Tacoma2012: Barrow, Alaska

Two backpacks and jackets packed for a weekend adventure to the Top of the World. After this trip we will have been to 49 states....only Hawaii left to go.

Flying into Anchorage for connection to Barrow, AK

Boots needed for Arctic Tundra

Moose at Anchorage airport

Going from the bottom of Alaska to the top (PDX-ANC-BRW)

Anchorage airport art

Mount McKinley (now Denali) - the highest mountain peak in North America (18,000').

Airplane from Anchorage to Barrow - half cargo plane, half passenger plane.

Barrow, Alaska - located above the Arctic Circle and the northernmost city in the United States of America. Population around 4,500. Barrow has a polar climate - it is considered the end of summer now and it still snowed during our visit (lows of 32 and highs of 40). Temps are typically below freezing from Oct-May.

Barrow is also one of the cloudiest places on Earth. This is a view from our hotel room - Arctic Ocean and the road to the north part of town. No paved roads due to the permafrost. No roads connect Barrow to the rest of Alaska - it is only accessible by plane or boat. This picture was taken around 9:45 PM. It didn't get fully dark until well after midnight.

Around Midnight - too cloudy to see any northern lights

Snow in the morning hours

Heavy equipment rebuilding the road closest to the Arctic Ocean after a storm two days before we arrived flooded out multiple sections

The Whalebone Arch - made from the ribs of a bowhead whale; a symbolic gateway to the Arctic Ocean

The dark Arctic Ocean. Polar bears live mostly on the ice. In the winter the ocean around Barrow freezes. Now, because of the recent storm, ice has not yet formed close to Barrow and could be as far as 100 miles out.

The town's two year college

51' bowhead whale skull - the bowhead has the largest mouth of any animal.

"Real strength never impairs beauty or harmony, but it often bestows it; and in everything imposingly beautiful, strength has much to do with the magic." - Melville -

There was a big football game the weekend we were in town - the Barrow Whalers are the town's high school team. They played their first official football game in 2006.

Blue and gold astroturf over black sand

Going to dip my hands in the chilly Arctic Ocean

Walking back and suddenly that wave behind me crashes over my feet and legs about 3 seconds later......I guess I did officially take a dip in the Arctic. Ross wisely steered clear of the waves.

The Arctic Tundra

According to the locals this is the best pizza in town (there is a less popular competitor called East Coast Pizza - takeout only).

The city was named after Sir John Barrow in 1825. Barrow has been home to the Inupiat, an indigenous Inuit ethnic group, for over 1,500 years.

The Rogers-Post memorial

A lot of boats and snow mobiles (they call them snow machines) around the houses

Septic system in Barrow

The Inupiat Heritage Center

The only polar bear we saw.....

Whoa. Sticker shock. A pack of TP costs over $40...and that isn't even the luxury million-ply brand Ross demands (that was over $50 in the store) (Note added from Ross: "two-ply, I like two-ply")