Day 12, Coldfoot to Prudhoe Bay, 240 miles

The good news was there was no dust.  Took us 7 hours to  go the distance.  Started out in the 50's and cooled off to the 40's.  Light rain all day and the gravel roads varied from wet to very wet to muddy.  The worst sections were the construction areas were the graders were spreading loose gravel.  The beginning of Atigun pass was very muddy.   We were careful with the big 18 wheelers.  The potholes that gave us trouble, the they just rolled over.  We did pull over on several occasions for on coming trucks just so we were not covered with mud.  Most of the road was two lanes wide but there were sections that were a lane and a half.  The most difficult sections were when we had a strong cross wind, loose gravel or mud rutted tracks, and on coming traffic.  Today we tested the saying "that a bad day riding is better than a good day at work."  The oil companies control access to all but a small part of the area around Deadhorse.  This afternoon we took the tour bus so we could get to the Arctic ocean.  Some of the group did the ocean swim, but Dave and I did not jump in.  We're staying at the Prudhoe Bay Hotel, $110 each which includes all the food you can eat, 24 hours a day.  Just like a cruise ship including the little room.