Our first time on the Dempster, 17 years ago, resulted in four flat tires. But, we had fantastic weather, and therefore, the gravel highway was in fantastic condition. Having been raised in Saskatchewan, neither of us are strangers to gravel roads, and so we thought nothing of tackling this 750km stretch in Canada's north. We were a little unprepared back then. This time, we had two full spares, and Todd had packed a variety of tools. We made it to Inuvik without any trouble, except for some weather. Around the Arctic Circle crossing, it got a little rainy. The road was slick, and no matter how slow we went, the mud was so slippery in places, that the camper was sliding around uncontrollably behind us. That was a little scary. A lot scary, was when we drove up into some low lying clouds that had us driving nearly blind. With steep drop offs on either side, and no guard rails, it was a very tense 3 or 4 kilometers. It really was a short distance that we were in such dangerous conditions, thank goodness. My husband, who doesn't get nervous easily, was not happy at all through that.
Inuvik is a town of just over 3000 people, and it is home to the "Igloo Church" and North America's northernmost mosque. There are two schools with a total of just over 600 students. I'm not sure why, but I took almost no pictures in Inuvik. Maybe my clicker finger was tuckered out from the hundreds of photos I took while on the Dempster. Or maybe, I was just getting plain tired. A week on the road is fun, but it's exhausting.
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| Ogilvie Ridge Viewpoint Km- 259 |
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| Arctic Circle Crossing Km-405 |
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| This is where we went up into some low lying clouds for a few kilometers. Very Scary. Km-465 |
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| Km- 573 |
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| Km - 398 |
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| Km - 348 |
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| Km - 609 |
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| Peel River Ferry Km- 539 |
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| After The Dempster |
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| We found a carwash straightaway! |
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| Jak Campground, on the outskirts of Inuvik. |
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| Jak Campground |
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| Visitor Center - Inuvik |
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Sorry about this terrible photo of the "Igloo Church." My son took a quick snapshot out of the truck window,
and it's all we have.
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Glad you came prepared and super glad you got through those clouds. That is 0 visibility which is scary. It looks so fun and so nice to go o. The adventure
ReplyDeleteIt is good you were all prepared, sounds like an awesome trip. The views are beautiful That is a cool photo of you at the Arctic Circle. Enjoy your day, wishing you a happy weekend!
ReplyDeleteHi Andrea - glad to have some news of the trip this far north. Must have been an amazing trip ... your dusty truck reminds me of South African dirt tracks ... I wish I'd gone that far north - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteYour trip is just so amazing, thank you for taking us along to places we will probably never see in person.
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