Northern exposure: The Arctic Circle

If you want to do something really different, take a tour to the Arctic Circle. Only 10,000 people per year take this trip, which you can do by air or van. We booked our tour through Northern Alaska Tour Company, which cost almost $200 per person, but something this unique is worth it.

There is nothing like this Arctic desert anywhere else on earth. This tiny piece of Alaska is so vast that it’s hard to imagine how immense the tundra is, even when you’re standing in the middle of it. Here are some still shots, which don’t do it justice:

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Alaska: Trek to the Arctic Circle (1 of 39)

Our tour guide was Sundance — yup, that's her real name — and she's only lived in Alaska a few years, but she says it's still exotic to her. At our first outhouse stop, she jumped into the snow to show us how deep it is.

It’s hard to describe the trip in photos, so hopefully this video helps give you a better idea of what the drive was like:

After the tour was done, we went to The Pump House, which is a well-known spot with locals for its standard, hearty bar fare. It’s also a place that tourists can get elk meatloaf or reindeer tenderloin. Here’s what we ate:

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Alaska: The Pump House (3 of 7)

DK had a side of halibut ($16), which came with onion strings and mango salsa. The fish was a bit dry, maybe from grilling, but we were a little sad that it didn't come with a butter sauce. I guess coming from Hawaii, we're used to mango salsa on a lot of things, so that thrill is gone for us!

To see all 173 photos from our day at the Arctic Circle, click here.

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