Saturday afternoon and evening turned out to be a beautiful day. There were a lot of people running around enjoying the windless, sunny day. Still a little cool at 43°F so most of the picnics were around bonfires on the beach. Since trees are non-existent around here, the most common source of firewood are shipping pallets. And around here, old pallets are everywhere.
I had originally stopped here to look at the jumbled ice that the winds had blown into shore and that’s when I noticed all of the bonfires further down on the beach. There are large gravel berms along the side of the road between the road and the beach to try and protect the road from storm surges. Not sure how effective that strategy is since they seem to be rebuilding them continuously. Anyway, the berms do a pretty good job of separating the beach from the road.
I'm writing this while sitting in the airport waiting for my flight to Fairbanks. Lots of fog this morning but not enough to prevent the flight from coming in.
Are there fishing groups that go out from Barrow, or are all supplies shipped in (meaning, do their beach picnics involve crab pots, or are they all cold cut sandwiches)?
ReplyDeleteI think there is some subsistence fishing but in general, almost everything is shipped in. Whale is still a major protein source for the indigenous population. At the bonfires you'll more likely see burgers, hot dogs, etc.
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