frozen throughout the year.  So when there was a permafrost layer they had to put the pipeline above ground.  The pipeline runs 800 miles from Prudhoe Bay (at the Arctic Ocean) to Valdez. More than half the pipeline is above ground.

George Peterson was our guide.  He has been a  guide here at the Gold Dredge 8 for 19 years.  He also teaches Alaska History and is in love with Alaska.  He says he can't imagine living anywhere else.

Next we boarded a narrow gauge train for a short train ride to Gold Dredge 8. As we boarded, Earl Hughes entertained us both at the start of the train ride and the ride back. He was playing guitar as we headed out and fiddle as we headed back.

The open air narrow gauge train had a large crowd today.  Many were on tour trips.

 Above is an example of someone panning on a creek side.

This is an example of the steam engine used to carry buckets of dirt from as much as 350 feet below ground and dump it into piles.  All winter the men would work underground then in the summer they would sluice and pan the piles of dirt they created in the winter.

Above is Gold Dredge 8 and below is how it worked.

Tic took lots of pictures of the inside of the dredge, but I'm not including any in this post.

We have arrived at the mining camp for Gold Dredge 8 in Fox, Alaska.

Here is everyone hoping to "strike it rich" panning for gold.

These scales were actually used at a bank in Denver, CO.

I bought a little locket to hold ALL the gold I got from both our "pokes" (bags of dirt to pan).  The locket is next to a quarter.  I was told that was probably about $18 worth of gold.  I'd be surprised if it was that much.  We did have fun and found the tour very interesting and informative.