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Archive of our Alaska Trip -NomeWe arrived in Alaska on June 17th. As of June 29th, here's where we've been:
Nome!
Like Barrow, there are no roads leading to Nome. To get here you fly, take a ship or mush in behind a dogsled. Yet the character of this town is completely different from Barrow.
Nome is a gold rush town. This is the town where gold was found on the beach. In fact even today there are gritty old prospectors who live in tents on the beach through the summer with their sluice boxes panning for gold! We kicked around some sand, but found only rocks and a starfish. Camping on the beach is free, although the facilities are poor (okay, nonexistent - Yannis was not up for the adventure).
The people of Nome want to have fun. The people are all so friendly, and so happy to see you, and so willing to help you, and so wanting you to have a good time. We had been in Nome 10 minutes when a fellow tried to buy us our first beer. When we said we didn't think the kids were up for a beer, he paid our cab fare instead!
The weather remained unseasonably warm, so much so that the kids thought a dip in the Bering Sea was in order.
Although their favorite all time activity was climbing on the boulders that make up the sea wall.
But Nome is also famous for being the inspiration for the Iditarod sled dog race, the longest such race in the world at 1049 miles, which ends on Front Street here in Nome every March. In fact they drag this sign out into the middle of the street and it is the official finish line!
These are the trail markers, which run along side the Nome Council Road.
After a day driving around Nome, we were all ready for a snack. The place we stopped turned out to be the last mandatory stop for all mushers on the Iditarod - it is the Safety Sound Roadhouse. And Tom, the barkeeper, was full of stories of mushing and racing. He showed us photos and even gave Anika a dog booty from his collection for show and tell next year! It is likely that we were about the only visitors Tom had all day and that he was really glad to have company, but we sure enjoyed our visit!
You will all be happy to hear that in Nome we were not at the ends of any runways, we had blackout curtains, there were no mosquitoes in our room, we did not have to get up at the crack of dawn, the temperature in our room was well below 85º and there were no fire alarms going off in the middle of the night - we all slept really well!
Next - King Salmon (Brooks River Lodge and Katmai National Park) |
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Welcome to
Nome! 
Cooling off
in the Bering Sea (~40º F)
Nome
Sea Wall
Iditarod Finish Line
Iditarod trail marker
Safety Sound Roadhouse