Harmon and Randall's Voyage…

Leg 2

Blog 13

August 6, 2023

WOW!! The ice had indeed moved closer to Point Barrow since the last report so Randall and I were both happy and terrified to see our first ice berg. “Yup, it’s real”, I thought. The closer we got to Point Barrow, the more there was. Interestingly it looked like a horizontal line of ice was stretching all along the Point Barrow coast that would completely block our access to Elson Lagoon which is adjacent to Barrow.

Randall pointed out that ice can look impassable from a distance. So you have to get right up to it, and then you can maneuver your way through. Indeed, this was the case.

Let’s get our ice terminology down – Ice Bergs are, well, big. Bergy Bits are medium to large fragments of ice generally greater than three feet but less than 16 feet above the sea level. Growlers are smaller fragments of ice and are roughly the size of a truck or grand piano.

You can see Point Barrow (the northernmost point in the U.S.) nto the left (above) and the sea ice following the tide-line.

Way out on the spit of Point Barrow at the entrance to Elson Lagoon, an unidentified local comes out (we are talking a six mile drive) to wave us a welcome (one could see us coming for hours!). I like this place already.

Randall and I spent a quiet night on the lagoon all by ourselves, but in the morning it was all work for Randall as he had to repair our leaking transmission and do a scheduled oil change (every 150 hours of engine usage). We both agreed that I would get in the way, so I was escorted off the boat and delivered to shore (above).

Except to say that upon landing at the beach I discovered that there is not really a road into town at that point (Randall naturally had anchored at about the furthest point away from town!) I did not quite understand how far it was, and the taxi driver I was able to call said that he could not drive on the beach to meet me (please do not ask me why this took 12 phone calls to figure out), so I would have to walk the four miles to the road. I am wearing my hood because as soon as I laid foot on the beach, the mosquitoes attacked. They were big, juicy and hungry and I had left the bug juice back on the boat.

The long beach was filled with whale parts and washed up fishing gear. It was really good beach combing, but as it was difficult to walk and I did not want to show up in a strange town with a bunch of whale on my back, so for once in my life I did not collect more stuff. At last I made it to the end of the four wheel drive beach road, which is also the beginning of the city road, and the taxi finally agreed to come get me and drop me off in town (charged me $100!!)

BARROW

Barrow Alaska is now known as Utiagvic and is one of the largest Iñupiaq settlements in Alaska with a total population of just under 5,000 people. It is the northernmost town in the U.S. and is surrounded on three sides by the Arctic Ocean. On the upside, its extreme northern location means that it receives 24 hour daylight from May 10 to August 2, and 24 hour darkness from November 18 to January 23. On the downside, it is one of the cloudiest places on earth and is overcast 50% of the time. The town very wisely voted itself dry in 1994 but there is plenty of legal marijuana around.

My first stop in town was to drop into the visitors center to meet Edward (above). It seemed like he did not get many visitors (notice his guitar slightly hidden in the closet) so he was happy to meet me. Asked if there was a local guide in town who could take me around, but he said all they had was a map. Thank you Edward!

Even I get tired of my own cooking, so I was super excited to try any ethnic cooking available in town. I was in luck as they had a Mexican, Japanese and a Chinese restaurant. Hmmmm…I only had one shot (I.e. meal) at this so I visited all three. I was really craving Mexican so I started there, but it turned out that it was to go only and I really did not feel like eating alone outside on a slightly rainy day. Next was the Japanese run by the cutest older Japanese couple in the world. The sushi looked good and their Alaskan Malamute Husky puppy parked in the entrance was so love starved that it would not let me enter until I gave it some love.

I needed something spicer so I went to the Chinese place. It was super homey and lovely. There were four tables downstairs two of which were being taken by the family of the owners and one by a local. So I took my seat and spent 15 minutes savoring over the menu which was basic. Egg Foo Young was $35 and the Fried Noodles were $37. They waitress (her daughter) said the portions were big, so I asked if I could have two 1/2 orders. At that moment time stopped and everyone in the restaurant looked at me, the enormous cook came out of the kitchen and in unison they all said, “NO 1/2 ORDERS ALLOWED!!!” Allrightythen. I just sucked it up and ordered both. It is crazy how expensive things are up here. A man came in and ordered chicken soup for his sick friend and it was $30 and he did not bat an eye.

I have to say that the food was average by San Francisco standards, but I needed to stop being snobby and just enjoy my meal alone. I got talking to the wife owner (above right) and it turns out she is actually Korean. One thing led to another and next thing I know I was given a huge bowl of fresh Kim Chee. We were now best friends.

Now that I was fed, I started my own tour of the town. Purely by accident, I walked into the native recreation hall (above) to ask for some directions. The next thing I knew, they were having a sale on native tchotchkes, none of which caught my fancy. But in the corner of my eye I saw this amazing woman with a tray of freshly baked cinnamon rolls which are a personal favorite of Randall. As the sale was ending, I thought I would be a good guy and buy most of her cinnamon rolls to bring back to the boat (I was certain she would make me a deal). Turns out they were like $8 each and no end-of-sale OR quantity discount for me!! Too late to renege on my order so I just smiled and suggested to her that perhaps she should be selling them outside of the pot shop next door….I did get a big laugh out of her.

Ok….I do not have time to get into this, but above right (also in the native hall) is a PULL-TAB counter. This is legal gambling that is part of native life up and down the coast. All I can say is that it is equivalent to crack-cocaine. For $1 you get one tab and there all kinds of confetti and people yelling and screaming. In the non-dry towns they do this at bars and it is really ridiculous (easy for me to say as I am not a gambler because I am so bad at it).

Here are another two peculiar things about Barrow… 1) People leave all kinds of junk in their front and back yards (ok..we do this but at least mostly in rural areas!) and 2) there is not one paved road in town. Not sure why not, but that has to be a mess in winter.

I found the house on the left to be so interesting with all of the whale bones and baleen. On the right, about a 1/2 mile stretch of the city is loosing their sea barrier. Due to storms that come at them from the west, the ocean is encroaching and the town is finally installing a sea barrier. May be too little too late.

Another crazy Barrow thing (above). I asked around for a gift shop, and I was directed to the Fur Shop. I go in, and it is all candy, balloons, bulk fabric and party favors. Not quite what I was looking for. But hidden in a middle isle were the “furs”, and indeed there they were. The real thing – mostly Arctic Fox and Wolf. I have to say they were beautiful and felt incredibly warm and soft. Interestingly, they had virtually no value and could be bought for less than, well dare I say it? – a tray of cinnamon rolls!

To the upper left is a typical view of the Arctic Ocean from downtown Barrow. I am enjoying the beautiful view, and I notice these strange people (absolutely not native) getting ready to jump in the water (if I was not mistaken). This must be a group suicide I surmised so I ran down to stop them.

Turns out that jumping in the icy water is a tradition by tourists from around the world. They come to Barrow specifically to do this. Many from this particular group came from Arkansas. No, I did not join them!

Randall’s work on the boat was taking a little longer than expected, so I needed to kill some time. First I went to the NAPA Auto Parts store to buy some extra transmission oil, plus two quarts of transmission leak-stop liquid that Randall wanted. No, I did not ask Randall how it was going… it was quite apparent that he needed the leak-stop liquid so I surmised, “Not well!!” But I stopped by the local super market and there I saw the locals selling their handicrafts. Very lovely! You can see above the baleen art, as well as the man’s wallet that was a classic!

His buddy was just hanging out as well. He was in a wheelchair, but was so curious about the boat and about life in California. In due time, he took out his self-help book he had just checked out from the library and we discussed Joyce Meyer (“a charismatic Christian motivational speaker and author”). I would have preferred native Eskimo wisdom, but hey, I take it as I get it.

Finally time to go back to the boat. I picked us up a surprise dinner (love that Randall is happy with a fresh pizza). Randall had moved Mōli closer to town, so the cab ride back was faster and easier (and about 1/3rd the price). Turns out my cab driver (above) was a former Thai Monk (yellow robe). He got his degree from UC Berkeley so we had lot’s to discuss including meditation. I was sorry to leave him on the beach as Randall picked me up and back to the boat we went.

From the time we left Elson Lagoon, the ice really began to be a navigational issue. Beautiful but deadly. I had to learn my way around it.