Top of the World...Ok, North America

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Greetings from the "Top of the World!" I'm here in Barrow, Alaska where it's a balmy -58 (that's right, fifty-eight below) with the wind-chill. I didn't believe it when they told me that at the FAA Flight Service Center but they checked with the local National Weather Station (across the street) and had the same reading. Needless to say it's darn cold. It's been an adventure getting here. We were supposed to fly in on Monday from Anchorage via Fairbanks. Once we got to Fairbanks, we were notified that the plane had a weight problem and that none of the Barrow passenger's bags were going to make it. Since the equipment we use to do our jobs was in our checked luggage, we didn't really have a choice. We also had some work to finish up in Fairbanks so we got off the plane there. The people at Alaska Airlines were very nice and gave us each a free round-trip ticket for our personal use in addition to booking us on another flight. However, once we got downstairs to baggage claim we realized that our bags were not there. We inquired at the customer service counter and they told us that since so many people got off, the bags were loaded back on the plan and sent to Barrow. Needless to say we were frustrated, however had we gotten back on the plane it would have been overweight and they would have removed the bags again. Realizing that we were in a "Catch 22" situation which would leave us in either Barrow or Fairbanks without our bags, we agreed to stay in Fairbanks. We managed to scrounge up enough equipment (after visiting all 17 computer stores in Fairbanks) to get some work done. When we got our bags late Monday night, we were halfway through the work we were doing so we just setup the rest and kept working. After finishing up the work in Fairbanks including Eilson Air Force Base and Fort Wayneright Army Air Field, we had an early morning flight here to Barrow. It was delayed for about an hour but we finally got back on the plane. When we were about to leave the gate they notified us that the plane, yet again, had a weight problem but the Barrow passengers were not going to be affected by it. Instead they were taking the passengers bags off the plane that were going to Deadhorse, Alaska. We simply laughed...those poor people. A mere 90 minutes later and we arrived in desolate Barrow. We started our work as soon as we landed and let it run overnight. So we decided to look around the town. It's a really small ramshackle town with absolutely nothing to do. In 2 hours we had driven as far North as the roads would allow, as far South as the roads would allow, and had hit every spot on the tourist map. We got all suited up for the brutal outdoor conditions. I wore extreme cold weather underwear, fleece-lined jeans, ski bib, polypropylene sock liners, expedition weight socks, cold weather insulated boots, extreme cold weather undershirt, polo shirt, sweater, cold weather hat, cold weather mask, snow cap, glove liners, gore-tex gloves and my parka. I was exhausted before I ever left the hotel. We went out and stood on the Arctic Ocean and got a few pictures as well as some shots around town. The mere two inches of my face that were exposed hurt after 3 minutes outside. I spent no more than 5 minutes outside running down to the ocean, getting pictures, taking pictures, and running back to the car (which we never turned off). We were going to go to a bar to kill time this evening but there's no alcohol in Barrow. It's a "damp" town which means that it's illegal to sell locally but you can bring it in with you and drink it. So we decided to rest back at the hotel. We'll go out to dinner later and maybe jump in the sauna but that's it from here. No cell phones work up here so until I get back to civilization tomorrow night (God willing) we're stuck with e-mail. I should be headed back to Anchorage tomorrow night and San Diego on Friday. Will keep you posted.

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Photos

Top of the World
Here's me in front of the Top of the World Sign

Ice Breaker
I'm standing on the Arctic Ocean. Hope it doesn't break!

Ninja Christian
I could really sneak up on someone...if everything around wasn't stark white. Can you tell if it's me...I can't.

Frozen Food
If you're looking for a snowmobile (they call them snowmachines up here), where else would you look? The frozen food section of your local AC store!