The stretch from Coldfoot to Deadhorse was over 240 miles leading to another early start. To say the walls of the hotel rooms were paper thin does a disservice to those rooms that have paper thin walls. During the course of the night, I heard much snoring and coughing from rooms across the hall and down the way.
Prior to my alarm going off, I was awaken by the people in the room next to mine. One of the first things I heard in the morning was “Honey, do you want clean underwear today?” Shortly thereafter, I learned that the clean pair of underwear was black. I never saw the individuals who had this conversation, but it was not anyone from my group. There was a tour bus from a cruise line that was also staying at the lodge that consisted of what seemed primarily retirees. All throughout my excursion, I would run into groups associated with this cruise line at many locations. Prior to leaving the Coldfoot truck stop, I noticed that the price of gasoline was $5.20/gal as of May 2011. Diesel was a little more expensive. I think this was for bulk delivery, but it was the last place on the Dalton to get fuel prior to Deadhorse. (Gasoline at gas stations ranged from the mid $3.70 to $3.90/gal while diesel averaged around $4.25/gal throughout the rest of the state.)Once leaving Coldfoot, we drove the 13 miles to Wiseman, Alaska. Wiseman got started when gold was found. The finds were dwindling at Coldfoot, so many prospectors moved the short distance. We got a tour around Wiseman which currently has approximately 13 residents year round with many others there seasonally. (Coldfoot was just a truck stop with no permanent residents.) Our tour guide around Wiseman was Jack who had lived there since he was 5. Although he only had a high school education, he was a wealth of knowledge about the area, wildlife, plants, and gardening. (For those that know Brantley, Jack was the Alaskan version of Brantley.) Wiseman was a beautiful setting although the remoteness would make for a difficult life due to the isolation from civilization that extends the whole year.
Inside Jack's Cabin
One of original cabins in Wiseman
The rest of the day was spent driving the remaining 230 miles to Deadhorse where we would spend the night. Up to this point, I was surprised at the amount of deciduous trees present this far north in Alaska which I expected to be primarily evergreens. However, the color of the trees was spectacular. While the color was not as vivid as other areas of the country, it was no less impressive. Most of the trees that change had yellow leaves which contrasted nicely with the spruce trees (mainly black but some white spruce mixed in) against the tundra/permafrost. The tundra and permafrost were brownish in nature, but low vegetation had a dull red tint to it. While the colors in the pictures below are vivid, note that the setting on my camera allows for enhancement of fall colors which makes them more vivid than what I remember. 
It was also during the morning that we passed the last tree along the Dalton. There were no trees once we made our way past the continental divide (Atigun Pass).
When the van left Wiseman, the sky did have some clouds in it, but was largely clear and sunny. By the time we approached the continental divide at Atigun Pass in the Brooks Range, you could see the snow falling up at the top of the pass. The Brooks Range are old mountain range similar to the Appalachian Mountains with severe steepness despite being significantly shorter than the Rockies (Atigun Pass is only 4,200 feet in elevation). 
As we approached Atigun Pass, we passed a semi that had stopped to chain its tires before climbing the mountain. 
The snow had already started to stick to the mountains (some of the first of the year). Snowflakes were large ones and coming down hard. 
We stopped at the top to take some pictures and let the semi that had chained up to pass.
I got to ride shotgun during the descent from the pass and although the area was not that high, it was a fairly steep and long descent at times (12% grade).
Once down from the pass, we kept pushing north and ate lunch in the van due to the weather. 
As we descended from Atigun, the snow changed to rain and would follow us all the way to Deadhorse. We also stopped and got a close-up view of the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline. On the support beams are vents which release heat from the pipeline into the air to help protect the permafrost. (The first picture clearly shows the vents even though it was taken at the Yukon River bridge.) 
Note the support mechanism in the above picture helps the pipeline slide laterally in the case of an earthquake.
There was construction occurring on the Dalton that slowed us down, partially because we had to wait on a pilot car at one point as well the one stoplight that was present on the highway. It may have been temporary, but there was a stoplight. And like most stoplights, it refused to change despite the lack of oncoming traffic.
Eyes were kept open for wildlife and we were rewarded with sightings of caribou off in the distance as well as cackling geese, golden eagles, and (rock) ptarmigan.
Ben had told us that there was a herd of musk oxen in the vicinity but tended not to get close to the road. As you can see from the picture below, this group of oxen had strayed closer to the road than usual and allowed for several good pictures. 
There was also a sighting of Dall sheep, but I would have to wait till Denali National Park to get my first glimpse of that species.
During the drive, we also got to stop and walk on the tundra. It reminded me of trying to walk in a ball pit as it was so spongy. We also stumbled onto caribou hooves that were on the tundra.
The van finally made it into Deadhorse after 9 pm (10 hour trip from Wiseman to Deadhorse) that night and I was glad to be out of the van. When we arrived at the hotel, there was a power outage. It had been out for some time according to the hotel staff, and, luckily it was not winter, as it could have been far more serious (temperatures were around the mid 30s). Electricity is generated by the natural gas pumped out of the ground.
Deadhorse got its name from a young gentleman that had a trust fund but had to get out and work prior to receiving the funds. He got involved with a trucking company that was on its last legs. This young man convinced his dad to help out with some funds to keep the company running. However, the dad said “Why should I continue to feed a dead horse?” prior to loaning the son and his friend the money. The hotel was used by oilfield workers and is one of three hotels in Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse. Upon arriving, there was a double door (like an airlock) and once inside the hotel, you had to remove your shoes to keep from dragging mud into the hotel which has a minimal staff. Even though only early September, it was already fairly muddy. All of Deadhorse and Prudhoe Bay sit on a gravel pad to minimize damage to the tundra and permafrost.
Power would eventually be restored to the hotel. I went outside and marveled at the equipment. The first shot is of a mobile housing unit that maps out where oil finds are. Imagine living in that for days at a time while it slowly moves across a layer of snow and ice. 
There was row upon row of equipment and housing units like the two pictures below. About every type of conceivable equipment needed to survive in such a harsh wintery condition as Deadhorse and Prudhoe Bay was present.
After taking a few more photos, it was time to hit the sack. Another early start awaited me with the promise of Prudhoe Bay's lights in the distance and the Arctic Ocean beyond that. The lodging was much less primitive than at Coldfoot.
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