Mark and Lisa in Alaska - Day 3

Day 3

It was a little cooler in Barrow this morning.  Some of the ice was coming in closer to shore, but the current quickly moved it along the shoreline. We ate breakfast at Pepe's; it's right next door. Lisa had a skillet breakfast, and I had ham and toast. Plenty of food for us both to share. After cleaning up and getting our bags packed, we waited for our Humvee tour guide to arrive.

Chris showed up about 20 minutes late, but he was a real nice guy and informative. This tour took us to the northern most point in Alaska. Our first stop was at Point Barrow, a US Air Force long range radar site. There we saw the northern most totem pole. On top was a toilet; Chris said it was the first toilet in Barrow.  Next to it was a mileage marker, which included the distance to Wall Drugs.  I remember as a youth traveling to Wall Drug and seeing all the mileage markers along the way.

Point Barrow Totem Pole and Mileage Marker

A little further north, Chris showed us the remains of a whale carcass.  The hunters had left it there so the polar bears would have something to eat.  One of my friends told me they heard polar bears were drowning because they had to swim too far to find food.

Then, the northern most point of the United States.  Tada!  Chris took our picture and then told us about the currents and the ice.  We drove all the way out on Point Barrow in the Humvee, saw a bunch of birds and a couple of seals.  All along the way we saw lots of washed up whale bones and driftwood.   Chris said some of the driftwood came from Russia.  Pretty interesting and a trip worth taking.

Northern Point	Lisa at Arctic Ocean	Ice pack	Whale Head	Whale Pelvis

Back at the hotel, we had to wait about 5 hours before our departure. We watched television and talked to some drunk named Fred.  Fred was a harmless kind of guy.  Apparently, he was a millionaire, but he didn't seem too anxious to give us any of his money.  He thought Lisa was my daughter, so she really enjoyed that!   We ate lunch at Pepe's.  I had Taquitos, which were good; Lisa had Chile Colorado, which we don't recommend.

Going through security at Barrow Airport was like going through security anywhere else. We had to take off our shoes and coats.  They did a double check on my computer, the usual stuff.  The flight to Fairbanks and onto Anchorage was uneventful. Back to the Millennium Hotel.  We had a quick dinner, then back to bed.  Another great day in Alaska.