Hello my friends:
The good news is, we survived the Dempster Highway: back and forth, a total of 1500km of dirt road!!! Why did we do such a crazy thing? Just to be able to put a bumper sticker on the camper that says: I survived the Dempster Highway. No kidding: we drove the Dempster because we wanted to reach the northernmost point planned for our 6-month trip: Inuvik, at 67 degrees north, some 200km above the Arctic Circle. It’s truly the land of the mid-night sun. Also, at this time of the year, there is the annual Arts Festival in Inuvik; we attended some of the events.
We actually did go even farther north than Inuvik, as I will explain further down.
The locals: Inuit people are big on carving soap stone: here an excellent (and large) example, outside the Visitors Center in Inuvik
An animal that occurs at these high latitudes, although they weren’t around when we were there: Muskox
The ground under Inuvik is frozen year-around. It’s called permafrost (explained below). This has been the case since the last ice age. In summer, the top layer thaws and then moves around. As a result, houses can not be built directly on the ground but have to be built on pilings, a meter or so above ground. The pilings go deep down into the permafrost layer, providing stability for the houses (a bit like houses on pilings in Amsterdam and other low parts of Holland, except there we are dealing with soft clay soil). Also, in Inuvik water and sewage pipes have to be above ground. The moving top layer of freezing and thawing soil would destroy them. You see everywhere these substantial insulated zinc pipes which protects the water and sewage lines inside. See a photo below.
An Inuvik landmark: The Igloo Church
Above, the poster for the Arts Festival and below a whale bone with carvings which was carried into the festival hall by 2 widows of local artists (an annual tradition, apparently).
Since we only live once and we were in a place that we are unlikely to visit ever again, we shelled out some serious money to take a trip by boat to the community of Tuktoyaktuk, truly the northernmost “town” on Canada’s mainland. In winter, it’s reached over the frozen MacKenzie River, in summer, you can go by boat or fly. It’s another 150km farther north than Inuvik. Below, a picture of our boat, which went at a speed of around 60km per hour.
We stopped several times during the 5-hour ride; here we are at an abandoned camp of caribou/reindeer herders
We also climbed a hill along the MacKenzie River for a good view
And, a real stroke of luck, because they are usually not sticking around when they hear the sound of a boat engine: 2 grizzlies peaked at us from the river bank. What made it even more special was that one was brown (their normal color) but the other one was blond (see Betsie’s close-up)
And another special treat: an Inuit whaling camp; it’s the time of the year they catch baluga whales for their winter food supply. Here you see whale meat hung out to dry on a rack. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to go on shore here, because the Inuits have had bad experience with tourists taking pictures and using them later in anti-whaling campaigns….
Arrival in Tuk…. Betsie with the captain and his mate
The village of Tuk, right on the Beaufort Sea which is part of the Arctic Ocean
Below, a phenomenon called Pingos: a simplified explanation: underground lakes freeze and push up the ground above them, causing it to rise. The result: a hill, called pingo. These pingos get higher as the years pass. Around Tuk there are many.
Despite the cold conditions, the Arctic Ground Squirrel survives in its burrows.
Betsie dipping her feet in the Arctic Ocean. Apparently, it’s a tradition (I let this golden opportunity pass me by).
But I was certainly ready for a picture with Betsie with that cold sea in the background.
Next thing some of us did in Tuk: visit the Ice House: you descend about 10m by ladder via a narrow vertical shaft (not recommended for claustrophobics)…..
……to arrive at a series of tunnels with rooms belonging to locals, all carved in the permafrost. It’s a natural freezer (which never gets defrosted as you can see). Families store their supply of whale and caribou meat here.
Our group flew back from Tuk to Inuvik. Here is Betsie with our pilot (not much older than 20, I would say)
The MacKenzie River delta below us; trees do not grow here because we are - although at sea level - “above the tree line.” It’s simply too cold here for trees.
The spit of land with some houses is the whaling station which we had passed by boat earlier that day
A cultural evening in Inuvik on the occasion of the Arts Festival. The locals treated us with song and dance, most of them in their traditional attire
This older gentleman was a master at using the whip; he was able to cut a cigarette in half. It was mounted on the floor about 6m away from him. We assume that this skill is actually used by mushers with dog sleds….
After 4 days in Inuvik, on a beautiful sunny day, we ventured out again out on the Dempster for our 700+km return to Dawson City, below the Arctic Circle. A caribou mother and calf ran on the road in front of us for about 10 minutes at a speed of 35k/h. They only veered off when we came to an intersection. Such speed and stamina come in handy when you are being pursued by a pack of wolves…
Another view of the Dempster
Here it’s explained how in the olden days, they used to go to Fort McPherson, close to Inuvik, by dog sled.
Another lovely view from the Dempster
Driving on a “dirt road,” it’s no surprise our camper gets dirty (as well as our bikes). In Dawson City, we worked it with a high pressure water house and it looks much better now….
About 75km north of Dawson City in an area called Tombstone Territory, we stopped for a couple of hours of hiking along the Klondike River
To our surprise, we came to an extensive snow field (mid-July)
Below a Lesser Yellow Legs, a bird that lives here in summer
Today, July 14, we visited the Dawson City museum; they have lots of photos and artifacts from the Gold Rush of the late 19th century. They also have several beautiful steam locomotives, built around 1890 and used during the early part of the 20th century when gold was still found.
Also, Woolly Mammoth bones and tusks have been found in the area
Our final adventure in Dawson City centered around gold…. First, we visited a huge gold dredge that was used until 1952. Its buckets scraped the bottom of the river, going into the top layer of the permafrost. The river rocks were dumped in a huge drum with holes that would let smaller pieces fall out, including pieces of gold, if any. Because gold is 4 times heavier than rock, they were able to separate gold nuggets from the rocks; gold stayed at the bottom of slanted sluices, while the rocks were washed out. Below some photos of our tour of the dredge.
Above the big drum with small holes, through which any pieces of gold would fall. Below a long row of dredge buckets.
Our guide showing us the real thing……
And then it was our turn. We rented a shovel and a pan and drove to “Claim nr. 6” which is open to the public.
And we tried for an hour, scooping sand and rocks, letting the water clean the contents of the pan and looking for anything glittering among the river rocks…..
After an hour, we decided that this was not going to be a new career for us and called it quits
Along the dirt road by the Bonanza River where the dredges had operated in the past, you see huge piles of river rocks, called “tailings.” These were left behind after the dredges had gone through the river and sifted the gold out.
Here, to end this story of Northwest Canada for now, a few pictures of picturesk Dawson City, the former gold miners town on the Yukon River. Tomorrow, we will continue our trip, now going west; we expect to cross the US border into Alaska for our next adventures. Stay tuned…..
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