This is Part 2 of our 2018 Adventure to the Alaska Highway and the Artic Ocean.
Click Here to go back to Part 1 – Home to Tok
Bev’s Diary, June 2: Sunrise 3:19a, Sunset 11:33p (Chicken AK). Camped at West Fork National Forest Service Campground. So beautiful and quiet.
Here is a glimpse of the inside of our “motortent”. We camped 8 of our 31 nights. Our trip was planned to be primarily hotel and restaurants. However, we carried a minimum of food, water & utensils with us. This proved to be a great asset in some of the beautiful wild country that we traversed.
This segment of the highway featured the scariest section of road on the entire trip. As driver, I held a little too close to the sheer slope above me to the left, hoping that we wouldn’t meet any oncoming traffic. Bev had the excitement of staring down a steep slope to the right. No guardrails. Darn, never thought to take an exciting picture of the road as it crumbled away to the right!
Bev’s Diary, June 3: Sunrise 4:06a, Sunset 12:24a (Dawson City, YT). Drove to Chicken AK & enjoyed their wonderful gift shops. Crazy, winding road, gravel to the border and along the Top Of The World Hwy to Dawson City. Arctic Char for supper.
Chicken AK is famous, simply for its name …
The Top Of The World Highway from the USA border, east of Chicken AK, to Dawson City YT, is one of our favorite drives in all of Canada!
View from our restaurant in Dawson.
This is the start of the Dempster Highway from Dawson City YT, 760 km to Inuvik NT. Note our clean van!!
In the left side of the picture you can see a one-lane bridge. This marks how far we drove during our 2000 visit, just so we could say “we drove on the Dempster”. I think we knew that we had to come back and take the “on” out of the above statement … it now reads … “We Drove The Dempster!”
Bev’s Diary, June 4: Sunrise 2:38a, Sunset 1:34a (Eagle Plains YT). Beautiful drive 370 Km on the Dempster Hwy to Eagle Plains Lodge — beautiful mountain ranges — creeks, rivers, etc.
Dawson City to Eagle Plains YT
Wide, well maintained gravel highways. No problem to maintain 80 to 90 kph. Except for a few short sections that reminded us of St. James Street in Winnipeg in March!
Driving tip: Don’t Use Cruise Control
Below is a zoom of the above picture to highlight how far the winding road can be seen.
Eagle Plains, YT
Eagle Plains is an absolutely unique location. Helped me to understand the halfway stops that catered to travelers two centuries ago. Food, fuel, repairs and accommodation (motel and campground). Everything we needed and nothing more. No fuel for 370 km in either direction.
Travelers had all types of transportation. We encountered a German Couple on a motorcycle. We frequently saw, and talked to, them as we played leap frog, going north, over the next few days.
In the pub/restaurant with a caribou! Fantastic view.
Eagle Plains is on a high plateau with 360 degree vistas.
Eagle Plains has a plaque referencing the Arctic Circle. However, in reality, the circle is about five miles north of here.
Eagle Plains to Inuvik NT
Bev’s Diary, June 5: Sun up all day! (Inuvik NT). On the road early for the next day of our grand adventure — off to Inuvik, NT. Crossed the Arctic Circle. Wonderful scenery — interesting architecture.
A few miles North of the Arctic Circle we crossed from the Yukon Territory to the Northwest Territories.
Ferry across the Pelly River. We had to a schedule our trip around the spring opening of the ferries across the Pelly and Mackenzie Rivers.
Ferry across the Mackenzie River. This ferry also crosses the mouth of a tributary of the Mackenzie.
The Ferry Operator lived in the community of Tsiigehtchic, a Gwich’in community located at the confluence of the Mackenzie and the Arctic Red Rivers, … (he commended my technique of driving at an angle on and off the ferry ramps!)
No Tim Hortons, or any other coffee shops for 370 km. So we perked our own on the campstove! Served with a side of peanut butter and jam sandwiches.
Inuvik
Inuvik has a fascinating vibe. Think Inuvialuit, Gwich’in and young southern families on a northern adventure for a few years.
Bev’s Diary, June 6: Sun up all day! (Tuktoyaktuk NT). Someone tried to force his way into our hotel room this morning. Off to Tuktoyaktuk this A.M. Good road except for 10 K or so. No services in Tuk but managed to spend $$’s on souvenirs at the Northern Store. Chris dipped his foot in the Arctic Ocean. Back to Inuvik
Inuvik to Tuktoyatuk NT
Walking on the tundra …
The Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk highway (ITH) is a marvel all on its own. It opened in November 2017, just before the ferries closed, so we were amongst the first southerners to travel after the ferries opened June 1, 2018. Prior to 2017, the only access was via aircraft; the Mackenzie River via boat, or ice road; overland via dog sled or snow machine.
For those who are fans of “America First”, let me assure you that there is no public road anywhere in the United States that will take you to the Arctic Ocean. You can drive The Dalton Highway, north from Fairbanks AK, but it terminates at Dead Horse, AK, a mere ten miles from the Arctic Ocean. From there you must arrange a tour over a private road.
The ITH is elevated above the permafrost, separated by a layer of quarried rock and protective fabric. There were a few places where we had the distinct sense of driving on loose gravel 12 feet deep, but the shortcomings of the road were being worked out and never impaired our travel.
This lone pine tree on the tundra reminded us of our home in Saskatchewan.
We had four nights in the Midnight Sun. But we didn’t see the midnight sun (we slept through every one of them …)
Tuktoyatuk NT
Tuktoyaktuk is one site of the DEW Line, (Distant Early Warning). A relic from the Cold War. Tuk was also the centre of the start of the Arctic Oil Boom, until focus shifted west to the North Slope of Alaska. These two events combined to provide significant infrastructure including a small airport, with a long runway, capable of handling large cargo aircraft.
This is one terminus of The Great Trail connecting Sea to Sea to Sea. We haven’t walked much of the trail, but we have driven to all three oceans.
Russia is right over there!
Tuktoyaktuk has a population of 898, so it has all the services necessary for life. But we had a great deal of difficulty finding any businesses. We finally concluded that it wasn’t a shortage of businesses, but a shortage of urban style signage. Along the lines of “why would I spend money on a sign for my hardware store when everyone already knows where it is!”
We did find the Northern Store. We walked in and asked “have we reached the Arctic Ocean? Is that it there …?” We were assured “yes, yes it is”.
We bought gas for the car. We bought a flat of 24 bottled water for $44 (see more below).
We tried to buy souvenirs!
Here is the back story: we first heard of Tuktoyaktuk when we attended the University of Saskatchewan, Regina Campus in the late 1960’s. At that time some enterprising entrepreneur had created a fictional university called the University of Tuktoyaktuk, with the sole purpose of selling merchandise labelled “Tuk-U.”
It appears that the first few dozen tourists had badly picked over the souvenir inventory. However, a helpful young clerk said: “Let’s take a look in that box, it just arrived, and I don’t know what is in there.”
At this point the “German Motorcyclists” came in the door. We had been playing leap frog with this hardy middle-aged couple ever since we Eagle Plains. Embarrassingly, we quickly grabbed the best of the souvenirs …
(we ultimately acquired Tuk-U merchandise on our return to Inuvik later that day.)
The Northern Store chain is owned by The North West Company of Winnipeg, MB — close to where we live. In fact The North West Company is a former business client of ours.
We live just off Manitoba Highway #12. Middlebro is also on #12 about 100 miles South of our Farm. THE WATER HAD TRAVELLED FURTHER THAN WE HAD!
A perfectly good way to freeze a knee!
Bev’s Diary, June 7: Sun up all day! (Eagle Plains YT). Back to Eagle Plains Hotel for the night. A great drive and walked the tundra — it is in bloom, so beautiful. Cold and windy and sunny.
Bev’s Diary, June 8: Sunrise 3:57a, Sunset 12:37a (Dawson City YT). Back to Dawson City by noon and managed to rent a 1904 log cabin for the night. Washed the van, bought wine and groceries and just settled in. No Vacancy in Dawson tonight.
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Thus ends the second, of five segments of our 2018 trip to Alaska and the Arctic Ocean.
Part 1: Home to Tok
Part 2: Tok to Tuk
Part 3: Dawson City, YT
Part 4: Home via the Cassiar Highway