Based on the recommendation of several others, I went to the restaurant at the recently opened
Top of the World hotel on my last morning in Barrow. I was told that the food was pretty good though a bit pricy and my first question was "good for Barrow or good". The response was decent for anywhere. On the outside it looked like a plain building with steel siding but the inside wasn't too bad. Others described it as very Marriot-like for lack of a better adjective. This is the main entry with the front desk just on the other side of the glass doors and the restaurant just beyond that.
This is the view from the restaurant and this was the side that I had seen when driving by. It still looked like construction was going on and I really couldn't tell that it was even open for business. During construction, I had always heard it referred to as the ASRC (Arctic Slope Regional Corp.) hotel and didn't realize that they are using the name of a hotel that suffered a lot of smoke damage last year when the adjoining restaurant caught fire. Breakfast was pretty good and the prices weren't that out of line for Barrow. $15 for breakfast and maybe double that for dinner. I'd go back.
This is the view from their lobby windows. Not too nice but then again it's still "mud season" around here and their parking lot still looks like a construction zone with stacks of materials, shipping containers and heavy machinery. But then again, that kind of describes many other locations in Barrow. This is looking towards the city center and the expanse of white is a frozen salt water body of water.
While waiting for a ride to the airport, I noticed this sign with whale bones and thought that this is one of the other places tour groups stop to take photos.
This is the ocean just beyond the sign. There is a lot of melt water on top of the ice. The weather was on the foggy side but it wasn't any problem for the Alaska Airlines crew. Someone at the tower had commented earlier that you can always tell if the flight crew was from the lower-48. They generally choose not to land in marginal flight conditions i.e. at or just above minimums.
These last three pictures were taken out at NARL across the street from the Umiaq Barrow Operations Building.
Bet you're glad to be back in Fairbanks! And that's even if there was no 2012 URAL to go and test drive.....
ReplyDeleteYep, glad to be back in Fairbanks. The weather is about the same, overcast and rain. But at least there isn't any snow!
DeleteAnd he didn't even mention my new Ural! Well, Richard went and talked to the man who owns it. It isn't ready for Richard to look at. We have to wait until Friday. That means he may not purchase it until Monday! Well, I really should be finishing my paper. 10 more days.......
ReplyDeleteI'm not very good at names. My car is Gadget because it is so electric. My van was the Golden Spaceship.
I can't believe he didn't post anything about the Ural. Just about the restaurant in Barrow. I guess that could be interesting. Especially the view out the window. That's about the best it gets up there. Fairbanks is pretty. It is nice to have Richard back. He was gone too long this last trip.
I think an unwritten rule of blogging is that if there aren't any pictures it didn't happen...
DeleteRichard;
DeleteI think Bridget is more excited about YOUR new URAL than you. And Awwwww . . . you were missed
can't wait to see photos of Your new Ural. Now we know the scoop
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
There is no "scoop". I still haven't seen let alone driven the Ural so at this point, there is no new Ural.
DeleteA fifteen dollar fresh air sandwich then.
ReplyDeleteThat would be about right...
DeleteSo does Barrow only have two seasons? Mud and frozen snow?
ReplyDeleteKind of like Oregon - we have 'rain' and 'holy cow it's hot and dry I wish it would rain'.
There is a Summer but it is still a couple of weeks away. This is when the flowers and mosquitos come out and then it snows again come August. So maybe a month of Summer.
DeleteRichard:
ReplyDeleteI really wanted to see photos of the new Top of The World Hotel to see what it was like. We are spoiled here in the city with cheap breakfasts due to competition. In small towns it is more like $10-12. so I suppose $15. for Barrow looks reasonable
We have two seasons here too. Rain or Not raining. Sometimes the sun comes out
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
I had posted a picture of the outside of the hotel last October LINK during construction. It hasn't changed much. At Ilisagvik College, breakfast is still a very reasonable $7 for all you can eat. Lunch and dinner at the college is $15 so you can still eat too much fatty food for less than the per diem amount.
DeleteRichard:
Deletelooks more like a Hotel constructed with shipping containers, I guess because of your long harsh cold winters.
$7. ?? AYCE ? sounds good, better than here. Wished I had a per diem...
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
That's why I was surprised when others told me that it was really pretty nice inside. Not at all what I expected.
DeleteYes $7 for breakfast is a bargain. Usually french toast, eggs with and without veggies, hash browns, toast, oatmeal, cereal, fruit, some sort of meat, biscuits and gravy, coffee, etc. More food than anyone needs that early in the morning.
Phew... Barrow looks like kind of an intense town. Are the folks there instantly your best friend in that long-haul-trucker sort of way - or are they clannish?
ReplyDeleteNo, not very intense. Pretty laid back. Most folks are pretty friendly. Some seem to harbor resentment for outsiders but they are in the minority.
DeleteI've always expected Barrow is an interesting place to visit and a bit further north than I'll most likely ever get. Thanks for sharing another one of your visits 'up'!
ReplyDeleteWhen will you first ride that new Ural??
Barrow is an interesting place to visit and I've always enjoyed my visits. Glad to share…
DeleteHaven't even seen the Ural yet let alone bought it. Maybe Friday or Saturday.