Gold Dredge #8, Fairbanks, Alaska
This tour was a lot of fun and very informative. The Alaska pipeline runs through the edge of the property, so its a good opportunity to share some information about that too! The technology is amazing and the amount of oil delivered on a daily basis is mind boggling!
I took this picture of Larry under a section of the pipeline to get some idea of the size of thing. The preferred method is to lay the pipe underground. It is only laid above ground where the terrain is frozen tundra and the heat of the pipeline would disturb and / or destroy it.
Then we rode a small train to the gold dredge. We were accompanied by Earl Hughes, playing the fiddle.
The dredge is pretty similar to the ones owned by Tony Beets (on the TV show, Gold Rush). The technology hasn’t really changed in over 100 years. And it still works pretty darn well.
We were each given a bag of dirt to pan, salted with enough gold that everyone gets to find gold, but not enough to pay for the tour ticket. Between Larry and I, we got about $35 worth of gold. Larry is a much better at the panning than I am. I’m not patient enough or willing to practice to get better. But it was totally fun! Who doesn’t love a good train ride?
