The Journey to Barrow (a vacation summary)

Well, we made it to Barrow, Alaska! As I sit and bang away on my Mac Book, please be assured that they are emanating from above the Arctic Circle. Before I begin be sure to take a moment and post a comment below as we would be happy to answer questions or share in your thoughts.

The Journey to Barrow (a vacation summary)

Our first destination was The Mall of America in Minneapolis St Paul. At first I thought it would just be a fun way to spend a few hours; however it stretched into four days of extended shopping and finding ways to ditch our two sons who proved to be quite annoying at times. I know you’re saying to yourself, “NO WAY! Not teenagers! Something must be wrong with your brain!” And in thinking that you would be only partially correct. Seriously, traveling with teenagers should be added as an extra circle in Dante Alighieri’s epic vision of hell. If you will please visualize us crawling… bloody fingernails stripped and bloody to the bone crawling and praying for respite but it never comes... That is how it was; however Dante’s vision might have been more tolerable. But I digress. If you ever have a chance to visit the Mall of America please give it a go; however count on a few days as opposed to a few hours. My favorite purchase was my very first pair of Doc Martin’s ever- a pair of shoes that even a geek (I wear that moniker proudly) like me can feel cool in. Karen was jazzed about her boots as well. The thing we both loved was walking around hand-in-hand and strolling through stores.

After Minneapolis we loaded up the car and the van and made the 14-hour drive to Billings, Montana. The only tourist type venture that we were able to muster on the trip was a series of photos from Painted Canyon, Montana; however this great state sure is fun to view in any case. We pulled into our motel around 1:00 AM and crashed. The next morning we hit the LAST Cracker Barrel that we would see until Christmas and headed for Seattle.

We spent the day driving through the most amazing mountains that you could ever imagine. I wanted to just stop and take it all in however our time schedule would not permit it. The Montana-Idaho boarder rang like a stunning symphony in the eyes. I thought to myself that it must be wonderful to see this every day. It was mountains and forest redefined completely for me. Some place just after the Washington State border everything changed to a gray and desolate soil, flat with occasional patches of ponds. The sun was going down and the sky was so large on the horizon that it unsettled me just a little bit. Gunner was in charge of the music in the van so I asked him to keep it upbeat. No sooner did I say that, he played “Head Over Heals” by Tears for Fears, which is mine and Karen’s song so all was well. We continued on to another mountain range in the rising dark with whips of light still whistling through the mostly cloudy west coast evening creating swaths of red, purple, mauve, pink, and orange all giving away to midnights blue. NOTE: If you are getting tired of my overly detailed descriptions please comment below and I will take it to heart. Until then I will stay in pseudo poetry mode.

Our first full day in Seattle found us on the way to Portland, Oregon, in order to shop at the open market, visit Powell’s Books, and load up at Voodoo Donuts. This was simply a great trip. Karen and I were in the same car (we had to drive two cars up until this point) and we could visit while Gunner and Satchel slept. Portland is just a great, fun, weird place to visit. They have a weekend market where you can find just about anything. I purchased Karen a clever face disguise made of old forks and knifes (see picture). We spent three hours talking to the kind people of Portland and sampling local jellies (my favorite thing to do). We then set off to Powell’s books which essentially a well-organized book warehouse. Karen and I were able to find books on Eskimo mythology for some insight into the culture. We finished the day at a place Called Voodoo Donuts, which is considered to be the best donuts in the world. Open 24 hours a day and 365 days a year you will always find a line around the block waiting to fill-up on these wonderfully, bad-for-you charms of fried bread. 

With our feet sore and stomachs full we made the 2.5-hour drive back to the Red Roof Inn by the Seattle Airport. We watched “Saturday Night Live” and crashed. The next day we went to downtown Seattle and the Pike Place market. The main attraction there besides the arts, crafts, and food is the original Starbucks Coffee House (see pictures). For Karen, I am sure that this was more of a spiritual event as opposed to a tourist experience as she loves Starbucks in a frightening way. We made sure that she had a shirt, mug, and an iced coffee to go with the pictures of her trip to the Coffee Holy Land. During our family time it was revealed by all that Pike Place was the favorite spot to visit of all. I dissented and chose The Mall of America as my favorite because of the AMAZING shoe shopping… Oh they had great Sushi as well!

We began the next (from Seattle) leg of our journey by heading into Canada, Prince George to be exact. Because we shortened our trip time we found ourselves driving anywhere from 12 to 15 hours a day. We arrived in Prince George at 8:00 PM after a 15-hour stint on the road. Karen went on and secured our hotel while Gunner and I went to secure some Subways Sandwiches. Which reminds me, did you know that you could get egg salad submarine sandwiches in Canada? I mean, wow, you had better have a single payer healthcare system if you go around eating white bread loaded with that much mayonnaise and egg product! I asked if it was popular in Canada and they all said “Ooooo-Ya! We love it here, eh!” One thing I took to mind was the lack of smiles in at least this part of Canada (it got worse the closer we got to the Alaska Border)! Maybe they are just really calm. The road found us early the next morning with stops in Dease Lake and Whitehorse in the Yukon. Be mindful that you can only use the restroom in Canada if you buy something and gas does not count! So always keep in mind to time your bowel and bladder urgencies with your desire for overpriced salty snacks and soda. With that said the shop owners would still be cranky with you. I tried being extra nice to them and a few times they started to warm up only to think to themselves, “Hey, why am I being nice?” They would then snap back into their own cranky modes. Over all I found it cute as well as prime fodder for making the family laugh during hotel times. On a non-related subject please note that McDonalds restaurants in Canada have great breakfast muffins of all flavors even bran, which at 47 years old I have grown to appreciate.

We arrived at the Alaska border with our hopes set on Anchorage. Interestingly enough the XM satellite radio died soon after we crossed back into the United States. The next six hours were another sky show with glaciers, mountains, and scenic views. If you are ever able, you really must drive the Alaska Highway particularly if you are not the one behind the wheel. We ate dinner at a small family restaurant, you know the kind the one where you walk in and they look at you like “How dare you eat here! Townies only, friend.” The walls and doors were tagged with all the things they forbid at the restaurant... Things like “Do not stand here or you must ask for condiments.” (Lol- extra charge). I think I even saw a “God Bless Jefferson Davis” sign; however, I digress. “Now that will be $80.00 for four burgers, fries, and cokes and do not let the door hit you on the way out.” I would Yelp them if I could only remember their name.

When we entered Anchorage it was like a light at the end of a never-ending tunnel as we were getting tired of the long drives. We crashed at a HoJo’s in downtown Anchorage and sought out the nearest Starbucks in order to relax and eat a bit. After a day of shopping for food and other sundry items we were fortunate enough to spend the day with Karen’s cousin and his wonderful family. David is the only relative that she tends to glow about, so in a way it was like meeting a legend. David’s wife, Linda, and their children, Kyle and Kaitlin walked us around the Anchorage Open Market and helped us on the road to becoming real Alaskan citizens. That evening they treated us to dinner and we finished the day by watching Spider Man on the Imax screen.

With our luggage and cooler packed with food and our cat Flora (stalker cat) we left for Barrow early Monday morning. Flora was allowed to ride with us as carry-on baggage so we were all more concerned about our kitty than gawking out of the window. Stay tuned, as our next blog will be all about arriving in and living in Barrow, Alaska.

Things That Kept Us Sane:

XM Satellite Radio

Starbucks Iced Coffee

Our cat, Flora

Any and all products created by the Apple Corporation

Sugar Free Jelly Bellies

Sugar Free Oreos (thank you Anderson family)

Bad Canadian TV

Bad American TV

Bad TV’s

The entire city of Portland, Oregon

Voodoo Donuts

A place to hang our hat (regardless of its cleanliness…)

Sugar-free chocolate covered cherries

Fresh cherries from Portland and Seattle

Bands on Our Travel Play List

Cowboy Junkies

Muse

Pink Floyd

The Rainmakers

Steely Dan

Kanye West

Johnny Cash

Buck Owens

Namoli Brennet

Ash

Spitfire

Between the Buried & Me

Bob Walkenhorst

Enya

Beastie Boys

BoB

Neil Young

Cold Play

Super Tramp

Things That Nearly Drove Us Over the Edge (Never to Return)

Karen’s inability to drive the speed limit or even slightly above.

Sharing a hotel bathroom the entire time with four people

The boys sleeping habits (they stay up WAY to late)

The sad faced nation of Canada (cheer up guys you are cool in my book)

Bank of America… I am pretty sure that you all know.

Hotel rooms that were dirty before we ever arrived (ICK!)

My inability to understand mile markers and how they work

Converting kilometers per hour to miles per hour before anyone noticed

Boxing Up Your Life

Our goal for the month of June is to decide what to do with all of our possessions that we have accumulated over the past 25 years. The feeling has one of both happiness and sadness in that some small piece of paper might remind you of news that you would have rather not received or a note from a friend with whom you are no longer close. In many ways you relive your life as you pull long lost and forgotten tokens, trinkets and sundry items from tubs marked Baby Clothes/Hannah, or Art Work/Gunner. By the third child (Satchel) Karen had it down to a science (ever her way) to the point that if a comet were to strike, archeologists could easily study our family history. What would they take from these future discoveries rooted in our past? The one they call “Karen” loves precious moment figurines and managed to save her favorite papers from middle school through master’s degrees. Hannah had an affinity for horses and the color pink. According to the photo data it could be inferred that Hannah was celebrated amongst one set of grandparents above all others and was more than a little spoiled (if that is even possible). The tubs marked Satchel reflect a complex mix of a child who enjoyed everything from playing musical instruments to playing with action figures. He enjoyed reading and the occasional attempt at playing sports. Gunner’s tubs would reflect of an eclectic mix of coin collector, amateur novel writer, World War II historian, and music nerd. I am sure that my tubs would reflect the confused pack rat that I am now and have always been. In a scary way the tubs are whom we have been which makes me think what will our (you readers included) tubs look like in another 25 years? Will they keep the older tubs in mind when we reflect on the things that we should have tossed out long ago or will we hide them away always an unseen part of ourselves? Will we create new tubs that reflect how we changed for the better? Will new friends stay around long enough to be old friends? Will we be the type of people worth having a place in the tubs of others? Will we keep the junk out our tubs (lol my tubs were loaded with total garbage that have no real meaning to me) and only focus on that which is meaningful? 

A future with better tubs is what I really want to have. Tubs more like my teacher tubs that are full of pictures, gifts, cards and notes from 15 years of serving my wonderful families. Maybe we are all at our best when we are doing that for which we are created (if you believe in that sort of thing).

For now the tub junk has been shuttled away by our good friends at Deffenbaugh Trash Service. Karen combined the best of her items and mine as well and that is the way it should be as together I believe we are both at our most wonderful. We tried to hold on only to items that created a positive memory or energy. We asked the boys to do the same as well. All the tubs are now safe in storage ready for the time that they can be gathered up and given to the kids. One day Karen and I will have a house again and we will unpack all of that wonder bought by time with value gained through thought and decorate that place we make our home, from the doll that our daughter loved, the action figures that each boy would swear was his own, and the All-State Band Award that Karen won during her Senior year. Each “meaningless” object tied to a thought, feeling, date, or action that sparked other actions.

Lol… What was this blog post about? I forget.

What we understand about Barrow...

Though "all roads lead to Rome" none lead to Barrow unless you are an ice road trucker. We will be driving to our new home until we reach Anchorage. Once we arrive there we will fly to Barrow.

There are so many interesting facts about Barrow, Alaska. Barrow is the northernmost North American city. It has the largest oil field in the country. It boasts of having one of the largest Eskimo populations in the world and has the coldest climate in Alaska. Barrow is 1300 miles south of the North Pole and approximately 320 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Its land type is tundra which is on permafrost 1300 feet deep. The climate is considered polar: winters can be dangerous with the combination of extreme cold and wind. Our new school district, North Slope Borough School District, sent a wind chill temperature chart to inform us of how quickly flesh may freeze with certain wind speeds and temperatures. Extreme wind chill and white out conditions from blowing snow are common. Approximately 324 days per year there are freezing temperatures with snowfall occurring during any month of the year. The first snow typically falls the first week in October with snow on the ground from then until sometimes late June. The sun sets mid-November for about 65 days creating a polar night and rises again in late January. (Little known is the three hours of twilight during the polar nights.) Ice fog and overcast skies are common during winter months. Bitter cold sets in during January and February with average temperatures of -16 degrees Fahrenheit. By March the sun is up about nine hours. In mid-May the midnight sun appears and remains above the horizon for around 82 days. July's average high temperature is 46 degrees Fahrenheit making it the warmest month of the year. Barrow is surround on three sides by the Arctic Ocean with flat tundra stretching 200 miles to the south. Therefore there are few barriers to reduce wind. Our home in Barrow appears to be within about about a mile of the Chukchi Sea. 

A nearby archaeological site suggests that Eskimo culture may have existed there since 500 AD. Barrow has about 4500 residents most of whom work in the Northern Slope Borough School District, with the Northern Slope Borough, in the private sector, or with oil companies. Leisure activities include swimming, playing racquetball and hockey, ice-skating, roller-skating, lifting weights, wall climbing, and participating in school events. Due to high prices, fresh produce is brought in weekly via plane. Many decide to purchase groceries from Southern Alaska or the lower 48 and have them flown to Barrow. Vehicles and other large items are brought up via barge once per year, boarded in April and delivered in August.

Special events include Piuraagiaqta (The Spring Festival) held in mid-April, Nalukataq (The Blanket Toss Celebration)- held on several days beginning the third week of June to celebrate successful spring whale hunts, Independence Day- celebrated like the lower 48 on July 4th with Eskimo games including the two-foot high kick and ear pull, Whaling- held the second week of October, Qitik Eskimo Games known as Christmas games- held December 26th- January 1st, and New Teacher In-Service and Welcome celebrated in August of each year.

Each spring evidence of Barrow's unique wildlife is abundant: bowhead and beluga whales, ringed and bearded seals, walrus, polar bears, caribou, foxes, and hundreds of bird species including the snowy owl. Barrow is known as "Ukpeagvik," which means 'the place of the snowy owl.' We received a checklist from our new school district of 185 species of birds that we will encounter in Barrow including various types of loons, grebes, albatrosses, shearwaters and petrels, cormorants, ducks, geese, swans, osprey, hawks, eagles, kites, falcons, caracaras, grouse, ptarmigan, prairie-chickens, cranes, plovers, lapwings, sandpipers, jaegers, skuas, gulls, terns, auks, murres, puffins, owls, nightjars, tyrant flycatchers, larks, swallows, swallows, wagtails and pipits, kinglets, wrens, mockingbirds and thrashers, accentors, thrushes, old world warblers and flycatchers, chickadees, shrikes, crows and jays, starlings, wood warblers, tanagers and allies, sparrows, towhees, juncos, blackbirds, orioles, grackles, finches, siskins, and crossbills. We hope to locate each species and take photographs to share.

We will share more as we learn and experience! Quyanaqpak or Thank you! Please visit us again!

Why Barrow?

This month we officially turned in our resignations to the school district for which we have served for many years. Our lives beyond family have been our districts. Our districts have been special and totally irreplaceable because of the students. Our solace in leaving has come in the form letters, emails, and sentiments from students and parents. I hope they realize they are such precious gems and bars of gold. Thank you to everyone for the gifts of love and sentiment.

Barrow? Barrow, Alaska? Why now? My wife Karen and I will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary this June 6th. We met right out of college and knew that we had found our soul mates. Our dream was to travel and experience the world as much as possible. As many of you will attest kids, work, bills, and more schooling will suck you up like a Kansas Twister only to spit you out between 20 and 30 years later with much less hair, much more weight, and the feeling that the last two and one half decades were nothing more that a busy autumn weekend. As Karen and I have both allowed the last few years to run under our feet we began to discuss what we wanted and needed to have a fulfilling future. Our discussions would usually drift back to our desire to explore and serve. Last year (and this year as well) we had many job offers from places like Daytona Beach, a small town in Maryland, a city in New Jersey, and even New York City. These are all wonderful places; however the learning and growing component for us was simply not there. Karen had it in her mind to explore Alaska for a job. I thought she was joking at first; however so much about such a move seemed exactly what we were seeking. What really brought this into focus for us was the need of the children in Barrow, Alaska. Our districts were amazing because of the people whom we served. As teachers, our commitment is to the children that we encounter in any situation and any place. Our new place will now be Barrow, Alaska. It is heartbreaking to leave you all behind; however we have much more growing and learning to do. We invite you to come with us as we begin our next journey.