Day 35 - Rig Repair Day Fairbanks, AK

Today is the day and I'm hoping everything goes well. I was up early, hooked up, and ready to go by 7:15 just as planned. I didn't want to be late. We found Arctic RV with no problems. I walk up to the door and try it, still closed but I see a note on the door that someone had to cancel their 8 am appt because of a medical emergency. Hopefully I can slide into their spot if they can find out what is wrong.  Now we sit and wait until 8.

The doors open and I run in. I tell the really nice young girl my situation that I called on Saturday and was told to be here on Monday by 8 and she said okay lets figure out what is wrong with your fridge but first lets do some paperwork. I almost started crying. Paperwork done I had to drive around back and back the rig into one of the bays. I can do that. I backed in on my first try. Kevin, the owner and only tech in the place comes over and I explain what the fridge is doing. He tells me he thinks he knows what the problem is, leave the rig and call him at noon. I almost started crying again. So I unhook and leave our home behind in the hands of a stranger. 

So what do you do when you don't have a home to go to. Drive around and explore of course. Our first stop was Walmart. We had to pick up a couple of things. Susan ran in while I stayed in the truck with the dogs. When we pulled into the parking lot it was like driving into a campground. There had to be 50 RV's of all shapes and sizes camping. People had their slides and awnings out, jacks down, tables set up, lounge chairs in place, and some were doing exercises. It was like a big party. This pic only shows a few of the rigs we seen.

Our next stop was the oil pipeline viewing area. When we were driving to Fairbanks we had our first sighting of the pipeline but unfortunately it was pouring rain so we didn't stop. This is a much better day.

In 1968, oil was discovered in Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope between the Brooks Mountain Range and the Beaufort Sea. A group of oil companies decided that building a pipeline would be the best means to transport the crude oil to a navigable port where it could be shipped by tanker to the continental US. Alyeska Pipeline was established in 1970 to design, construct, operate, and maintain the pipeline.

So how do they build this pipeline. In permafrost areas where heat from the oil in the pipeline might cause the ground to thaw and consequently become unstable, the pipeline is insulated and elevated above ground by means of a unique support system. This system includes support pipes embedded in the ground that sometimes contain heat pipes to remove the heat allowing the ground to remain frozen. These self-contained passive refrigeration devices contain gases which transfer ground heat into the air when the air temperature is cooler than the ground. This heat transfer process "super chills" the ground, ensuring that unstable soils remain frozen year round to steadily support the pipeline. There are more than 124,000 heat pipes along the pipeline.

Above ground sections of the pipeline are built in a zigzag manor to allow for expansion and contraction of the pipe due to temperature changes. This zigzag configuration also allows for movement of the pipeline during an earthquake, with a greater allowance for both lateral and vertical movements at major fault lines.

In thaw-stable soils, the pipeline was buried in the conventional manner, below ground.

Pipeline Facts:

• the total length is 800 miles runs from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, Alaska
• the diameter is 48"
• it crosses 3 mountain ranges and more than 500 rivers and streams
• the pipeline corridor includes more than 550 crossing areas for caribou, moose, and other wildlife
• there are 44 buried road crossings along the 800 mile pipeline to accommodate vehicle traffic
• the cost to build was $8 million in 1977, the largest privately funded construction project at the time
• construction began March 27, 1975 and was completed May 31, 1977
• oil first moved through the pipeline June 20, 1977
• first tanker to carry crude oil from Valdez: ARCO Juneau, August 1, 1977
• between 1979 and 2010 more than 16 billion barrels of oil were transported through the pipeline
• in 1988, 2,000,000 barrels of oil per day travelled through the pipeline, at this flow rate it took 4.5 days to travel from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez

Devices called "pigs" improved the flow of oil through the Trans Alaska pipeline and monitored its condition. Pigs are launched and retrieved at pump stations and travel through the pipeline with the moving oil. Pigs are among the most important tools available for protecting the pipeline and detecting potential problems.

This pig scraped wax from the internal walls of the pipe when the pipeline first began operating. Once the system warmed up from the constant flow of hot North Slope oil, wax buildup ended.

Later the scraper pig was replaced by a lighter and softer polyurethane version. The new polyurethane pig smooths the flow of oil by reducing the turbulence, making it easier to pump. Where we are standing the oil is about 100 degrees F. The old scraper pig weighed 2600 lbs which is 1000 lbs more than the new pig.

So that was pretty amazing. The dogs were able to get out and run around which is always nice for them. We continued to drive the city scouting out potential things we might to see later.

Overlooking Downtown Fairbanks

It was getting close to lunch time and I was starved. We hit the local McDonalds and had lunch in the parking lot. We relaxed, took the dogs for another walk, then I couldn't wait any longer I had to call to check on the rig. They informed me it was done. Another Halleluiah!. We drove over, Kevin showed me what the problem was, I paid the bill, and then we went home to relax for the rest of the day.