Barrow, Alaska

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Posing with sign supplied by the tour bus at the end of the road to Point Barrow.	"Totem Pole" at the DEW LINE Station.	Operational DEW LINE Station.
Whale jawbone. It's big enough to stand inside of. Shades of Jonah !	Arctic Ocean as seen through whale bones at Browers Cafe, at the Cape Smythe Whaling & Trading Company Est. 1886.	"Totem milepost" in town. That’s me standing next to it. Airport Inn Hotel in left rear.
Playground with children playing. Temp about 48 degrees F.	The AC Store (Alaska Commercial). A really complete store in this part of the world. Located in Browerville.	A microwave dish pointed to the satellite over the equator. This dish is in Browerville, a section of Barrow.
A lagoon between "downtown" Barrow and Browerville.	City Hall. Note: The AC power plugs for the engine block heaters.	A street in Barrow. All are gravel and are sprinkled with water to keep the dust down.
The shore of the Arctic Ocean right in Barrow, looking West.	The shore of the Arctic Ocean right in Barrow, looking East. Not too many swimmers in view.	A "city" street.
The Flight Service Station (FSS) at Barrow's airport, " Wiley Post - Will Rogers Memorial Airport "	The Airport Inn Hotel. Located 2 blocks from the airport, an easy walk. (907)852-2525	Building at the airport.
View from my second floor room of Airport Inn. This picture was taken at 3 AM on July 26^th.	Polar Bears can be a real problem during times when the ice pack is on-shore, most of the time except late summer. This sign is about 13 miles out of town at a place where "whale guts" are placed for disposal and the bears to consume.	Me standing next to Frank's HumVee. This vehicle is used on tours of Point Barrow, about 13 miles NE of town. Taken a little after midnight.

Here are some pictures that I took while visiting Barrow Alaska in July of '98. I went just to experience the "midnight sun". It was incredible. The sun doesn't set, it just circles about in the sky. It never got dark. At 3 AM children could be seen playing outside. Why not? They go out to play, come in when they are tired, and go out again when they are rested. The clock takes on a "political" significance with no connection to reality. Many visitors come to Barrow to watch the various species of birds that come here in the summer months.

I found the local people very friendly. I walked just about everywhere and had a great time. The pack ice had just withdrawn off shore two weeks earlier so there weren't any polar bears around at this time. On leaving in the plane, I could see the ice about three miles to the north.

There are no paved roads in Barrow. In fact, "you can't get there from here" There are no connecting roads to any other part of the world. All traffic, people and materials, comes in either by air or barge. I understand the only barge arrives in August while the ice is out. All heavy items, vehicles, building material etc is brought in on barge. Just about everything you could want is for sale at "the AC". Alaska Commercial store.

There are five hotels in Barrow. Most tour groups stay at "Top of the World Hotel". I heard that rooms were about $156/night. I stayed at a very nice place near the airport called the Airport Inn. My room had a private bath and a kitchen setup with a microwave, cable TV with about 50 channels, and a telephone. I paid about $100/night and found the manager TJ, very helpful with all my questions. Their phone number is (907)852-2525, if you're interested in bird watching, ask for TJ and mention this web site for special rates.

I enjoyed talking to "Joe" at Pepe's Mexican Restaurant. He's a colorful character full of stories and lore about the area. The food was very good. You will find food in all of Barrow expensive by the lower 48 standards, but remember everything has to be brought in by air. I think that I paid about $15 for a nice Mexican food meal. Nothing grows here except ice.

The hard (graded gravel) road only goes to within 3 miles of the actual Point Barrow and you must take a 4X4 to get all the way out there. The tour cost me $55 and lasted 2 hours. The tour operator, Frank of Arctic Tours (907)852-1462, is a really neat guy and had a lot of answers to our questions. I was amazed to learn the Hummer could inflate/deflate the tires on the fly! Frank would let the air out of the tires to improve traction on the very loose gravel out at the point. Other 4X4 vehicles had a hard time, but we just kept on truckin'. Our tour only had four people and took place just a little after midnight. Notice the blue sky at this time of night in the photo above. June and July have 24 hour sunshine at this latitude.

George F. Ledoux
President
Astre Systems Inc.
Modesto, CA