Tuk Trip - Day 13

     It seems we have been fortunate in locating several Canadian Military sites at various small airports across Canada. Such was the case in Watson Lake. The whole airport is a museum memorializing the local veterans of WWII. Very interesting, especially being in such a remote area.
     The return trip to Whitehorse was beautiful because for the first time on the trip so far we had a totally sunny day. The temperature was around 15 degrees which I absolutely love. We stopped in at the airport. The Whitehorse people are the only ones trying to help us at Air Canada. Still no sign of our bag. We also added a day to our car rental. We have an early flight (6AM) on Saturday morning.
     I think we have found a new Worst Motel EVER. The Airport Chalet in Whitehorse is retro but irretrievable retro. Whenever they built it, it has not been improved - and we're here for 2 nights! What a DUMP!!

Serviceman Memorial - Watson Lake

Teslin Tlingit Heritage Centre

Alaska Highway to Whitehorse

nearing Whitehorse

see also   www.thatroadtripbook.com

Tuk Trip - Day 12

     We are now in Watson Lake, a rather fascinating little town. The weather was decent and the drive was pretty. A good part of it took us through BC right along the Yukon border. It's really quite beautiful when it's not on fire. Still haven't seen any wildlife so the photo of me below is just going to have to do.
     Watson Lake is known for its sign post forest. Started in 1942 as a military sign post, the builder added a sign from his home town. People have been encouraged ever since to add to the display and today it numbers over 88,000.
     We return to Whitehorse tomorrow for 2 nights because we have to leave the hotel before 4AM on Saturday morning.

Eric and the bears

BC along the Yukon border

Watson Lake Sign Post Forest - look at the signs carefully

Karen in the forest

see also   www.thatroadtripbook.com

Tuk Trip - Day 11

     There was a large group of bikers at our hotel last night - all adventuresome souls, most over 40, some closing in on our age. I was talking to one of them and he confessed that the group had been inspired by Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor in their Long Way Round and Long Way Down journeys. One of them was true to his word as he left the hotel in true Charley Boorman style (see first phot below).
     Dawson City is a window in history. The cemeteries are fascinating and the town itself is a window to the past.

Charley Boorman would be proud

Yukon Order of Pioneers Cemetery - note the birthplace on the stone

Robert Service cabin

see also   www.thatroadtripbook.com

Tuk Trip - Day 10

     I have always thought that travelling the same road but in a different direction was really not that much different. Not so here. We saw things we had not seen on the way up, alternate mountain views and different lighting with snow this time.
     Sadly we have come off the Dempster. It was everything I wanted it to be and more except for no wildlife. I don't know where they all go because they are there.
     Mud is the enemy up here and after washing the car it shook so badly we couldn't drive it. Two more shots at the wheels and it was much better though not as smooth as before. Hopefully we'll get rid of it as we continue to drive over the next few days.

Ogilvie Mountain sunrise

Ogilvie Mountains

Fall in the mountains

welcome to Dawson City

see also   www.thatroadtripbook.com

Tuk Trip - Day 9

     It has been one crazy day and how we ever made it is beyond me. It snowed which means a variety of things here. The highest point was the mountain pass at the NWT/Yukon border - just after I took the photo below there was about a foot of snow on the road. Fortunately someone had driven through so there were a couple of ruts, We passed an oil tanker truck stuck. I went back to see if we could take him somewhere when he suddenly got going, blowing his horn for me to get out of his way.
     The journey was just under 400 kms and took 7 hours. When we arrived in Eagle Plains the road was closed - that's our hotel the other side of the barrier. Karen walked into the hotel and found someone to let us through. The road had been closed all day because of the conditions we drove through. We must have just got on the road before they closed it at the other end.
     We wanted an adventure and so far that's what we're getting.

leaving Inuvik - many would say I'm crazy but I love driving in this

Rengleng River

other than chipmunks and ravens, the only wildlife we've seen on this trip

mountain pass just before the snow

road closed - that's our hotel the other side of the barrier

see also   www.thatroadtripbook.com

Tuk Trip - Day 8

     It wasn't easy but WE MADE IT! The new Tuktoyaktuk Highway is treacherous for about a third of it's 140 kilometres. How can a new road (November 2017) get so bad so fast? The top and bottom third are washboard/pothole city but the middle third is a quagmire. A few days rain hasn't helped.
     It was 2 degrees with gale force winds plummeting the temperature to about 15 below. The rocky shore would literally have been death defying so wading into the Arctic Ocean was out of the question.
     Our reservation was screwed up so we returned to Inuvik. We are now ahead of schedule which means we will probably have no place to stay tomorrow if we get to Eagle Plains. The car is a possibility but it's damn cold at night and we don't have anything particularly warm. Another issue is the ferries have not been running. It's all part of the adventure - we'll keep telling ourselves that.

end of the tree line

yes - that's the road

Tuktoyaktuk

see also   www.thatroadtripbook.com

Tuk Trip - Day 7

     We are in Inuvik for the day - hopefully we'll find some jackets! We were greeted this morning by a scene not normally seen by us at the end of August (see first photo below).
     After breakfast we were able to enjoy the dog run. They have 36 huskies that need exercise every day so in the "summer" they do that with a 4 wheel ATV. The dogs seemed to love it and they loaned us some coats - otherwise we truly would have frozen.

the dogs are ready

it is clear our adventure has gone to the dogs

see also   www.thatroadtripbook.com