Pioneering Podiatry in the Alaska Bush, Dr. Jeffrey Carlson

The sun at noon on February 6th

This is as high as the sun got. Much better than the last couple of months without any sun. One thing I was not expecting is that the sun actually stayed at this level for a few hours.

Point Lay Village Clinic

Here’s the outside view of the clinic.

Point Lay Native Store

Here’s a look at Main St which is one of two roads through the main part of town. The store is the only one in town.

This photo was taken at NOON on December 4th in Point Lay, Alaska. That’s as much light as we got with still 2 weeks until winter solstice.

NO ROOM AT THE INN
Exam Room doubles as sleeping quarters

The health Center in Point Lay, Alaska has a living quarters for the resident Health Aide with a full kitchen, bathroom, stacked washer & dryer, and two bedrooms. Unfortunately, the second bedroom is not finished which means any itinerant providers staying overnight must choose an exam room.

East Coast Pizzeria in Barrow, Alaska

This place is take-out or delivery only but has really great east coast style pizzas, subs, lasagna, calzones, etc.

I ordered a small pizza with pepperoni, sausage, onions, and peppers. I couldn’t stop eating until the entire pizza was gone. I’m interested to try one of their subs next, maybe their Philly cheesesteak sandwich.

Sam & Lee’s Chinese Restaurant in Barrow, Alaska

When you walk in the door, the aroma was amazing! If you’re dining in, then you’ll be seated upstairs. They have a typical full menu of Chinese food but viewing all the other guests dishes made it difficult to choose. I settled on the sesame chicken which was hands down the best I’ve tried!

I will definitely be ordering from here again, but maybe takeout as I feel slightly awkward sitting in a restaurant by myself. (“No, I’m not expecting anyone. Just having a me party.”)

Northern Lights Restaurant in Barrow, Alaska

If you ask anybody what is their favorite restaurant or where are good places to eat, this place is guaranteed to be at the top of their list. It is owned and operated by a couple from Thailand so of coarse they serve Thai food but many claim they have the best pizza in town. They also serve all varieties of American food as well.

Inupiat Day!

The clinics were closed for this Alaskan Native holiday so I decided to get outside and enjoy the light before it disappears for 65 days starting right around Thanksgiving.

I thought I’d take a hike through the woods. (Look behind me. This is what the Alaskan North Slope looks like in winter and BTW, there are no trees...or even bushes.)

Olgoonik Hotel & Restaurant in Wainwright, Alaska

As a provider, if there’s no room at the inn (in the upstairs living quarters of the medical clinic), this is where you stay. It’s the only hotel and only restaurant in town. The food is good but expensive, although very reasonable for the north slope. A cheeseburger and fries ranges $16-$20, depending on the toppings. A bottle of Gatorade is $5, as is a soft serve ice cream cone.

The only store in town is directly across the street as pictured here.

Wainwright, Alaska Medical Clinic

This facility more than 5 exam rooms, a dental exam room and equipment, an emergency room, a minor pharmacy, and a lab room....and that’s just the main floor. The second floor has a living area for visiting providers that includes two bedrooms, a small kitchen, bathroom, and living room. The staff here are proud of their facility and take good care of it.

Where’s the ice?

These are views of the Arctic Ocean as I flew from Barrow to Wainwright. The shore is covered in snow but nothing in the ocean. Usually by November there is ice, plenty thick to walk on, for quite a distance from the shore. The second pic demonstrates an area where ice is just starting to gather. Alaska did record it’s hottest days ever this last summer.

Arctic Sunrise

This picture was taken at 9:30am on November 4th. The sun is just barely creeping over the horizon. At this time of year, even the middle of the day isn’t all that bright. In a couple weeks, the sun won’t rise at all for 65 days

It rained the whole two days that I was in Atqasuk, Alaska. I didn't get a picture of the clinic because I didn't want to get carried away by mosquitos (Alaska state bird). The first picture is from the front porch of the clinic. The second picture is one of four streets in the village. The third picture is from the back window of the clinic.

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Atqasuk, Alaska from the air.

Atqasuk is a village of 100-200 people located south, or inland from Barrow. There is no hotel, restaurant, or grocery store except for a person who sells goods out of a very small extension of their house. On arrival it was beautiful and sunny like in the pictures but it quickly changed and rained the entire time as you will see in the next post.

Wainwright, Alaska in July. Like Barrow, this town’s northern border is the Arctic Ocean. Wainwright is one of the largest villages of the North Slope with a population of 590. Our plane had to stop here to drop off a passenger and pick up another on our way back to Barrow. I didn’t leave the plane but I’m scheduled to return in November so we’ll see how different the scenery is then.

Here are some photos of the health center and my exam room in Nuiqsut, Alaska. This is one of the largest facilities of all the villages on the North Slope. Nuiqsut is not too far from Prudoe Bay which is where the oil pipeline begins. Because of this, there is a “lodge” that houses the oil field workers who stay here. Their cafeteria offers three meals a day which is included. This means not having to cook and no sleeping bag! But it does mean communal showers. :(

Once you’ve gone just a little north of the Brooks Mountain Range in northern Alaska, the topography becomes relatively flat and very wet as you can see from these photos taken on my way to Atqasuk, a village of about 150 people.

This is the typical size and type of plane I take to get back and forth between villages. The same airline is responsible for delivering mail, packages and other goods as well as passengers. Depending on the size of the village, there is only one or two flights that land each day. Airports consist of a small shack on the edge of a single long dirt runway placed out in the middle of the tundra and NO TSA!

Here’s a couple more aerial shots of Barrow and the Arctic Ocean. On the left is a sand bar that shoots north from the mainland. This sand bar is the northern most “land” in the world and it divides the Arctic Ocean on the left from the Beauford Sea on the right. It’s fun to say you’ve been as far north on dry ground as humanly possible.

Typical view of the streets of Barrow, Alaska in the summer months.

Landing in Utqiagvik (Barrow) Alaska located at the most northern tip of the American Continent. This is "home base" for me as Samuel Simmonds Memorial Hospital serves the people of Barrow and 5 surrounding villages. The population of Barrow is about 5000 while the villages range between 100 to 500 people.

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