It is really exciting for me to bring you all pictures from the North Slope, the place where oil production in Alaska starts.  This is a part of the state that a lot of people never see; in fact, this might be as close as I ever get to seeing it.  Josh had the opportunity to travel north courtesy of BP Global - he had to take a polar bear safety class before they let him go! 

An early-morning flight afforded Josh a beautiful view of Denali.

After arriving in Deadhorse a senior geologist took the summer interns on a tour of the facility.  They started at the bustling Deadhorse airport.

Below is the monument to ARCO State Well #1, one of the first wells drilled on the slope.

These sheds are protecting working wells from arctic conditions.  Josh says, "Notice how flat it is up there."  People usually envision Alaska as a land of mountains - and it is, to be sure - but there are also acres and acres of flat tundra.

This is the Prudhoe Bay Operations Center where the offices for geologists, chemists, engineers, and other oil field employees are located.

One of the more amazing things about these pictures of the Slope is what they convey about the reality of oil and the environment.  I won't get all political, because I'm sort of an "I don't know" vote on ANWR drilling, but I have to admit that the North Slope doesn't look all that environmentally-devastated to me.  I know that doesn't mean it couldn't be, but something tells me no one wants to keep the oil in the pipelines and off the ground more than the companies making money off of it.  In fact, one of the rules is, "STAY OFF THE TUNDRA!"  You can only walk on the "paved" (gravel) areas.  Of course, there is more to "impact" than just oil spills - I get that - but now that I live in a place where oil (and other controversial industries, like mining) are so intrinsic to the economy, I see a lot of shades of grey.

Take a look at the drill in the photo below - it's the big blue thing.  That drill actually comes down, and the entire unit is moveable on wheels.

Here is one of the wheels:

After the hole is drilled, then the oil, natural gas, and water move through these pipes, called flowlines, into buildings (like those in the background) where the oil is separated out and the water and gas are pumped back down into the reservoir.

More flowlines:

Here is Mile 0 of the famous Alaskan Pipeline which comes out of Pump Station #1.  Whatever that means.

This is where the crude oil starts its journey to refineries and tankers (in Valdez).  And in the end, I pay more for gas at the pump than you do.  Yay!  That seems fair.

I'll leave you all with some of Josh's best wildlife shots from the rest of his afternoon in Prudhoe Bay. 

See?  Baby caribou love Big Oil!  You should, too!