KOTZEBUE -- Green bluffs overlook a cluster of cheerful yellow and blue cabins on a small stretch of beach by Sadie Creek in Kotzebue.

Early in the afternoon a woman guts chum salmon on a workbench at the shoreline as children skip rocks on the waves or hover around the door to a small kitchen. Scents of caribou stew and fresh corn bread waft over the site, broadcasting as clear as a dinner bell that lunch is almost ready.

It's an idyllic afternoon at a fish camp in the Arctic, and not so unusual, except that almost everyone at this camp is from somewhere else and they are all either older than 50 or younger than 12.

"We get to be with adults and he gets to be with kids, and most of the time he's just with us," said Sue Burford of her 12-year-old grandson Zach, who lives with his grandparents in Washington state.

The Burfords were two of about 16 campers at the inter-generational Elderhostel held at LaVonne Hendricks' fish camp. Elderhostel is a nonprofit that organizes educational tours for older travelers and, in some cases, their grandchildren.

Mickie Ivey is a retired teacher from southern Georgia who brought her granddaughter Virginia Jackson to Kotzebue for the week because "We wanted to look for woolly mammoth ivory."

But more than finding ivory on the beach, she said, she wanted to experience something more than just sightseeing.

"Instead of just being a tourist, I like to meet real people," said Ivey. "We've had to do work, and all work together, just like the Inupiat -- share and share alike."

It is the second year that Hendricks has hosted the inter-generational Elderhostel at her fish camp, though she's done seniors-only Elderhostels since 1993. Hendricks' hostel emphasizes the "experiential" aspect of tourism -- instead of simply observing, tourists get to participate in local activities and help do the work that makes the camp run. She decided to include children in the mix a couple years ago because "kids are just so much a part of the culture and fun of summer -- they just get in and enjoy."

Campers get to participate in activities traditional to the area -- set-net fishing, canning salmon, collecting medicinal plants, making fireweed honey and, of course, hunting for mammoth ivory along the beach. The campers also go into town to look at local art and go shopping at the AC -- a cultural experience that is shocking for many.

"Virginia likes Jolly Ranchers, and then she found out they cost $30 (a box) and she decided she didn't need Jolly Ranchers today," Ivey said.

While Kotzebue offers almost limitless potential for small, experiential tourism ventures like Elderhostel, Hendricks said it is currently an almost untapped market.

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