Fairbanks, Alaska – Day 2 (Part 2)
After lunch we re-boarded our motorcoach and headed for the El Dorado Goldmine where we learned, first hand, how gold was mined and panned for during Alaska's gold rush era. Gold Mining was one of the major attractions that brought people to Alaska. There was the metal Gold and many years later, black gold. This was a fascinating excursion and a lot more informative than we had witnessed at another Gold Mining location years before.
At the mine we boarded a replica of the Tanana Valley Railroad and took the short ride through the original gold fields with narration and music complements of an accomplished fiddle player. The Tanana Valley Railroad was used to carry supplies to various gold mines in the interior of Alaska during the early 1900s. The regular conductor and commentator is Earl Hughes, can't remember if he was our guide but nevertheless the 
commentary was lively and very entertaining. The trip took us you through a permafrost tunnel where one of the mine workers guided us through an explanation of underground mining in Alaska as was typical in the "old days".
When we got off the train we were met by an old codger who taught us in a humorous and knowledgeable fashion about prospecting, panning and sluice box mining. We could also see how mining is done today using more modern day techniques. Following that demonstration we were handed our own "poke" filled with "pay dirt" from the sluice box. We were then escorted to benches, given our own personal pan, and with water available in the through in front of us we were ready to seek our fortune, "panning for gold". We could easily see that this was great fun for the adults and children alike.
With a bit of help from some of the young whipper snappers working the mine, we panned $38.00 worth of gold between us, certified by our visit to the "Cool Shack" where the gold was weighed and put in a little plastic keep-sake containers. Unfortunately we did not find enough GOLD to comfortably retire but we had a lot of fun.After leaving the Gold Mine, Christina and Josh sprung the first of many surprises on us when we stopped at the Trans Alaska Pipeline. Started in 1974 and completed in 1977, this 48 inch diameter 800 mile long pipeline carries “hot” crude oil from the Prudhoe Bay oil fields on Alaska’s North Slope through 12 pumping stations to North America’s northernmost ice-free port at Valdez. In doing this it crosses three mountain ranges and 34 major rivers.
During this visit we learned a lot about how and why the pipeline was built. Did you know that there are intentional zigzags in the pipeline and that it contains “pigs”? About 400 miles of the pipeline is above ground and the other half is buried. The “pigs” are devices that flow through the pipeline improving oil flow and monitoring pipeline condition. Some 
clean the inside while others use magnetic fields and ultrasonic devices to check the pipe’s wall thickness. Approximately 650,000 barrels of crude per day make the 14 day trip down to Valdez. But wait; here are the whys for some of the features. 
The crude is 155º to 180º when it comes out of the ground and 145º when it enters the pipeline which is carried on very well designed supports above ground so as not to melt the permafrost which would destabilize the entire structure. Wide spacing of the uprights and bumpers on the supports make the structure flexible and earthquake proof while insulation and radiators dissipate the heat preventing thawing of the permafrost. The zigzags in the pipeline add to its flexibility allowing for expansion and contraction due to the 160 degree external seasonal temperature variations (-80 º winter to +80º summer) also making it earthquake proof. Just a bit of trivia, the 1964 Alaskan earthquake lasted nearly 5 minutes and was the most powerful earthquake in U. S. and North American history. It measured 9.2 and is the second largest quake in recorded history of the world.
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