As we drove along various sections of the haul road,we came upon herds of caribou as easily as one might encounter a herd of cattle while driving down a Texas farm road. Caribou are very plentiful in the far north. They also have the right of way! Legally! If one, or two, or a herd of them decide to lie down across the road, or in the middle of a town for a little nap, you and other drivers may just as well take a little rest, too. It's against the law to disturb them in any way, so no "shooing" or horn-honking is allowed. In the spring they migrate through Dead Horse (our destination), and traffic and business come to a halt until the last calf passes through the settlement.

The unusual lighting is something that fascinated me as we traveled 'up there'. The sun is very low on the horizon, but it never sets at that time of the year. Notice, too, how incredibly blue the sky is. I became somewhat of a "sky freak" during this trip. Paying close attention to the blueness of the skies, the rotation of the sun through its summer orbit, and the patterns of the clouds was one of my favorite pastimes along these roads. -- Carol Risz