visiting Barrow in end of June - car rental? home stay? (Fairbanks: houses, hotel)

[From_california]

I'm planning to visit Barrow on June 24th, should I stay there for 1 night or 2? Can i rent a car in Barrow to drive to Point Barrow? Is it possible to camp in Barrow in late June ( i worry the groud would be too soggy)?
My husband and I are intrigued with Eskimo culture and we are looking for a unique experience to stay with and learn a some local Eskimo family.

[mountain_time_Blues]

From what I've heard this appears to be the best hotel in Barrow.
kingeider.net/

These folks give tours of Barrow.
riversedge.net/barrow-alaska.htm

There are a few taxis and car rentals in town too.

And this is another thread asking about Barrow.
city-data.com/forum/alaska/345-anyone-barrow.html

[Rance]

I would not plan on camping in Barrow. It's prime polar bear country. You'd be like a TV dinner!

[mal_flisk]

I second that. One of the things we do is take the truck to the dump to take pics when we're there. The King Eider is a great little hotel, but make sure you take your shoes off at the door.

I'm not sure what you'd like to see or do, but a night should give you enough time to at least see the main sights. Do take a picture of the sign posts with the various distances to different cities.

Have fun while you're up there, it really is a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

[From_california]

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions.

Sounds like camping maybe hard to do in barrow so I'm gonna give up this idea.

Do you know if the car rental companies allow you to drive to Point Barrow? What about taxis? Do they take you to Point Barrow?

About Inuit food - we would love to try some Inuit food - seals/whales etc, but we don't know anyone in Barrow. Do you have any suggestion on where/how we can experience it during our stay in Barrow?

---------------
an unrelated question: has anyone done the Midnight Sun Run in Fairbanks? We are planning to run the 10k race on Saturday night then fly to Barrow the next morning. I'd love to hear your experience with the Midnight Sun Run.

[mal_flisk]

I don't know if there are any cars for rent in Barrow. I always utilized the cabs. There are a lot of summer houses for people who go there to get their summer subsistence hunt for birds and whale. I believe that snowy owl is one of the local delicacies.

As far as local food, inquire at the hotel. They might know of someone serving or selling muktuk.

[Rance]

I've eaten muktuk. Kinda like eating cold lard with a fishy flavor! Sliced paper thin while frozen seems to be the best. I have a native buddy that stir fries it with veggies. Alot of that stuff a typical white man (well any color man) cannot eat. To rich. And I hear tell polar bear liver will kill a normal person, because of the seal meat/fat they eat.
Here's a picture of some blubber I took last winter. The black being the skin...the white is the fat. It has a kind of sweet fishy smell to it.

[From_california]

Thanks Rance! Just add some wasabi and soy sauce and wrap it in a piece of seaweed i'm sure it will taste great! I'm a big Sushi fan.

[Rance]

I dabble with a little sushi every now and then (spicey tuna) along with California Rolls. This is nothing you want to wrap in seaweed! Just a paper thin slice goes a long way. When you get there...I'm sure you will find a local that can hook you up with many native delicacies.

[mountain_time_Blues]

Probably has like 1500 calories per serving.