Ice Ahead Disappoints, But Nome Delights with Open Arms

Day 13, 2024 Ultimate Alaska

Friday, June 21, 2024; Nome, Alaska.

If there was a sense of disappointment that we didn’t make it to the Arctic Circle, the community of Nome made up for it.

Yesterday our plan was to sail north through the Bering Strait to cross the Arctic Circle on the summer solstice. But fields of ice put an end to that plan. Soon after I woke up, sea ice started to surround us, slowing our speed to barely moving.

We continued on slowly, as the ice came and went, but it became obvious that even if the ice didn’t stop us, we didn’t have time to get to the Arctic Circle and back.

The captain notified us a few days ago that we would not cruise around Little Diomede Island, just 2.3 miles from Russia’s Big Diomede Island, due to recently raised local concerns about a cruise ship’s impact on the environment. While everyone was disappointed in both changes of plans, just the sight of all that ice showed the folly in trying to reach the Arctic Circle.

I’m sure there isn’t “one Alaska,” but if there were, I think it would be Nome. The community of about 3,600 people pulled out all the stops to welcome the Westerdam to this remote town reachable only by air or sea.

We are the first of about a dozen cruise ships that will stop in Nome this summer, but the others are small expedition or research ships carrying up to a couple hundred passengers. Nome took advantage of a captive crowd of 1,800 passengers by moving up its annual Berry Festival to today, putting together special tours and offering free shuttles around town. Youth fundraising booths filled school bus shelters.

A tour company flew in pallets of flowers to fill the unique dredge buckets around town (it’s too early in the season for local blooms).

We joined a popular shore excursion hike through the tundra to the abandoned Gold Dredge No. 5 outside of town, one of the largest in the world. Gold has been responsible for booms and busts in Nome for more than 100 years, and dredges were a primary means of extracting gold. Until the late 1990s, Dredge No. 5’s giant buckets dug into the permafrost under the tundra. Today most gold dredging in the area takes place off shore.

Locals said the weather was perfect but rare for this time of year, with highs in the 50s, sun and little wind away from the coast. The dirt/gravel/rock road we followed for about a mile and half to the dredge took all my concentration, and I was glad I had invested in hiking shoes with a thick stiff sole. At times we crossed creeks on wobbly boards or hastily gathered rocks strategically placed by our guides, who just walked right in to the cold water to give a helping hand.

Earlier this month a late snow covered the area, but today our guides pointed out the various plants emerging and described their uses, while telling us about growing up in this remote area. One guide said she now has the perfect combination of jobs, occasionally leading tours but otherwise working two-week shifts as a flight attendant for Alaska Airlines, preferably on the runs to Hawaii.

On a horizon we saw abandoned White Alice Communications System towers, part of a U.S. Air Force network from Cold War days. (More detail about the tropospheric scatter system here.) Today, my cell phone gave me great service throughout town, a stark contrast to earlier days when it was difficult to reach the outside world. So far, my AT&T service has worked well on shore throughout the cruise.

After our morning trek, we shuttled from the tender harbor to the blueberry festival in the community center a mile away. Of course, the blueberries aren’t in season yet, but booths sold everything from handicrafts and jewelry to furs. Community groups advertised their services, and a few vendors offered food. I was glad to see many ship passengers shopping the aisles amid the local residents.

The outstanding Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum was just a block away, featuring exhibits about indigenous people, the gold rush, early life in Nome and the lifesaving delivery of antitoxin serum to Nome by dog sled in 1925 that led to the Iditarod race. The race ends in Nome every March.

As we walked the half-dozen blocks to Front Street near the water, local residents were out in shorts and T-shirts enjoying what to them is warm weather. Kids rode bikes everywhere, and everyone greeted us and welcomed us to Nome.

We had a late lunch of halibut sandwiches and chowder at the Polar Cub Café before walking back to the tender dock. My Apple watch registered more than five miles, so back on board it was a stop in the Ocean Bar, a bite in the Lido and early to bed. I’m looking forward to three sea days on our way to Kodiak.