Alaska Photos from Davison County GOP Chairman

After posting some pictures from Chris Lien's trip to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska yesterday, I received an email from Allen Lepke, the Chairman of the Davison County Republicans who shared some photos he took on a trip to Prudhoe Bay at a village known as Deadhorse.

The pictures (below) are from late 2003 when Lepke was on a business trip working on telecommunications equipment for a company called ASTAC (Arctic Slope Telecommunications). This company provides all communications in that area, including cell phone coverage for the rigs out in the oil fields.

Says Lepke of this first photo: "When most people think of Alaska if they have not been north, this is what they think of, it is very beautiful in the South, but the further north you get, the only thing there is tundra."




This one is of the Prudhoe Bay General Store:



Here is some of that "pristine land" that environmentalists fawn over, otherwise known as "barren tundra" to the rest of us.



Another picture of the tundra, with some of the oil-producing area in the background



Another shot of the town of Prudhoe Bay. The roads are marked with the orange sticks that are sticking out of the ground.



This is the ASTAC building where Lepke worked while he was in the area



After seeing these photos of how the area looks in the winter months, the place seems even more barren.

Chris Lien told me yesterday that the oil workers have to get most of their work done during the eight months of winter while the ground is frozen and there is ice on the watery areas. Once the few warm months roll around, the Coastal Plain turns into a big marshy area.

Thanks, Allen, for the great pictures!