Oil and Gardens

Friday, June 19, 2009 – Day 50

The weather today was really a mixed bag.  Drizzle and rain one minute, sunny and bright the next.  Generally the skies were partially cloudy with a high temperature around 18C.  We drove up to the Alaska Pipeline viewing area just north of Fairbanks approx. 20 miles out.  This is an amazing feat of engineering.  The pipeline is 800 miles long stretching from Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean to the Valdez terminal on Prince William Sound.  It crosses 3 mountain ranges, 5 major rivers and numerous streams.  It must carry 145 degree F oil across frozen permafrost without causing any damage; while at the same time being flexible enough to cope with thermal expansion in the steel pipe.  All the while it must be able to cope with regular seismic activity.  The pipeline was built in a zig zag pattern to allow most of the expansion to occur on steel supports.  To see just this short section  of pipeline up close is jaw dropping.  I don’t think that Janet was that impressed…I guess it may be a guy thing.

After lunch we went to the University of Alaska, Fairbanks to visit their Botanical Gardens.  We were amazed at the types of crops that they are growing this far north and some of their innovative gardening methods.  The 20+ hours of daylight may also contribute to the lushness of the area.  The lawns were so thick that they made it difficult to walk on.  The growing season is only 100 days long so they must utilize fast maturing crops.  They utilize a lot of plastic sheeting to retain heat and moisture in the soil and they also use a lot of raised “beds” to retain heat.  Possibly some ideas that can be used at home.