Thursday, August 23, 2012

Only a Few More Days in Barrow

Osaka's Small Sushi Plate
As you can tell, I must still be in Barrow. This is the small sushi plate at Osaka's, the local Japanese restaurant, and it was a real treat. I limit myself to this meal just once per trip as it is pretty pricey up here as you can probably imagine. They told me that all of their fish comes up from Hawaii and it tastes very fresh. It may be some of the best sushi in the state.

Looking South Towards the BEO
The weather up here has been all over the place. Some days it has been sunny and warm and so calm that the ocean looks like a mirror. Then you go out later in the day and you have blowing rain with temperatures barely above freezing. This morning, there was dense fog and 38°F. I pass by this wet area all the time and there are usually a lot of birds out there. Today, there were dozens of geese. The posts are part of a snow fence which is put up to control snow drifts. Windblown snow piles up against the fence. When I was here in late June, there was still mounds of snow piled up here.

11 comments:

  1. I like the wetlands, very cool landscape. It looks like a good place to spot wildlife. (is there any place in Alaska that isn't good for spotting wildlife? lol)

    I thought I heard the weatherman mention a possibility of frost, but I didn't catch the whole report. I'm hoping he meant Eastern Oregon. Frankly right now the weather here is perfect. Sunny & 70s. I always hope for a long sunny fall, but invariably the cold weather will get here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Frost and only a week ago it was in the 100's. What crazy weather you're having.

      I think just about everywhere in Alaska is a good place to spot wildlife. I even saw moose running around downtown Anchorage. On this trip I saw a snowy owl sitting on a power pole outside of the building. Unfortunately, no camera with a telephoto.

      Delete
  2. That is great to get fresh sushi up there! Such a treat. I guess there is enough business up there?

    Yep. It looks like winter is nearing Barrow. :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is enough business to have ten restaurants up here. But in my opinion, there are only a couple of really decent ones and the Japanese restaurant is one of them.

      Dense fog again this morning. The Coast Guard ice breaker Healy is offshore now switching out researchers so things seem hectic.

      Delete
  3. I guess I never thought of a Japanese restaurant up there. I never thought there was much at all but barren landscapes and research buildings. And some locals, of course.

    How interesting. Much Russian influence?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think the year around population is about 4,000 people. Two to three commercial 737 flights per day plus oil company employee charters. On my flight up there wasn't a single empty seat. Lots of tourists mostly coming up for the day on tours to say they've been to Barrow. I'm not really sure how they spend the day but most of the tourists arrive around 10:30am and leave on the 8:30pm flight.

      So far, zero scooters spotted but hydroponic farming and raising chickens is catching on with some...

      Delete
    2. Very little Russian influence this far north. Though I'm told that a Russian passenger ship stopped by a couple of years ago on their way through the developing northwest passage. Another way to go around the world.

      Delete
  4. Crazy weather. I'm thrown off by the seasons here. It has been summer sense February it seems. Everyone here is fearing a cruel winter. We'll see. Is it typical for Barrow's weather to fluctuate like that at this time of year?
    ~k

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, if it's clear and not windy, it feels warm. But wind from the north is cold. Add in fog or rain and it feels really cold and miserable.

      The weather mystics up here are predicting a really harsh winter.

      Delete
  5. Sounds like your weather really changes during the day when up there. How long before you see the first snowflakes in Barrow?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Probably within the next couple of weeks. But snow is hopefully at least three to four weeks away in Fairbanks.

      Delete