Point Hope

We flew to Point Hope on June 29. We rented a fourwheeler to drive to the birdcliffs of Cape Thompson, first a 40 km trip on the beach to the south and then a winding track to the birdcliffs (only later people told about Project Chariot and the Firecracker Boys). The first days we had a wonderful wheather. Nice waders: Bar-tailed Godwits, but also a couple of Red Knots, defending their territory.

The birdcliffs of Cape Thompson are great. We camped at the top of the cliffs, at one time we could see 10-15 Grey whales in four pods, quite close. We could hear them breathing. Mainly Common and Thick-billed Murres, Kittiwakes and also Horned Puffins. The last night a thick fog closed us in. Visibility was less than 100 m, so we had to drive back in thick fog (a GPS is a wonderful help for navigation).

Whalebones in the old village

The remnants of one of the sod houses
 We visited Point Hope also in 1986:

or click on the umiak with the polar bear skin

On our way to Cape Thompson,

50 km from Point Hope

On top of one of the cliffs

We heard the Grey Whales breathing,

 The site of "Project Chariot",

The "peaceful" use of atom bombs in the sixties: "The firecracker boys"

Kiitywake

 Horned Puffin

 Harvesting eggs

One of our favourites:

Spider Saxifraga

 A Muskoxen

 

 Semi-Palmated Sandpiper
 

Alaska 1997.htm

Alaska 1997

back to canoeing in Point Lay

Interesting links:

http://www.nsbsd.k12.ak.us/

Tikigaq School

 http://www.lib.uconn.edu/ArcticCircle/

VirtualClassroom/Chariot/chariotresources.html

"Firecracker boys" and "Project Chariot" 
A trip to Alaska in the summer of 1997
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