Travel Time

Wow did that go fast!  It is time to pack it in...

This morning we awoke and finished the final pack up of our gear.  After a nice breakfast, we saw off the teacher crew as they headed out to work for the day.  Shoe and I took time to get checked out and then stop into the bookstore at the college.  We even made a bonus run through the kitchen for some frozen items from Gustavus (curious yet?).

Steve the great met us as promised to pick us up for the trip to the airport. What an incredible man!

After getting the bags to the airport counter, we got checked in.  Some minor details were updated and we were set to fly.  There was some question whether the plane would be into Barrow on time from Prudhoe Bay, as there was some pretty good snow on the Arctic Slope this morning.  After a 10:05 AM update, we knew that the aircraft had just departed Prudhoe Bay and was headed our way.  That confirmed that we had about 40 minutes until boarding would occur.

"Mr. Koser," I heard at the airprot...to my surprise!  Several kids we had met at the schools were also at the airport as they were headed to Anchorage for the Native Youth Olympics to represent Barrow for the competition this week.  After chatting with them, Steve suggested we head out for one last tour!

Another few photo opportunities came about!  We stopped by the second Barrow sign and then headed by the web cam tower. 

Here is the house that you see in the webcam.  The white one with the red trim.  The cam is up on top of the bank building.  That was a trick to find...right Shoe?!

A visit to the Top of the World Hotel was neat, and helped Shoe to pick one more neat piece of art.  Then to Steve's apartment to help get this packed up in some foam.  Then back to the airport!

Steve is great at sharing his experiences in this town. More on that in a future post!  Then it was time to get boarded and get the bird in the air!! 

 

Its not too many places that you load from the stairway!  Notice that the front half of the plane has no windows.  This is the world of being practical...passengers in the rear and full cargo in the front!  Time for Anchorage!

A Final Fling!

Stones.  14 of them!  While in Barrow, do as the Barrowans do?

If you're going to try curling, why not try is somewhere unique!  Out the door of the ice sheet building was the Arctic Ocean.  A stones slide away were lots of us...learning how to get some mass moving!  Thanks to the patience and wisdom of local curling legend Scott, we got some good lessons!  We learned about palm up, palm down, sweeping, and throwing the rock into the house!  Not that we're experts, but we sure enjoyed some learning!

After some practice, Team Gustavus took on Team Barrow in a fine round of curling.  They must have been nice to use...and didn't beat us by a HUGE margin.  But more importantly, we had a great time, and developed an interest in a pretty neat game!  The setting wasn't bad, either.  But as Rachel, Justin and I could likely tell you, it is a bit chilly on the toes curling in Barrow!

 

Check out the concentration here as Justin sets up his throw.  

Steve was a go-getter.  Something about gravity might apply to this picture.  Don't worry...he was OKAY!

 

What a blast!  But I don't think I'll make this my day job just yet!

Up North for the Weekend

Here's a whole new meaning to heading 'up north' for the weekend!  First, the view from the truck is spectacular.  You can almost see forever!

On the drive, you'll begin to notice lake (okay, ocean) cabins in the distance.  Not that they are far off...about a mile or so north from Barrow.

The dock has to be put out yet.  Looks, however, like you might want to wait just a bit on that.  This is a spit of land jutting in between the Chukchi Sea and the Beaufort Sea.  They are pretty frozen here in mid April.  Whales find them lovely in mid spring and late fall as they migrate north and then south annually.

The beach is quaint.  There are precisely three trees.  They are made by the residents.

And the lodging is nice.  For summer!  No heat needed.  And there is a nice drop barrel for the contents of your honey bucket!  I'm not sure even the bears would like one of these! 

But really, it seems to be a place for some serious fishing in the summer.  Here is where the local Inuit people summer when it is time to hunt migrating ducks and fish the ocean waters.  Many small shacks dot the landscape in this half mile long stretch along the road north.

Some of you in Minnesota might be heading up to open up the cabin. But here, I think you'll need to wait at least a few weeks!

Groceries by Plane

Jet fuel surely influences the price of groceries.  Here is a quick sample from the AC, the Alaska Commercial Store.  A bit of shopping tonight reminded us just how this economy is challenged by location.  You can play "The Price is Right" right now!  Before you scroll down, complete this short quiz...

Name the prices of:

1 case of milk (8 or 10 containers of about one pint each): ________

1 bag of crinkle cut potato chips: ________

1 large bag of French Roast Starbucks Coffee Beans: ________

12 Roll pack of Bounty Paper Towels: ________

1-12 pack of Pepsi: ________

1 pack of Chips-Ahoy Cookies: ________

1 20 oz bottle of CocaCola: ________







Okay. Scroll down and see how you did!

Tractosaurus Ex

So things have limited lives when they are used to an Arctic Degree.  Heck, things aren't made to work in the degree of the Arctic!  Barrow IS the coldest place on the continent, according to the not-happy National Weather Service Employee we spent a half hour with tonight.

When things quit working, they don't make it quickly to the scrap yard.  But each summer, a large barge appears with supplies ordered by the people of Barrow.  And the barge can't leave empty.  Or at least its not too efficient.  So the barge leaves with scrap metal, among other things.  Like large tractors that are dead.  Or maybe I've over estimating and they really run.  No.  Not really.  Look at the photos!

Last night Shoe and I headed out for our evening sunset photo shoot.  But the clouds killed that plan.  So I moved to the ex tractor photo study.  Please enjoy!  And play it like "Where's Waldo!"

Tundra and Ice Science

Many people come here to DO science.  In the 1950s, the Navy established an operation in Barrow and called it the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory, or NARL.  It is a complex of quanset huts spread across about 3/4 miles of land here next to the ocean.

The Navy had interest in existing here for some time, but eventually was done using this space.  Instead of decommissioning and eliminating the establishment, the local people worked hard to come to an agreement with the US Government to use the infrastructure already in place for science.  The Inupiat people arranged to have this place remain as a place for people to come and do science in the Arctic.  At this point, NARL has become Ilisagivk College.  As I understand it, the two essentially exist as one entity now.  This is a word that means "place of learning".  In the years since this was NARL, the dorm building that we are living in was added.  On the west end of this H shaped building is living space for students (and visitors) to the college.  On the east end are offices of various science research projects.  The center section is offices of the college operations and the bookstore.  Notice the building and its proximity to the other buildings here on this map.

There is a significant group called the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium or BASC. BASC has offices in this building as well as well as a beautiful research facility located just a half mile or so from here.  This is the organization the facilitates scientists coming here to work and research a vast array of topics.  Their permanent staff is primarily the Logistics Department.  These folks provide the infrastructure for anyone to use to come here and do research.  They are much the sherpas of the local...providing snow machines, navigation, background data, etc to those that come here to work.

Yesterday we got a tour of the BASC facility and got a bit of an idea of some of the work here.  A group from NASA JPL, for example, is here doing ice research.  They are using the Arctic as a model for the moons of Jupiter.  In future explorations of these moons, we need the skills to probe beneath ice and learn what is there.  What a place to do that but here...where conditions are similar.

Lots can be learned just by spending hours in the hallway outside of these offices and reading the posted research on the walls!  What a rich scientific environment.

Arctic Sunset...After Pizza

It was pizza time after a dog run! Shoe and I walked from Geoff Carrols home to the AC, Barrows primary retail establishment. The good grace of people here (the NORM) resulted in a friendly ride from there to East Coast Pizza where we picked up three discs of goodness for the crew! Steve met us there with the Suburban and we trekked back out the the college.

A few hours of pizza and deprogramming was great for everyone. Oh the laughter...maybe it was the cold air?

After dinner, Alyssa and I peeked out the window on the walk from one end of the dorm to the other. And what a sunset it was!

At 11:10 PM, I've not seen another sunset! This one was glorious...over the ocean ice. But to get the view, we had to head out. The coldest 6 minutes of this trip were spent shooting a bucketful of sunset photos from the edge of the ocean road...a 100 yard walk from our door. AND, it helped me appreciate the need for the right clothing! The three shirts I had on were marginally warm enough for a few minutes. But the lack of gloves...man!! So we went quickly and got cold. But I'd say it was worth every moment of chill for quite a photo set! Here are a few.  More on the photo site, and more at home!

Enjoy...