6/26/13
We departed Fairbanks this morning bound for Barrow, Alaska
(the northern-most) city in American and North America, some 330 miles north of
the Arctic Circle. Alaska Airlines
737 took us to Anchorage, then Prudhoe Bay, and finally Barrow. We arrived under brilliant sunshine and
mid-40’s temperatures.
Across the street we checked-in to our hotel – The King
Eider Hotel. Because of the
tundra, mud, and dirt a no-shoes-inside policy is in effect. Kind of nice, actually.
We arranged for a private tour of Barrow and Point Barrow by
a 40-year resident. A small town
with apparent poverty, high salaries, government support mechanisms everywhere,
and ancient traditions carried on today by the Inupiat Indians. It was a banner day here as the first
whale of the hunting season was caught.
Five boats towed what we were told was a 54 foot, 200 year old hammerhead
whale to shore late in the evening.
Facebook spread the word around town a hundreds of the 4,800 residents
came to the beach to see the first catch.
The native Inupiat are the only ones authorized to hunt whales, as no
commercial hunting is lawful. We
drove to near the end of the peninsula at Point Barrow (considered a holy site
by the Inupiat). Gasoline is $
6.20 gallon, milk is $ 8.00 gallon, and alcohol almost non-existent.
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| Top of Mt. McKinley |
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