Mike Obland: Hanging Out in Barrow

Barrow, Alaska, April 18, 2008 -- Today was our first day off since last Friday. It has been a long week, especially with the busy trip we had down to Fairbanks. I think everyone really needed today to rest up and get some energy back.

I wanted to use today to do last-minute tourist tasks before leaving Barrow. After sleeping in a bit, Ray and I drove around the town taking pictures to remember the place by. We stopped in at the Laundromat and picked up a few Christmas gifts and souvenirs for friends and family. We also stopped by the AC grocery store, because for some reason they were having a crazy clearance sale on cologne, and the prices were too good to pass up. Of course, when I got back to the hotel, I opened up the container and found out that the bottle was loosely sealed and had leaked about a quarter of the cologne. So, you get what you pay for, but it was still a good deal.

Ray and I next went to visit the cultural heritage center. They had nice exhibits about the history of the North Slope Borough, and about the history of the native people. The exhibit about how they used to survive in such an inhospitable environment was interesting as well. They even had a life-sized model of a bowhead whale in the lobby.

We had a nice conversation with a woman who works there, sharing what we are doing and listening to her stories about life in Barrow. The people here seem very concerned about the changes to their environment, and several people have specifically mentioned all the haze and pollution that is coming their way. They have been appreciative of the work we are doing.

After Ray and I returned to the hotel, we met up with the other members of the team. One thing we all wanted to do before leaving the frigid confines of Barrow was to take a few fun pictures of us decked out in our shorts and Hawaiian shirts. After a little coaxing, we all agreed and changed clothes. We drove around to a few "tourist" places in Barrow, such as the "top of the world" sign. I’m sure we’ll be laughing about those pictures for years to come.

We were all pretty cold after taking those pictures, and were generously greeted back at the hangar with a home-cooked Philippine meal by one of the hangar employees, P.J., and his wife, Melva. P.J. has been very helpful with moving, servicing, and fueling our plane the entire time we have been in Barrow. The meal was delicious; we appreciated P.J, and Melva’s hospitality.

Stuffed from dinner, we all spent the evening doing separate things. I went back to the hotel to start packing my suitcases for the trip home and to get some sleep. We have one more research flight tomorrow.

Photo: Mike Obland

Comments

[Mad Gringo]

I love it!

Superb Hawaiian Shirt and orange shorts!

Go slow.

[aircraft parts]

Wow...

That is wonderful. I like it very much.

Be Careful gays.