Order Your 2019 Travel Alaska FREE Official Vacation Planner Now, Digital Download Available. Don't Wait Another Minute.
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/923561
4 4 Western Arctic e communities of Alaska's Arctic are accessible from Fairbanks or Anchorage via jet or small aircra. is is one of Alaska's most diverse regions, filled with cultural opportunities, wildlife and a landscape ranging from coastal plains to mountain ranges. Nome offers a variety of ways to enjoy the Arctic's great outdoors. Accessible by cruise ship and surrounded by tundra, Nome provides access to 350 miles (482 km) of surrounding roads, where visitors can explore the countryside and discover pristine, untouched wilderness. While exploring the Seward Peninsula in the summer's extended daylight hours, you'll have a chance to discover wildflowers, moose, reindeer, caribou, musk ox, birds and seals. Nome offers excellent fishing for salmon, Arctic char and grayling and is known for great seafood, including fresh crab and halibut. In town, the Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum houses 14,000 historical photos and exhibits about Native culture and art and the Gold Rush. At the turn of the century, prospectors sied $3 million in gold from Nome's sandy beaches. Today, visitors can learn how to wield a gold pan, explore abandoned gold dredges and participate in sled dog demonstrations. Visitors also shop for ivory carvings and cras handmade by local Native people. Nome's most exciting annual event is the conclusion of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. e Last Great Race on Earth® is a 1,049-mile (1,688-km) race from Anchorage to Nome. It begins on the first Saturday in March and commemorates efforts to deliver life-saving serum to Nome during a diphtheria epidemic in 1925. St. Lawrence Island lies in the Bering Sea, 200 miles (321 km) west of Nome and 38 miles (61 km) from Russia. e island has been inhabited for several thousand years and its people are descendants of Siberian Yupik people. St. Lawrence has two villages, Gambell and Savoonga, where Native people in both communities still preserve traditional lifestyles. Several archaeological sites near Gambell are on the National Register of Historic Places. Bird watchers from around the world travel to the island in search of Asiatic species rarely found in North America. As a special treat to visitors, the mountains of Russia are visible on clear days. Located 26 miles (42 km) above the Arctic Circle, Kotzebue is one of Alaska's largest and oldest Iñupiat villages. As in many villages, Alaska Natives practice traditional subsistence activities as well as use modern technology. During the summer, this Arctic village receives 36 days of continuous daylight. Bird watching is superb this time of year, so bring your binoculars. Millions of migrating birds and waterfowl arrive to nest in the thousands of lakes on the tundra and river deltas. Surrounding national parks offer hiking trails and the Kobuk, Noatak and Selawik rivers are ideal for kayaking and raing. Arctic Coast e Iñupiat community of Utqiagvik (Barrow) is the northernmost settlement in America and one of the largest Iñupiat communities. As the seat of the 88,000-square-mile (227,919-square-km) North Slope Borough, Utqiagvik (Barrow) is also the world's largest municipality. Arctic