Nome, AK

   

This was on the Main Street of Nome!

We arrived in Nome around 9 am. We had a complimentary community visit at 10:30 so did not have to rush to get off the ship. It was a beautiful day, full sunshine. Apparently it had been pouring rain in this port during last year's cruise. We took the tender ashore and boarded a school bus, the only means of transportation they had to offer us. Our first stop was to pan for gold. They had gravel, water buckets and pans set up on tables for us. One pan had dried gravel in it so I put it in the sun and there was a fleck of gold shining back at me. I found 2 more tiny pieces then headed to the beach across the street. The guide has said they find a lot of sea glass there. We had 2 guides, one was a student home for the summer. She went with me. She was much better at spotting the glass but we both collected a fair amount. She told me that it is more plentiful further down the beach and that she has found pieces of floral porcelain and even flatware. It is where the city dump used to be. Back at the panning station, I think everyone found a bit of gold. They were prepared with tape and postcards to tape the tiny pieces on. I can see why it might be an enticing thing to do especially considering the current high price of gold. 

Our next stop was the Bering Land Bridge National Park Visitor Center in town. Across the street was the largest shop in Nome so we went there after the center. They had a lot of wonderful native carvings. We bought one then went to look at the end sign for the Iditarod race which runs from Anchorage to Nome. 

We went outside of town a bit to see a musher and his dogs. He and his wife live way out of town but had brought their dogs in to show us. He hooked them up to an atv to show them in action. The musher has done the Iditarod 4 times....a thousand miles by dog sled!!!

The bus then took us to a new Museum / Cultural Center. We were dropped off there since there was a regular shuttle that would take us back into town after. They had some nice artifacts and showed some historical pictures of Nome. At the height of the gold rush the streets were packed with people! In the meeting room some ladies had foods to taste. I decided to try everything just to be able to say I had. The whale blubber and skin was pretty awful. The skin was impossible to chew. I spit that out. The seal was ok, but I was glad that it was a tiny piece. There was some other type of meat or fish that was pretty awful also. The tea leaves were interesting as was the plant that grows on the beach in the surf. I got to the seal intestine and decided I really did not need to try that one. YUCK!!!!! Fortunately they had crackers and jam to wash the horrible taste out of my mouth. It was an experience. 

                                Eating Crab

We got on the shuttle back into town. Their Berry Festival was going on in the town square. There were a number of tables set up selling local goods. There were a lot of crocheted item, small items made of seal fur, a few carvings and prints. I bought some beautiful woodcut note cards. The most popular table was run by a local commercial fishery. They were giving out sushi, chowder and crab, all free!!! There was also music playing. I think the entire town was there. The weather was so beautiful, it was a fun occasion. I was disappointed that I did not find any berry items like cobbler or something. There was some jam, but only chocolate cake as far as dessert items. We went in search of something berry. The cafe had sold out already and the tiny restaurant was full so wouldn't even talk to me. We gave up and headed back to the store where we had been earlier. 

This time we had more time to really look. One of the women had brought in a pan of berry cobbler so I had my berries! It was pretty good. She had under cooked it so was serving only the edges. The berries were in the middle. We spent quite a bit of time looking at all the carvings. I actually found one similar to the one I'd bought in the morning that I liked better so they allowed me to exchange it. We bought a couple of other small pieces also. We then headed back to the ship via shuttle, then tender. 

We had missed lunch so had a snack in the Bistro, a small cafe n the ship where they serve cheese, fresh fruit and desserts all day long. Their pineapple is delicious. I wonder if it will be available during the entire cruise. We are quite a ways away from any supplies! We had just 20 minutes to drop our bags in our cabin, eat, then meet for our next excursion. We were in the Stardust Lounge right on time at 4 pm. 

             

Once again we boarded a school bus. We had 2 female guides, one a transplant who had moved to AK many years ago. The other a native who lives in a tiny village 100 miles from Nome. They had great information for us about living in the area and had also brought a lot of items to share with us like various furs and even a musk ox skull. The transplant said she and her husband were out snowboarding when they came across a dead musk ox. She wanted the skull so in spite of numerous bear tracks in the vicinity, she set about cutting it from the body with a pocket knife, the only utensil she had with her. Her husband kept watch for bears. Kind of a crazy story! The musk ox horns sell to carvers for $500+. She had had a skull but it was stollen off her porch. She was determined to have another one! She sent it somewhere that has beetle colonies to eat the flesh off. It was perfectly clean. 

We came upon a few musk oxen in an abandoned quarry. We got out of the bus to take pictures but as soon as we drew close, they left. We were fairly close in the beginning though, so were able to get a couple of pictures. From there we went where we saw a few off in a field. It was a pretty stark landscape, all tundra. Next we stopped by a river where we saw dead fish! It is past spawning season for the salmon so we saw the remnants, a number of them dead in the water after laying their eggs. Dead fish was not on my list of wildlife I would like to have seen. I think they over sold the excursion. Ourlast stop was to pick blueberries and wild cranberries! Again, while I thoroughly enjoyed the wild berries, it was not what I would consider wildlife. We returned to the pier to go back to the ship. Most of the day I had removed my jacket and just worn a sweatshirt, beautiful day. 

We were late for dinner so went to a small restaurant called Tastes. We were surprised to discover that the lido here is not open for dinner. Tastes has an international menu with small portions so you can try more than one item. We ordered an arugula goat cheese salad, ahi tuna poke, roasted cauliflower, gambas a la plancha (prawns) and chimmichuri steak. Everything was delicious, we will certainly be eating there again!!! It was a very busy but enjoyable day in Nome. Now we have 5 days at sea to recover!!!