Page 235 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2017 - Alaska

ARC TIC AND WESTERN ALASK A  233

0 Nome Arch, becomes the ultimate
destination of all Iditarod
650 miles (1,050 km) W of Fairbanks.
Transport map C2. * 3,600. n 301 mushers (see pp42–3). The
Front St, 443­6555. _ Iron Dog original arch, with the inscrip­
Snowmobile Race (mid­Feb), Iditarod tion “End of the Iditarod Dog
Finish, Bering Sea Ice Classic Golf Race,” was erected for the first
Tournament (both after the Iditarod, Iditarod in 1975. It suc cumbed
mid­Mar), Midnight Sun Festival (Jun to dry rot after 26 years and was
21). ∑ visitnomealaska.com replaced with a large burled
spruce log, which rests outside
Nome’s curious name probably the Town Hall in the summer.
dates from the 1850s, when a During the race, a kerosene
British officer scrawled “?Name” lantern hangs from the arch
across a naval chart. It is said Semipalmated sandpiper in the meadows until the last competitor crosses
that a draughtsman later misread around Nome the finish line and retrieves it,
this as “Nome.” Attractively winning the Red Lantern Award.
situated on the shores of Norton recreational mining and in the This tradition recalls the early
Sound, this mixed Inupiat and summer, a motley colony of days of trans port in Alaska,
Anglo community is the hopeful prospectors camp when mushers carrying goods
commercial and trans port hub here. Clad in wet suits, they or mail would look for the
for northwest Alaska. brave the freezing, ice­choked lanterns hanging outside
A former Gold Rush town, waters of Norton Sound, using roadhouses along the route.
Nome is today less busy than diesel­powered dredges to
it was in its heyday in the late process the sands and col lect E Carrie M. McLain Museum
1890s, when “The Three Lucky what remains of the gold. 223 Front St. Tel 443­6630.
Swedes”, Jafet Lindberg, Erik Nome is also famous for its Open noon–6pm Tue–Sat.
Lindblom, and John Brynteson, superb bird­watching and as the & 7 ∑ nomealaska.org/
discovered gold in nearby finish line of the Iditarod. Visitors museum
Anvil Creek. In 1899, gold was in January can see the whimsical Named after its founder, this
also found in the beach sands Nome National Forest, created renovated city­run museum
(see pp56–7). Over 30,000 each year when residents plant reveals Nome’s colorful history
people staked claims, sparking their old Christmas trees in the with original displays on its Gold
a boom that lasted until 1906, sea ice just outside town. Rush days. Other exhibits focus
when Nome quickly slipped on modern Nome, as well as on
into obscurity. P The Burled Arch historic aviation, the arts and
However, gold fever has Front St. 7 ∑ iditarod.com culture of the Bering Strait Inuit,
not entirely faded in modern Each March, the official finish the world­famous Iditarod, and
Nome. The public beach, from line, called the Red “Fox” the original Nome Kennel Club
the end of the seawall to the Olson Trail Monument and and its All Alaska Sweepstakes
roadhouse, is open for better known as the Burled sled dog race.
5 Old St. Joseph’s Catholic
Church
279 King Place, Anvil City Square.
Tel 443­7856.
Nome’s oldest building, the
1901 St. Joseph’s Catholic
Church, was built on the
waterfront as a counterpoint
to the rollicking Gold Rush
atmosphere of the time. On
its steeple, a cross lit by elec tric
lights served as a beacon to
guide mushers and miners into
town. Eventually, the building
fell into decay and a new one
was built. In 1996, the old church
was moved to its present site,
restored, and given a new
steeple. The church is now a
com munity hall. In front of it are
statues of Lindberg, Lindblom,
and Brynteson. The building is
Dog team finishing the Iditarod in Nome only open for special events.
For hotels and restaurants in this area see p245 and p255

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