Quokka

I've been to Nome a bunch of times -- love the place. It's different, quirky, has bars (unlike most of the arctic), the people are friendly, and visiting can be a lot of fun, if the place is approached with the right mindset.

Remember:

There's no place like Nome! Nome is where the heart is. All roads lead to Nome. When in Nome, do as the Nomans do.

The Aurora is far superior in that it's not an absolutely miserable dump like the Nugget Inn.

Some suggestions:

- Contact Nancy and Dianna at the Nome Nugget (the newspaper not inn). It's Alaska's oldest newspaper and is "published daily except Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday". I'd imagine they might want to write about / shoot photos of the DO.

- The paper puts its issues online in their entirety as PDF files. Look through it to get ideas about people DO'ers might want to meet and adverts for interesting businesses.

- Contact the Nome Convention and Visitors Bureau at (907) 443-6555 for ideas and assistance. While they are supposed to remain neutral and not recommend one business over another, they do have info and contacts that are useful. They'd even be able to invite the mayor or other notables to the BBQ. Or maybe even arrange music to be played over the loudspeakers along the main drag, so you can parade or dance in the street as people seem to like to do there.

fti

With all due respect, I found the El Dorado Gold Mine tour an absolute tourist trap to the Nth degree. They hole you up for half of the "tour" time in their gift shop while all the women buy jewelry to put their new-found gold in. No way back to the entrance except for their "train." I tried to walk back (a very short walk) and was shooed back to the train. If there ever were a next time (there won't be) I would say I am walking back and if they didn't like it, call the police.

Seriously, if someone is really interested in goldpanning, find another more authentic place to do it.

BOB W

^^

jackal

November planning and wine consumption meeting at Casa de BOB W completed...stay tuned for some further developments over the next day or so.

monitor

Something substantial coming out of a meeting at BOB W's???????

Rather unlikely since even if the discussion did have substance, it would have been completely forgotten by the time that the next morning's wine hazes had cleared.

jackal

If you doubt me, check out posts # 2 and 3. Revised info has been posted. (I'll wait to send out reminder PMs until I have a couple more ducks in a row.)

That said, we (four people) did manage to consume 2 bottles of Windsor '08 Carignane and 2 bottles of Windsor '07 Sangiovese before the night was over.

Sweet Willie

Having just had dinner with jackal & beckoa, I'm really sorry now I'm not going to make this. Great guys! this will be a fun Do for sure !!

paranoiatx

I've done the whole midnight sun thing over in Norway, so it might be fun to see this Alaska-style. Put me down as tentative as I ponder next year's travel plans.

lili

Weather? Much diff between Nome and ANC? About 50 degrees night and day in June? I wanna wear my new fur vest and Teva knee-high fur-lined boots. They don't play well here in SoCal. (What was I thinking?) I need snow.

Mosquitos? How big are they?

jackal

June weather'll likely be:
Anchorage: highs in the low-to-mid 60s, lows in the 50s
Fairbanks: highs in the upper 60s to low 70s, lows in the 50s
Nome: highs in the 50s, lows in the 40s

Mosquitos shouldn't be a huge problem in the cities. I only put mosquito repellent on when going out hiking or occasionally when mowing the lawn (though even then, I don't think I put any on last year when mowing the lawn). When I lived in Fairbanks, I recall putting some on when I worked outdoors at night (they tend to be a bit more active at dawn and dusk, which--at that time of the year--is about 11pm to 1am) but not when going around the city to run errands or walk around downtown.

I wouldn't imagine the bugs to be a problem in Nome itself (hotel, airport, restaurants, etc.), but when we leave the city for our scenic TBD drive, there's a definite possibility the bugs will be bad. alphaeagle can corroborate my statement that bugs in rural Alaska are not for the faint of heart. That said, we encountered bad mosquitoes only in smaller villages; we had no problems walking around the comparatively larger city of Barrow (which is a similar size to Nome). That said, here's some photographic evidence of the bugs at the airport in Nuiqsut (yes, that's a mosquito in the upper-right corner, not an out-of-focus airplane) and on the outside of our tent in Wainwright:




So, if you plan on getting out of the van to take pictures of wildlife or scenery in Nome, I'd suggest some nice, strong bug stuff with DEET.

lili

Thanks for the quick response. Bringing the Muskol, 99% DEET but you only need a little bit. Hah. I'm remembering an annoying place outside Seward....

Why is such a beautiful, pristine place so full of insects? Perhaps lack of air pollution like SoCal? so they thrive? Or is it because they have such a short season to live they must multiply rapidly and in swarms? Nevermind, I'm bringing the DEET despite it's deadly qualities and as long as they stay out of my eyes and mouth I will not complain.

jackal

I hold out hope that on some particularly cold winter, all of the mosquito eggs will completely freeze and they'll all die. Not looking likely right now, though.

I think it has to do with food for the mosquitoes. That's likely why you don't really have a mosquito problem inside large cities or even smaller towns in Alaska but you do out in the wilderness or in small villages--mosquitoes do well with open land and not as well with lots of human development. In the Lower 48, there's not enough open land to provide the mosquitoes with enough food to sustain them (whatever they eat, whether it's moose blood or whatever). Up here, with so much open space and lots of wildlife, they can thrive.

And yes, that 99% DEET stuff is awesome. It'll make your lips go numb, but it works wonders.

Oh, and a slight breeze does wonders to help with the bugs. Anything more than about 10mph and the mosquitoes either can't fly in it or your scent is blown so far they can't track you. Either way, a breezy day is a good day in my book. (Jogging into the wind at >10mph helps, too, as alphaeagle can attest, too...)

lili

Thinking this over, we have many mosquitoes here in San Diego, I've seen wigglers breeding in kiddie wading pools, the guest room toilet that hasn't been used in a while, the neighbor's pond, and they are always mentioning water stagnating in those piles of old tires in your yard (hey, it's the country) and we (used to) have a flat roof designed to hold an inch of water. The County of San Diego actually gives out free mosquito fish for your pond to keep down the insects. Aerated ponds and fountains don't seem to have an issue. Damn, some days I wish DDT were still available.

Our mosquitos are small and nasty, but I've heard Alaska has bird-size bugs that fly in like a Triple-7. Wrong, I hope.

DEET: don't know about numbing the lips, but do know 3 weeks of application to ankles and wrists can cause redness, swelling, and a weird greasiness of the extremities and eventual vomiting and diarrhea. Poisoning to be exact. Recovery time about two weeks. Not doing that again, although the trip to India was otherwise spectacular. Use with caution and extreme moderation. Assume malaria is not a problem in Alaska, just annoyance with the bites.

How about bears? Did you ever have an opportunity to test that Bear Spray you had in Seward? They won't be hibernating in June, will they?

Crocs? Oh, sorry, that's another thread in another country. I hope.

jackal

Not a 777; maybe a Cessna, though.

I put mosquito stuff on my face, contrary to the instructions on every bottle. The bit that gets on my lips does cause slight numbness. That's how I know. Never had an issue with it on any other areas of my skin, but I usually just put it on my arms and wear long jeans to cover the rest of any exposed skin. (I do seem to recall an old T-shirt getting holes in it from the 99% DEET stuff, though.)

Maybe Bob had better pack some protection for our trip!

I don't carry, but a lot of Alaskans I know do.

In all seriousness, the only bear I've ever encountered was the one I, er, shot--with your camera in Denali. They're absolutely 0 problem in the cities (I've found bear scat on my lawn twice in the 16 years I've lived here, but that's it). One could conceivably run across some of the wilder wildlife out in rural Alaska, but we'll be a large group hanging together--more than enough to scare anything that approaches away. The locals do have some instinctual knowledge about bear safety, so we'll be keeping the rest of you cheechakos safe.

BOB W

Please do not denigrate the Alaska State Bird!!!! They are highly reverred for their ability to suck a small dog completely dry within seconds, are extremely fierce and, once they latch onto something, they never give up. Hitting one with your hand will only hurt your hand and make them very angry. You DO NOT want to make them angry. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!

We also have the worlds largest concentration of Bald Eagles living in Alaska. They have become fairly common in ANC.

There is a high probability (not guaranteed) that we will see bears on our day trip to Council or Teller. Although, as a true Alaskan, I am required to have the appropriate number of fire arms ( ), it is doubtful that I will bring any with me. We will simply choose a volunteer to go pet the bear, while the rest take pictures.