Home Sweet Nome

Nome and the surrounding countryside surpassed Bucky and my expectations.  For me, it was the realization that Nome is not flat and not all tundra, but instead has rolling hills and mountains with snow.  Traveling to Nome from Anchorage is a quick 1 1/4 hour flight with a stop in Kotzebue, putting one above the Arctic Circle.  But, alas, we were nonstop, so I'm not sure if we passed above the Arctic Circle or not.  That still might be a box left to check off.  We quickly picked up our rental vehicle from the Aurora Hotel, one of the fancier buildings in Nome.  Our Jeep Liberty turned into a Toyota Tundra which later proved to be fortuitous.  We began with a trip through town on Front Street heading to the mouth of the Nome River where we found a few fisherman and some locals playing in the river.  Gold miners were busily dredging the sand of the ocean floor offshore.  Along the roadside were the remains of dredges and equipment used during the Gold Rush.  Nome is all about the Gold Rush.

Looking along Front Street, Bucky scans for refreshments, while entertained by a sidewalk musician. 

More refreshments

The mouth of the Nome River

Old dredge

Nome has three roads heading north from town, each being about 70 miles one way.  If you think of it as a capital W, with Nome at the base and south, Teller Road is to the west, Kougarok Road is in the center and Council Highway is to the east. It was our plan to travel all three of these roads before leaving Nome, so we wasted no time in starting.  Bucky made phone connections with Chris, a friend of a friend of a friend of Carlisle's who turned out to be a wonderful resource and exemplified the hospitality we found to exist throughout our stay.  After leaving Nome, we seldom saw people and spent hours looking at wildlife, discovering mine sites and watching spawned out salmon make their final journey.  There seemed to be something around every corner bringing us to a halt, making each 70 mile trip even longer.

Nome, like all of Alaska is really about the sea.  Could I see Russia?  "You betcha" !

We started on the Kougarak Road, with the Nome River flowing along beside us. 

Pink Salmon or Humpy

Well kept cabins along the Kougarok Road, but no people to be seen

Camping on Salmon Lake, half way to Kougarok

The Hobitat

After a rainy night by Salmon Lake, we left the tent set up, hoping it would dry while we headed to Pilgrim Hot Springs.  We had learned that this spot, once owned by the Catholic Church, had been the site of an orphanage for children who lost their parents during the flu epidemic of 1917.  The road required 4 wheel drive and we saw no tire tracks in the wet mud, so we were fairly certain we would be alone.  Once again, Bucky and I felt like we were either on a movie set or about to become characters in a Steven King novel.  We decided that the either was OK because the water felt soooo good despite the cold drizzle or maybe better because of it.

                   It didn't look like much

 

Should we mysteriously disappear

Soaking in the shadow of the cross

The Lord will provide

The orphanage dormitory

And it was too soon over