Day 22- Utqiagvik

 July 3

I might have given up on the mileage reports.  I have forgotten to check and reset the trip meter several times.  No real reason for keeping track.  Just thought it would be interesting data.  I do have the secondary trip constantly running to get a grand total at the end.

Today was our flight out to Utqiagvik.  Formally called Barrow until it was changed back to its native name.

Before we could leave we had to pick up a very special passenger and run a few errands.  The girls wanted 4th of July clothes.  I figured Walmart would be a good choice for two reasons.  First, they tend to always have a ton of holiday stuff and second, we lost our selfie stick yesterday and I had already looked online and they had one that I could mount my GoPro to as well as a phone.

We got the selfie stick but they had nothing for 4th of July.  No clothes, no "stuff", nothing.  So odd.

I promised the girls Starbucks and Target just happened to be next door so I dropped them off there,  got our drinks and we met back up after.

We were finally on our way towards Anchorage where our special passenger was waiting for us.  

We arrived and there was Heidi waiting for us!  We were all very excited to see her!  She's going to be with us for several weeks while we travel through the Kenai Peninsula.  

I had reserved a spot at a local campground so the camper would be secure.  We dropped it off and did our final packing and we were off to the airport.  

There is only one flight a day to Barrow on Alaska Airlines.  If you're flying in Alaska you get up to 3 checked bags for free. Which was great because food in Barrow is 3-4 times more expensive than anywhere else.  This allowed us to pack a good assortment of food.  Soups, ramen, instant oatmeal and Lunchables were all in the suitcases.  

We timed perfectly that we were able to board almost as soon as we got to the gate.  I upgraded to priority as it was just a little more so we were on the plane first.  It was great!

I had rented an AirBNB, yes there are two in Barrow.  There is also a regular BNB and two hotels.  I had been in contact with our host and she had already let me know the weather was poor.  However, it was still funny when the Captain came over the mic and said, "the weather in Barrow, well it's not great!"  

As we started to descend he came back on to tell us that there was zero visibility on the ground so we would just circle for a while and hope it clears, and if not we would have to turn around.  A few minutes later he told us there was a very small clearing and he was going to give it a try.  I don't know how close we were to landing, but he was at full flaps when all of a sudden they retracted, he powered up and began to rise.  He came back to tell us that the window closed and we had about 10 minutes of fuel before we had to head back.  

After a few turns he said he had another clearing and was going for it.  This time we heard the gear come down and a smooth landing.  Lots of cheering and clapping from all!

We taxied to the terminal and disembarked.  To give an idea of the size of the airport, the Ankeny airport is bigger than the one at Barrow.  It's just the runway and a single building where incoming and outgoing passengers all meet together.  To get your luggage they just chuck it through a window where people have to be willing to help move it aside so they can keep unloading.

While we waited we spotted someone with an Iowa shirt on.  He's from the Waterloo area and has been living and working in Barrow and was heading home as his contract was over.  What are the odds.

We went outside to try and get a taxi.  We knew it would be cold, but was not expecting the wind.  It hit pretty hard after being in such warm weather.  Luckily I packed winter coats.  There are two taxi services.  The first didn't answer so tried the other.   They had some weird relay system that feed directly to short wave radios in the cars so whoever was free answered.  So odd and it was easy to talk once you figured out the system, but that first call was defiantly an experience.  I wasn't sure if someone was actually coming until I saw the car pull up.

Barrow is an interesting town.  Concrete or blacktop roads would not hold up to the winters so everything is dirt.  The houses are on stilts.  I asked our cab driver why and he simply said water.  I'm not sure if he understood what I was asking.  I'm guessing it's because of the permafrost, when it rains or snow melts there is nowhere for the water to go.  So it sits on the surface until it evaporates.  Most of the houses are mostly rectangle in shape.  Nothing fancy about them at all.

There are official addresses but all you have to mention is the house number.  We got to the house and we had the upstairs.  It was bigger than all the other houses as it was two levels with a very large garage but still very plain looking.  The inside however was fantastic!  We had the entire upper level.  A cozy little living room.  Full kitchen, two bedrooms.  One with bunks, the other with a king bed and another twin.  It even had a sauna.  Which we made full use of later.

We had the best host.  She was native and is very well known in the community.  She kept me up to date on all the happenings.  Barrow has a three day celebration for the 4th of July.  There was supposed to be some sort of traditional whale boat races that night so we called a taxi and headed down to where the celebrations were happening.  

I'm not sure if you could call it a field, as it was all dirt, but it was pretty much the center of town.  They had cargo containers lining three sides with people selling food and 4th of July stuff.  The smells were amazing.  And for the area, reasonably priced.   When we got there, they were doing an egg toss.  It was divided by age groups, taking a step back each time the egg was successfully caught.  I think the cold helped as everyone had been out there for awhile so I'm sure the eggs were getting a bit frozen.  On the forth side of the field, people were parked in cars and when the winner of each group was decided everyone would honk their horns.  Everyone was having a blast.  

Since we figured we should jump in the ocean tonight would be best we headed towards the beach.  We checked out the whale bones and fishing boats.  It's kinda of their claim to fame. if you google Barrow the image of the whale bones comes up.  

Due to the wind, large ice chunks blew in.  Our host said that the ocean was clear the day before.  The girls had a good time climbing on them and walking on them out into the ocean.  

Finally the moment came for us to jump in the water.  Summer was not having the cold.  Despite me telling her to wear her shoes she wore her crocs.  At least I got her to wear socks.  This girl like to learn the hard way.  Davan chickened out.  Libby was having second thoughts but needed that extra push because she was worried about regretting not jumping in.  She decided to just walk in.  Heidi and I stripped to our bathing suits and Libby took off her pants.  Davan video'ed.  We all ran down and into the water.  It was a delayed feeling.  The water felt fine for the first 10 seconds or so and then all of a sudden it hit you.  It was almost like a burning sensation.  Heidi and I dipped down to get our upper body wet.  There was not a lot of room due to the ice.  I also didn't want my suit wet because of the wind and not knowing how long it would take for the taxi to pick us up and get us back to our place.  Heidi and I leaned over to get our upper body wet and we all got out.  It was a race to get dressed.  My feet were on fire.  Once I got my shoes on they started feeling fine.  

We got a taxi pretty quickly, same guy that took us there brought us back.  I had turned on the sauna before we left, it had timed out but was still warm.  I turned it back on and we all sat in it for awhile.  

After we went to bed as we had a private tour of the city first thing in the morning.