Life in Barrow, Alaska

With the end of our field campaign rapidly approaching, I figured it was a good time to show everyone a bit of what it has been like living in Barrow for the past month and a half. I've been staying in a duplex funded by the Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility on the grounds of the former Naval Arctic Research Laboratory (NARL).

The ARM Duplex on a snowy September day.

It doesn't look like much from the outside, but inside the duplex are all the comforts you'd need. It has been a great place to stay for the past weeks! If it wasn't for snow in August, you'd almost forget you are above the Arctic Circle. 

Here is our kitchen, complete with a stove and microwave.

The living room, a good place to take a break from work and catch NFL Monday Afternoon Football or an 8 am Michigan football game. Thanks Alaska time zone!

The duplex has six bedrooms, most with a similar set-up to this.

If you don't feel like cooking while in Barrow, the town has a handful of restaurants. With so few places to eat, all of their menus seem to contain just about everything. Below is a picture of a meal we ordered at a local pizza place.

A pizza, chinese food, and a fish sandwich. One of the strangest combination of meals I've ever seen ordered from the same place.

Unfortunately, things were not always smooth throughout the trip. While getting ready to leave the lab one day, we noticed that our car had a flat tire! We were slightly out of the area that AAA will service, so we had to take care of it ourselves. Tate made sure to snap a picture while I was lowering the jack.

Using all of those handy skills I was taught. Thanks Dad! 

It's been a great field campaign so far up in Barrow! Hopefully it continues to go well for the final stretch!

Bonus picture: I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the end of summer. Happy Fall everyone!

There aren't any trees in Barrow to steal twigs from, so I had to get creative for the arms.