Been there, got the t-shirt!

Caribou and oil pipes, that's Prudhoe Bay.

The tundra around the oil field is very barren yet the Caribou are everywhere. We even see some Arctic Swans, just like normal ones but bigger. Then it's time for some postcards and souvenir shopping. If I've ridden all this way, I want the t-shirt! We get our photo taken for the post office wall of fame (Which I guess the locals all look at and laugh, thinking we're mad) and decide we can't be bothered cooking. And as it's already 7pm we may as well celebrate in style. $20 each for a buffet dinner, but by damn it was worth it. New York steak that was delicious, and a really good salad bar. Plus we were allowed to take food for the road. The restaurants in the only two hotels in Deadhorse certainly look after their clientèle.

A photo for the Post Office wall of fame, Deadhorse.

It was 8pm before we turned around to head south. Passing Galbraith Lake we decide to skip the mosquitoes and get back over the pass into the mountains aiming for Coldfoot. The ride was one of the most memorable of the entire trip for me. The light from the midnight sun was beautiful as was riding up through the mountains. We rode until almost 2am, the sun never setting but weirdly the light changed from an 'evening' kind of light to a 'morning' kind of light. It was so beautiful. If my eyes weren't falling out of my head I think I would have liked to kept on riding all night.

The evening light on the North Slope.

The Dalton Highway was one of the best gravel roads we have ridden on and for me, one of the most scenic. The trick was I figured, to have the appropriate vehicle with the appropriate tyres and of course be able to ride the thing. And we met some interesting characters on the way up. But it was time to head back south and towards the end of the adventure. In Fairbanks it was time for a shower for both us and the bikes and Mike finally changed his tyres. Next stop Anchorage.

Dawn light, nearing 2am just before Coldfoot.