We walked on water. The Arctic Ocean is still frozen at the coast here at Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) though this section thaws every summer.

This community and area is unique and wonderful. The majority of the population is Inupiat with a deep tradition of whaling and of demanding their self-determination as a people and community.

The remaining population is very diverse. We had conversations with Samoan-Americans, Thai-Americans, and Korean-Americans. All were first or second generation Americans. White residents are definitely in the minority. (If we European-Americans hadn’t killed so much of the native population, perhaps all of the U.S. would feel this way.) It is not a happy-ever-after melting pot, but there is something here that I respect. It is also cold and remote and I wouldn’t want to live here. What does that say….

There were lots of us tourists, mostly white, many birders. The city is filled with bird song of gregarious Snow Buntings. And without going on a birding tour we were able to see elegant Pacific Loons, huge Glaucous Gulls, paddling Red Phalaropes, predatory Pomarine Jaeger and more.

So much more to relate, including polar bears!