Things to do in Barrow
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Point Barrow
Follow the shore 12 miles northeast of the city and you'll come to Point Barrow, a narrow spit of land that's the northernmost extremity of the US (though not, as locals sometimes claim, North America). In the winter and spring this is where polar bears den; in the summer it's the featured stop of organized tours. The buses never actually reach the tip, as the road ends several miles short of it. To continue on, you must walk or rent an ATV - and watch out for bears.
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Arctic Ocean Foreshore
The main thing to do at the top of the world is bundle up and stand on the shore of the Arctic Ocean, gazing toward the North Pole. You can stroll the gravel roads that parallel the sea to view umiaks (Inupiat skin boats), giant jawbones of bowhead whales, fish-drying racks and the jumbled Arctic pack ice that even in July spans the horizon.
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Brower's Café
This beachfront structure was built in the late 19th century by Charles Brower, an American whaler, and features whaling antiques inside and an oft-photographed whale-jawbone arch out front. Nowadays it's Barrow's best burger joint (with about 10 varieties), and hosts what's almost certainly America's northernmost karaoke night.
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Will Rogers & Wiley Post Monument
Opposite Barrow's airport is the Will Rogers & Wiley Post Monument, a six-sided cenotaph memorializing the famous comedian and his legendary pilot, who died together in 1935 when their plane stalled and crashed into a river 15 miles south of here. At the time, Rogers was on a comedy tour en route from Fairbanks to Siberia.
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Tundra Tours
The major package-tour operator, using buses to show sightseers the town and tundra. A blanket toss and Alaska Native-dance performance is included in the six-hour excursion. You can be certain your long-suffering Inupiat guide is bored silly by the whole toe-dipping ritual during the stop at the Arctic Ocean.
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Pepe's North of the Border
Co-located with the Top of the World Hotel, this 'northernmost Mexican restaurant in the world' has achieved renown thanks to the tireless Barrow-boosting efforts of owner Fran Tate. The food is decent, but it's the tour group-oriented antics that make this a surreal experience.
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Arctic Pizza
Huge portions of tasty food are dished up at the buzzing pizzeria on the 1st floor, while you'll find something like a fine-dining Italian restaurant upstairs, with wonderful views of the Arctic Ocean.
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North Slope Borough Building
Inupiat culture and art is on display in the lobby of the North Slope Borough Building. A gift shop here has baleen baskets, sealskin bags and ivory carvings for sale.
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Ukpiagvik
On the waterfront opposite Apayauk St at the south end of town is Ukpiagvik, the site of an ancient Inupiat village marked by the remains of semi-subterranean sod huts.
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Osaka
Located diagonally across from the Top of the World Hotel, this place has pretty good all-American breakfasts, plus sushi that even Japanese tourists approve of.
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Arctic Adventure Tours
Offers the most intimate two-hour wildlife tour to Point Barrow to look for polar bears, marine life such as walrus and a variety of migrating birds.
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