Silvia and Paul's RV Travel to Alaska 2022

Day 53 North Pole Alaska

Aug 2, 2022

Aug 03, 2022

Early morning bus pick up to take us Gold Panning to Dredge # 8 in Fox Alaska the heart of the gold fields of the Tanana Valley

https://www.golddredge8.com

Once we got there we were able to see the pipelines up close

This is called the “pig”

Cleaning pigs are an integral component of oil and gas pipeline integrity and maintenance. In order to keep pipelines free of debris and functioning safely and efficiency, these foam, urethane and metal-bodied pigging products have scrapers and brushes to remove wax, liquids and other buildup inside the pipe.

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System is an oil transportation system spanning Alaska, including the trans-Alaska crude-oil pipeline, 11 pump stations, several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. TAPS is one of the world's largest pipeline systems.

More than half the pipeline runs above ground so that the hot oil does not melt the permafrost that is prevalent along the route. In those areas, the pipeline is elevated on 78,000 refrigerated vertical support members. Construction of the pipeline project began in April, 1974 and finished in June, 1977.

Length of Line: 800 miles (1,288 kilometers)

The pipeline carries an average of 1.8 million barrels of oil a day. The pipeline in buried in some areas except where there is permafrost, then the pipeline is above ground.

The 48-inch-diameter pipeline winds through 3 major mountain ranges, with its highest point (4,739 feet) at Atigun Pass in the Brooks Range, 170 miles south of Prudhoe Bay. Along the Richardson Highway, the pipeline crests the Alaska Range at 3,420 foot at Isabel Pass, before descending into the Copper River basin.

The pipeline project involved some 70,000 workers from 1969 through 1977. The first pipe of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System was laid on March 27, 1975.Last weld was completed May 31, 1977. The pipeline is often referred to as “TAPS” – an acronym for the Trans Alaska Pipeline System.

Alaska; Alyeska is an archaic spelling of the Aleut word Alaska meaning "mainland", "great country", or "great land" A former settlement, abandoned and merged with Girdwood, Anchorage, Alaska.

ok back to the Gold panning

A little tram took us to the Dredge - the guy in this picture is definitely strategizing on how to extract the most gold 😂

Entertainment on the tram

Historic Gold Dredge 8

Gold Dredge 8 operated in the Goldstream Valley of Fairbanks from 1928 to 1959 and extracted millions of ounces of gold from the frozen Alaskan Ground. Today, Gold Dredge 8 is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and the site is a U.S. Historic District. The dredge serves as a monument to the hard working miners who built Fairbanks.

Professional Gold panning “ Depot” 😂

Not too touristy at all 🤪

GOLD!!!!

WOW! Just 🤩 WOW

Now let’s weigh in!!

Well combined we got 17 grains which = 0.0389 oz 😂worth about $20

We need to get a safe to lock it up 😀

If you want to try this at home you can purchase the Gold pans and the Pokes in order to get about $9 worth of Gold

Not only that - once done panning they will offer to take your hard earned nuggets and make them into Jewelry right there and then starting at $29.99 all the way up to $199 depending on what you choose. BRILLIANT! The family Binkley who owns the Discovery Riverboat cruise tour as well as this Gold mine really had it figured out.

Charles Madison Binkley came north through the Chilkoot Pass in 1898 -- the peak Gold Rush year -- and operated riverboats in Alaska and the Yukon Territory of Canada. His son, Jim Sr., worked on a fleet of boats delivering mail to villages in the Alaskan interior and, in 1950, founded the family business operating the popular Riverboat Discovery on day cruises out of Fairbanks.