This a picture of one of the nicer roads in the village of Shismaref. It's actually made of metal... though I'm not sure what it is. Please keep in mind that Shishmaref has a land area of only 2.2 miles. So, since there are only three cars on the island, there really isn't a need for a complex road system! In fact, the houses (as you can see, mostly pre-fabricated) don't even have numbers. Most people get around on four-wheelers when snow isn't around, and snow machines (snow mobiles) when snow is present. In contrast to a small village like Shishmaref, Anchorage has a road system like you and I are used to, complete with stop lights, medians, and even slow drivers! You'd find the same in Fairbanks, Jeneau, and other villages on the Kenai Peninsula (on the Southern end of the state). Once you get much farther West, however, the roads run out, and villages like Unalakleet, Shishmaref, and even cities like Nome can only be accessed by boat or by plane.